en-US office user

Turn off click to IM option

Verified with Microsoft 365/Office 5568.1000 — updated on September 4, 2026

Microsoft 365/Office 5568.1000

Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7

Path in the GPO console

User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Microsoft Office 2016\Contact Card

Description

This policy setting allows you to remove the Instant Messaging (IM) option from the Contact Card and Outlook Ribbon. If you enable this policy setting the Instant Messaging icon does not appear on the Contact Card and Outlook Ribbon. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting the Instant Messaging icon appears on the Contact Card and Outlook Ribbon.

Registry

HKCU software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\common\im

Value name: turnoffclicktoim

Enabled: turnoffclicktoim = 1

Disabled: turnoffclicktoim = 0

Export Builder

BETA

Configure the state, scope and options, then generate .reg, PowerShell, Intune and SCCM outputs — or add the setting to a multi-setting collection.

These exports write the registry — this is not a managed GPO.

.reg file

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

; Exported from gporais.com
; Policy: Turn off click to IM option
; State: Enabled
; Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\common\im]
"turnoffclicktoim"=dword:00000001
More formats (PowerShell, Intune, SCCM)

PowerShell

# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn off click to IM option
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
# Warning: In SYSTEM context (the Intune default), HKCU targets the SYSTEM profile. Run this script using the logged-on credentials.

$path = 'HKCU:\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\common\im'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'turnoffclicktoim' -Value 1 -Type DWord

Building a multi-setting collection? Add this setting and generate combined .reg / PowerShell / GPO scripts.

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