Companies are getting more and more brazen when it comes to acquiring user data, especially now that they need it to train AI models. Microsoft 365 includes features called Connected Experiences that rely on internet connectivity and Microsoft cloud services to provide enhanced "functionality". These features include things like grammar suggestions, translation, real-time dictation, and integration with online content. While useful, Connected Experiences also involve some content or usage data being sent to Microsoft servers. Which also means that they are more than likely using this data to train their AI systems (Regardless of what they say), so you may want to disable these features.

Takeaways:

  1. This guide explains what Connected Experiences are, why you might disable them, and how to do so in Word.
  2. What Are Connected Experiences? And should you disable them?

How to Disable Connected Experiences in Microsoft 365 (2025)

Connected Experiences fall into two categories:

Experiences that analyse content

These features send parts of your document or voice input to Microsoft servers for processing. Examples include:

  • Editor (grammar and style suggestions)
  • Dictate (speech-to-text)
  • Translator
  • Smart Lookup
  • Researcher

Experiences that download online content

These features retrieve templates, icons, or add-ins from Microsoft services. They do not analyse or send your document content. Examples include:

  • Online templates from Office.com
  • Icons and images
  • Add-ins from the Office Store

Why Disable Connected Experiences?

  • To prevent document content from being transmitted to external servers
  • To limit telemetry and diagnostic data sharing
  • To meet organisational or legal privacy requirements
  • To reduce exposure to automated content processing

Microsoft has stated that content processed by Connected Experiences is not used to train its large language models or Copilot features. But we just have to take their word for it, as always.

What Happens When You Disable Connected Experiences in Office 365?

Features like Editor, Dictate, Smart Lookup, and cloud-based templates will be unavailable

  • Word will still function with full offline editing and formatting capabilities
  • Licensing and essential services like security updates will continue working normally

How to Disable Connected Experiences in Word (For Individual Users)

  • Open Microsoft Word
  • Click File in the upper-left corner
  • Select Options
  • Choose Trust Center from the left-hand panel
  • Click Trust Centre Settings
  • Select Privacy Settings
  • Here make sure the 3 toggles are disabled.
  • Click OK, then OK again to close all dialogues

How to Disable Connected Experiences in Microsoft Word (2025)

These steps will disable both types of Connected Experiences, but core Office functionality like file saving and formatting will still work offline.

How to Disable Connected Experiences for Organisations (Admins Only)

IT administrators can apply organisation-wide settings using Group Policy or the Microsoft 365 Admin Centre.

Using Group Policy:

  • Open the Group Policy Editor and go to:

User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Microsoft Office 2016 > Privacy > Trust Center

  • Set the policy "Allow the use of additional optional connected experiences in Office" to Disabled
  • Using the Microsoft 365 Admin Centre:
  • Go to admin.microsoft.com
  • Select Settings > Org settings > Services
  • Click on Privacy Settings
  • Disable any connected experience options you want to restrict