How to Disable Sharing Notifications in Word

When you collaborate on a document, Word displays notifications when co-authors join, leave, or make changes. These notifications appear as banner alerts at the top of the document window and as pop-up messages in the status bar. For users working on a single document for long periods, these interruptions can break focus and reduce productivity. This article explains how to disable sharing notifications in Word for desktop and for Word for the web.

What Are Sharing Notifications in Word

Sharing notifications are real-time alerts that Word generates when multiple people edit the same document. In Word desktop, these include banner notifications at the top of the window that say “[Name] is editing this document” and status bar messages that show the number of active editors. In Word for the web, presence flags appear as colored circles next to paragraphs being edited by other people.

These notifications rely on the AutoSave feature and the co-authoring infrastructure built into Microsoft 365. When AutoSave is enabled and the document is stored in OneDrive or SharePoint, Word communicates with the server every few seconds to check for changes by other editors. The notifications are generated locally by the Word client based on these server updates.

To disable these notifications, you must change settings in Word desktop or Word for the web. The settings are independent, so changing one does not affect the other. You also need to consider whether you want to stop all notifications or only specific types such as presence flags or banner alerts.

Steps to Disable Sharing Notifications in Word Desktop

Word desktop has two separate settings that control sharing notifications. The first setting controls banner alerts and status bar messages. The second setting controls presence flags that appear next to paragraphs. Both settings are available in the Options dialog.

Disable Banner and Status Bar Notifications

1. Open Word Options
   Click the File tab, then click Options at the bottom of the left pane. The Word Options dialog opens.
2. Go to the General tab
   In the Word Options dialog, click General in the left navigation list.
3. Locate the sharing notifications setting
   Scroll down to the Microsoft 365 Copilot and collaboration section. You will see a checkbox labeled Show all sharing notifications.
4. Uncheck the checkbox
   Clear the check mark next to Show all sharing notifications. This stops Word from displaying banner alerts and status bar messages when co-authors join or edit the document.
5. Apply the change
   Click OK at the bottom of the dialog. The setting takes effect immediately. You do not need to restart Word.

Disable Presence Flags for Co-Authoring

Presence flags are colored circles that appear in the left margin of the document next to paragraphs being edited by other users. These flags also show the name of the editor when you hover over them. To disable presence flags:

1. Open Word Options
   Click File > Options.
2. Go to the Advanced tab
   In the Word Options dialog, click Advanced in the left navigation list.
3. Find the Display section
   Scroll down to the Display section. The exact location is about halfway down the list of options.
4. Uncheck the presence flags setting
   Clear the check mark next to Show presence flags for co-authoring.
5. Confirm the change
   Click OK. Presence flags disappear from the document immediately.

Steps to Disable Sharing Notifications in Word for the Web

Word for the web has a single setting that controls co-author presence indicators. This setting does not affect the ability to co-edit, only the visual indicators.

1. Open the document in Word for the web
   Navigate to OneDrive or SharePoint and open the document in the browser.
2. Open the settings menu
   Click the Settings gear icon in the upper-right corner of the window. A drop-down menu appears.
3. Go to Viewing settings
   In the settings menu, click Viewing. This opens the Viewing options panel.
4. Toggle off Show presence
   Find the Show presence toggle switch. Click it to turn it off. The toggle changes from blue to gray.
5. Close the settings panel
   Click the X in the upper-right corner of the panel. The change saves automatically.

If You Still See Notifications After Disabling Them

Banner Notifications Appear Despite Disabling the Setting

If you still see banner notifications after unchecking Show all sharing notifications, the document might be in a co-authoring session that started before you changed the setting. Close the document and reopen it. The notifications should stop. If they persist, verify that the setting is saved by reopening Word Options and checking the checkbox state.

Presence Flags Do Not Disappear

Presence flags may remain visible for a few seconds after you change the setting because Word caches the co-authoring data. Wait 10 seconds. If the flags do not disappear, restart Word. The setting in the Advanced tab must be unchecked for both the current document and any new documents you open.

Notifications Return After a Word Update

Microsoft occasionally resets some settings during feature updates. After a major Word update, check the two checkbox settings again. You may need to reapply your preferences. This happens most often when Word receives a version upgrade from Microsoft 365.

Word Desktop vs Word for the Web: Sharing Notification Settings

Item	Word Desktop	Word for the Web
Banner alerts	Controlled by File > Options > General > Show all sharing notifications	Not available in the browser version
Status bar messages	Controlled by Show all sharing notifications	Not available in the browser version
Presence flags next to paragraphs	Controlled by File > Options > Advanced > Display > Show presence flags for co-authoring	Controlled by Settings gear > Viewing > Show presence toggle
Notification about new comments	Not affected by these settings	Not affected by these settings

You can now work in a shared document without seeing co-author notifications. For a completely interruption-free experience, also turn off AutoSave temporarily by clicking the AutoSave toggle in the title bar. Keep in mind that turning off AutoSave prevents other editors from seeing your changes until you save manually. The settings described here apply only to the Word application you are currently using, so repeat the steps on each device where you want to suppress notifications.