What you need to know
- Microsoft will soon retire the Share Nearby feature from the Office Mobile apps.
- Share Nearby will be removed from the Android version of Office on December 31, 2022.
- Microsoft did not suggest an alternative feature with similar functionality, but there are several other ways to share Office documents.
Microsoft Office for Android will soon lose its Share Nearby feature. The tool, which allows you to share documents with people who are physically close to you, will be retired on December 31, 2022. It will continue to function as it normally does until that cutoff date. After the feature is retired, you'll still have access to any files that were shared through it, but you won't be able to share any additional content.
"We have found that the Share Nearby feature to meet some but not all needs. We will be retiring the Share Nearby feature from the Office app as we evolve to offer the best of Microsoft 365 on mobile. This change will affect users of the Office app on Android and will be effective as of December 31, 2022," explained Microsoft.
The company explained the decision as well, though it was relatively vague.
"We made this decision as we continue to reassess the value our users derive from the Office app, and we aim to offer experiences that are consistent, reliable and allow our users to be productive across their devices. It is in this pursuit of streamlining our solutions that we have decided to sunset this feature."
While the Share Nearby feature will no longer be available for Office on Android, you can share content in several other ways. You can create links or share documents as attachments and then share them through email or other messaging applications.
