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Disabling Optional Connected Experiences in Office 365 Apps

  • "How can I configure a policy to automatically uncheck the option for optional connected experiences in Office 365 apps?"
  • "Disable Optional Connected Experiences in O365 apps"

Overview​

This article explains how to disable the Optional Connected Experiences feature in Office 365 apps such as Word and Excel by using registry settings or PowerShell scripts. This setting is located under App > File > Options > Trust Center Settings > Privacy Options.

Instructions​

Using Registry Settings​

To disable the Optional Connected Experiences feature, you can manually set the required registry keys:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\office\16.0\common\privacy]
"disconnectedstate"=dword:00000002

IMPORTANT: Always test registry changes on a small number of machines before deploying them widely.

Using a PowerShell Script​

Alternatively, you can use the following PowerShell script to set the registry keys:

if((Test-Path -LiteralPath "HKCU:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\office\16.0\common\privacy") -ne $true) {  
    New-Item "HKCU:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\office\16.0\common\privacy" -force -ea SilentlyContinue 
};
New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath 'HKCU:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\office\16.0\common\privacy' -Name 'disconnectedstate' -Value 2 -PropertyType DWord -Force -ea SilentlyContinue;

NOTE: Ensure the disconnectedstate value is set to 2 to properly disable the feature.

Using Endpoint Policy Manager​

If you are using Netwrix Endpoint Policy Manager, you can deploy the above PowerShell script as a policy using the Scripts & Triggers component. Refer to How to create a shortcut under the Public Desktop using Endpoint Policy Scripts Manager to see an example of how to run PowerShell scripts via Scripts & Triggers Manager.