Understanding Presence Sensing in Windows 11: A Complete Guide on Usage and Features

Understanding Presence Sensing

Presence Sensing is a feature set available in Windows 11 (version 23H2 and later) that enables the operating system to recognize your physical presence in relation to your computer.

When you step away from your desk with compatible hardware enabled with this feature, your device can automatically shut off the display. As you return, it can instantly reactivate the screen. Additionally, the system can determine when you’re not facing the display, reducing its brightness accordingly, and brightening it back up when you look at it again. This smart technology is designed to enhance security, conserve battery life, and streamline your workflow.

Which Devices are Compatible with Presence Sensing?

This functionality is exclusively found on select devices since it necessitates specialized components, such as infrared cameras or radar sensors, to detect when someone is nearby or has left the area.

Typically, you can find Presence Sensing on high-end devices and Copilot+ PCs. The specific features available to you will depend on the sensors that your computer is equipped with. If your device lacks compatible presence sensors, options related to this feature will not appear in the Settings menu.

This guide will walk you through the steps of adjusting the Presence Sensing settings on Windows 11.

• Adjust Presence Sensing settings on Windows 11
• Modify Presence Sensing privacy on Windows 11

Adjusting Presence Sensing in Windows 11

To modify the Presence Sensing settings on your Windows 11 device, follow these steps:

1. Access the Settings menu in Windows 11.

2. Select System.

3. Navigate to the Power & battery tab.

4. Locate the “Screen, sleep, & hibernate timeouts” setting.

5. Activate the “Turn off my screen when I leave” toggle to enable automatic screen shut-off when you step away.

   

6. Enable the “Wake up my device when I approach” toggle to allow the system to turn the display back on when it detects you.

7. Toggle on “Dim my screen when I look away” to allow the OS to reduce display brightness when you’re not focused on the screen

8. Select any of the settings from steps 5, 6, or 7 to open the Presence Sensing settings page.

9. Click on the “Turn off my screen when I leave” option.

   

10. Select the distance in feet for the system to recognize when you’re away in the “Consider me gone when I’m this far away” setting.

11. Decide how long thesystem should wait before turning off the screen after you step away in the “Then, turn off my screen after this amount of time” setting.

    Important: When the display is turned off, the device will also lock, requiring you to sign in to resume your session.

12. Check the “Turn off my screen when I leave while an external display is connected” option if relevant.

13. Click the “Wake my device when I approach” setting.

14. Specify the number of feet required to trigger the computer to wake when you approach under the “Wake my device when I’m this close” setting.

15. Check the “Wake my device when I approach while an external display is connected” option if applicable.

16. Access the “Dim my screen when I look away” setting.

    

17. Check the “Dim my screen when I look away while an external display is connected” option if applicable.

Upon completing these steps, your system will manage desktop access, screen, and sleep settings according to your preferences.

Modifying Presence Sensing Privacy Settings in Windows 11

To control which applications can utilize the presence sensors in Windows 11 23H2, follow these directions:

1. Open the Settings app.

2. Select Privacy & security.

3. Click on the Presence Sensing section.

4. Toggle the “Presence Sensing access” switch on (or off) as needed.

   

5. Toggle the “Let apps access Presence Sensing” switch on (or off) as necessary.

6. Select individual apps and determine whether they should be able to access the Presence Sensing sensors.

7. Toggle the “Let desktop apps access Presence Sensing” option to grant or restrict desktop applications’ access to the sensors.

After following these steps, only the apps you have permitted will have access to the Presence Sensing sensors in Windows 11.

How to Verify if Your Computer Supports Presence Sensing

You can check if your computer is equipped with a “Human Presence Sensor” by opening the Device Manager and navigating to Sensors. On Qualcomm Snapdragon devices, it will be listed as a “Qualcomm Human Presence Sensor.”

If you cannot locate the previously mentioned settings, it is likely that your device does not support this feature.

Author: Egor Kostenko

My goal is to make complex technical topics simple and accessible. On this site, I gather unique and useful content that not only solves users’ problems but also helps them better understand the capabilities of Windows.