Enterprise feature control in Windows 11
New features and enhancements are introduced through the monthly cumulative update to provide continuous innovation for Windows 11. To give organizations time to plan and prepare, some of these new features might be:
- Temporarily turned off by default using temporary enterprise feature control
- Controlled by a policy that allows for permanent enterprise feature control
Features that are turned off by default are listed in the KB article for the monthly cumulative update. Typically, a feature is selected to be off by default because it either impacts the user experience or IT administrators significantly. For example, a feature might be turned off by default if it requires a change in user behavior or if it requires IT administrators to take action before the feature can be used.
Temporary enterprise feature control
Features behind temporary enterprise control are automatically disabled for devices that have their Windows updates managed by policies.
Enable features behind temporary enterprise feature control
Features that are behind temporary enterprise control will be enabled when one of the following conditions is met:
- The device installs the annual feature update that enables the new features by default
- The device receives a policy that enables features behind temporary enterprise control
- When the policy is enabled, all features on the device behind temporary control are turned on when the device restarts.
Policy settings for temporary enterprise feature control
You can use a policy to enable features that are behind temporary enterprise feature control. When this policy is enabled, all features that were disabled behind temporary enterprise feature control are turned on when the device reboots. The following policies apply to Windows 11, version 22H2 with KB5022845 and later:
Group Policy: Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update\Manage end user experience\Enable features introduced via servicing that are off by default
CSP: ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/Update/AllowTemporaryEnterpriseFeatureControl
- In the Intune settings catalog, this setting is named Allow Temporary Enterprise Feature Control under the Windows Update for Business category.
Windows 11 features behind temporary enterprise feature control
The following features are behind temporary enterprise control in Windows 11:
| Feature | KB article where the feature was introduced | Feature update that ends temporary control | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Touch-optimized taskbar for 2-in-1 devices | February 28, 2023 - KB5022913 | Feature Update to Windows 11, version 23H2 | |
| Selecting Uninstall for a Win32 app from the right-click menu uses the Installed Apps page in Settings rather than Programs and Features under the Control Panel | September 2023 - KB5030310 | Feature Update to Windows 11, version 23H2 | |
| Windows Spotlight provides a minimized experience, opportunities to learn more about each image, and allows users to preview images at full screen. | September 2023 - KB5030310 | Feature Update to Windows 11, version 23H2 | This feature also has a permanent control: CSP: ./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/Experience/AllowWindowsSpotlight Group Policy: User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Cloud Content\Turn off all Windows spotlight features |
| Copilot in Windows | September 2023 - KB5030310 | Feature Update to Windows 11, version 23H2 | This feature has a permanent control. For more information, see the Windows 11 features with permanent enterprise feature control section. |
| Dev Home | September 2023 - KB5030310 | Feature Update to Windows 11, version 23H2 | Get-AppxPackage -Name Microsoft.Windows.DevHome |
| Dev Drive | September 2023 - KB5030310 | Feature Update to Windows 11, version 23H2 | This feature has multiple permanent controls. For more information, see the Windows 11 features with permanent enterprise feature control section |
Permanent enterprise feature control
New features and enhancements used to be introduced only in feature updates. However, with continuous innovation for Windows 11, new features are introduced more frequently through the monthly cumulative update. Some new features can be controlled through policies that enable you to configure them for your organization. When a feature can be controlled by a policy, it has permanent enterprise feature control.
Windows 11 features with permanent enterprise feature control
The following features introduced through the monthly cumulative updates allow permanent enterprise feature control:
| Feature | KB article where the feature was introduced | Feature enabled by default | CSP and Group Policy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Configure search on the taskbar | February 28, 2023 - KB5022913 | Yes | CSP: ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/Search/ConfigureSearchOnTaskbarMode Group Policy: Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Search\Configures search on the taskbar |
| The Recommended section of the Start Menu displays personalized website recommendations | September 2023 - KB5030310 | No | CSP: ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/Start/HideRecoPersonalizedSites Group Policy: Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Start Menu and Taskbar\Remove Personalized Website Recommendations from the Recommended section in the Start Menu |
| Recommended section added to File Explorer Home for users signed into Windows with an Azure AD account. | September 2023 - KB5030310 | Yes | CSP:./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/FileExplorer/DisableGraphRecentItems Group Policy: Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\File Explorer\Turn off files from Office.com in Quick Access View Note: This control disables additional items beyond the Recommended items. Review the policy before implementing this control. |
| Transfer files to another PC using WiFi direct | September 2023 - KB5030310 | Yes | CSP: ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/Wifi/AllowWiFiDirect |
| Copilot in Windows | September 2023 - KB5030310 | Yes | CSP: ./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/WindowsAI/TurnOffWindowsCopilot Group Policy: User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Copilot\Turn off Windows Copilot |
| Dev Drive | September 2023 - KB5030310 | Yes | CSPs: - ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/FileSystem/EnableDevDrive - ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/FileSystem/DevDriveAttachPolicy Group Policies: - Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\FileSystem\Enable dev drive - Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\FileSystem\Dev drive filter attach policy |