In our earlier post, we saw how you could remove the Send feedback button from the Microsoft Edge browser. Likewise, you can also choose to hide or remove the Share button in Microsoft Edge on Windows 11/10. Removing or hiding the Share button doesn’t mean you can’t use it. You can use the right-click context menu on a webpage to use the Share option of Microsoft Edge.
Where is the Share button on Microsoft Edge?
The Share button (if turned on) is visible on the toolbar of the Microsoft Edge browser. It is visible on the top right corner of the Edge browser to help you easily share a webpage with different platforms. Apart from using the Share button, you can also use the Share option present under the More tools section (in Settings and more) to share a webpage.
Show or hide Share button in Edge browser
In the toolbar of the Edge browser, in addition to the Collections, Feedback, Favorites, Split screen button, etc., you can show a ‘Share’ button. With this dedicated button in the Microsoft Edge browser, you can share a web page URL link via Facebook, WhatsApp, etc., or copy the link to the clipboard. However, if you don’t find it that useful, you can remove it from the browser toolbar in Windows 11/10 using any one of the following ways:
- Remove the Share Button directly from the Toolbar
- Hide Share Button via Microsoft Edge Settings
- Remove the Share Button from the Microsoft Edge Settings menu
- Disable the Share button using the Group Policy Editor
- Disable the Share button using the Registry Editor.
Let’s cover the above options in detail.
1] Remove the Share Button directly from the Toolbar
Open Microsoft Edge.
There, adjacent to the URL field, look for the ‘Share button’ in the toolbar. When found, click it and choose ‘Hide from toolbar’. (see screenshot below)
2] Hide Share Button via Microsoft Edge Settings
Launch the Microsoft Edge browser.
Go to the ‘Settings and more’ option (visible as 3 horizontal dots) and select ‘Settings’
Now, when the ‘Settings’ section opens, click/tap on ‘Appearance’.
Under the ‘Customize toolbar’ section, you’ll find the ‘Share button’ option.
The button is disabled by default. To enable it, toggle the switch to the ‘On’ position.
3] Remove the Share Button from the Microsoft Edge Settings menu
Open Microsoft Edge and go to the ‘Settings and more’ menu. Alternatively, you can press the Alt+F key to go to the same option.
Now, right-click ‘Share’, and select ‘Hide from toolbar’ or ‘Show in toolbar’ depending on your preferences.
Note: This option is no longer available. Instead, you can use the other options covered in this post.
4] Disable the Share button using the Group Policy Editor
This is a powerful option as it removes the Share button from the Microsoft Edge toolbar as well as completely disables it (including the right-click option). So, you won’t be able to use the Share option at all unless you undo the changes. Before using this option, you need to download and install Group Policy templates for Microsoft Edge. After that, follow these steps:
- Type gpedit.msc in the Search box and hit Enter to open the Group Policy Editor
- Navigate to the following path:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Classic Administrative Templates (ADM) > Microsoft Edge
- Double-click on the Configure the Share experience setting in the right section
- In the new window, select the Enable option
- Use the drop-down menu available in the left-middle section and select Don’t allow using the Share experience option
- Press the Apply and OK buttons.
Relaunch the Edge browser (if opened) and you will notice that the Share button is gone from the toolbar and other available Share options are greyed out or disabled.
To undo the changes or enable using the Share option in the Edge browser, repeat the above steps and access the Configure the Share experience setting. Select the Not Configured option and press the OK button.
5] Disable the Share button using the Registry Editor
This option uses the same Share experience setting that is present in the Group Policy Editor (covered above). Hence, it also removes the Share button from the toolbar of Microsoft Edge and disables the Share option. You can also undo the changes anytime. Here are the steps:
- Open the Run Command (Win+R) box
- Type regedit in the text field and press Enter
- In the Registry Editor window, access the Edge key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge
- Under the Edge key, create a DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name it ConfigureShare
- Double-click on that value to open the Edit String box
- Put 1 in the Value data field and press OK.
Open the Edge browser and the Share button will be removed.
To Show or enable the Share button in Microsoft Edge again, follow the steps covered above, and delete the ConfigureShare value.
I hope this helps.
Read: How to share a web page URL using Microsoft Edge browser
How do I hide the Sidebar button in Microsoft Edge?
By default, the sidebar in Microsoft Edge is always visible. But, if you want to hide it, it can be done by accessing the Sidebar settings. For that, press Alt+F4, and select the Settings option. In the Settings window, access the Sidebar category. Under the Customize sidebar section, use the Always show sidebar toggle to hide the sidebar.
Read next: How to disable Copilot with Bing Chat button in Edge.
