If you’re building a clean, professional SharePoint Online site—like an intranet or documentation hub—you might want to remove the Social Bar that appears at the bottom of modern pages. It includes likes, views, comments, and a “Save for later” button.

Here’s how to turn it off, plus a few common mistakes to avoid along the way.

What Is the Social Bar?

The Social Bar is the strip at the bottom of modern SharePoint pages that shows:

• 👍 Like button
• 👁️ View count
• 💬 Comments
• 📌 Save for later

It’s designed to boost engagement, but not every site needs it.

Why Disable It?

You might want to remove the Social Bar if:

• You’re building a read-only site (like HR policies or documentation)
• You want a cleaner, more focused layout
• You’re aiming for branding consistency
• You want to reduce distractions

How to Disable the Social Bar

You’ll need PnP PowerShell and SharePoint admin access.

Option 1: For a Single Site

$SiteURL = "https://yourtenant.sharepoint.com/sites/yoursite"

Connect-PnPOnline -Url $SiteURL -Interactive

Set-PnPSite -Identity $SiteURL -SocialBarOnSitePagesDisabled $true

Option 2: For the Entire Tenant

Connect-PnPOnline -Url "https://yourtenant-admin.sharepoint.com" -Interactive

Set-PnPTenant -SocialBarOnSitePagesDisabled $true

Note: Tenant-wide changes may take time to apply across all sites.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Here are a few things that can trip people up:

1. Forgetting to Use the Admin Center URL

When applying changes tenant-wide, make sure you’re connecting to the admin center URL (e.g., https://yourtenant-admin.sharepoint.com), not just a regular site.

2. Not Using the Latest PnP PowerShell

Older versions of PnP PowerShell may not support the -SocialBarOnSitePagesDisabled parameter. Always update first:

3. Missing Permissions

You need to be a SharePoint Administrator to run these commands. Site Owners won’t have the necessary access.

4. Expecting Instant Results

Changes—especially tenant-wide—can take a while to show up. Be patient and give it some time to propagate.

5. Assuming It Affects Classic Pages

This setting only applies to modern pages. Classic pages don’t have the Social Bar, so this won’t affect them.

Disabling the Social Bar is a quick way to streamline your SharePoint Online pages. Whether you’re building a formal intranet or a focused knowledge base, removing unnecessary social features can help users stay on task and keep your layout clean.