Key Takeaways
PhantomOfEarth found a hidden sharing feature in the latest Windows 11 beta update. Microsoft hides fully functional features to focus on other aspects in beta builds. To try the new feature, use the Vivetool command in the Windows 11 Beta build, but expect bugs.
If you're not familiar with PhantomOfEarth on X (formerly Twitter), you will be soon enough. This digital sleuth is always hot on the heels of Windows Beta branches and digs through the files to locate any hidden features that haven't been enabled yet. Now, they're back again with a new Windows 11 feature that's posed to make sharing files a lot easier.
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The Windows 11 beta update has a hidden share feature
Once again, we have the excellent PhantomOfEarth to thank for this discovery. Phantom has been digging through the latest Windows 11 Beta update, which received a pretty average update on the grand scale of things. However, the most exciting tweak wasn't even announced in Microsoft's blog post, as Phantom managed to find it hidden away within the operating system. When enabled, you can share an app's recent files directly from the taskbar.
So, why is Microsoft hiding this cool feature? It's not some weird conspiracy; in fact, Microsoft is always hiding fully functional features in the beta builds. The idea is that, while the feature does work, Microsoft doesn't want people using it right now. This may be because the company wants testers to focus on other features, or the tool just isn't 100% ready to be announced.
If you want to give this feature a try, grab the Windows 11 Beta build and use the Vivetool command Phantom mentioned in the post above. Just remember that the feature isn't supposed to be visible right now, so don't be too upset if it bugs our or straight up doesn't work.