Overview
The Apple Application and Service Control Policy controls Continuity and network discovery features on managed Apple devices. You can turn off:
Handoff, which continues an activity from one Apple device on another
Universal Control, which lets one keyboard and pointer work across a nearby Mac and iPad
AirPlay Receiver, so other devices can't AirPlay to the Mac
Siri
Bonjour advertising, so the Mac doesn't announce its services on the local network
A new policy with no changes doesn't restrict anything.
Supported platforms and requirements
Item | Details |
Platforms | macOS, iOS, iPadOS |
Minimum OS | macOS 10.12, iOS 5, iPadOS 5 (each setting has its own minimum; see the table) |
Device ownership | Company-owned devices |
Supervision | Not required |
User Enrollment (BYOD) | Not supported for Handoff, Universal Control, AirPlay Receiver, or Siri on macOS. |
Settings reference
Setting | What it does when turned off | Default | Platforms and minimum OS |
Allow Handoff | Turns off Handoff, so users can't continue activities between their Apple devices. | Not set | macOS 10.15, iOS/iPadOS 8.0 |
Allow Universal Control | Turns off Universal Control. | On | macOS 13 |
Allow AirPlay Receiver | Other devices can't use the Mac as an AirPlay Receiver. | On | macOS 12.3 |
Allow Siri | Turns off Siri. | Not set | macOS 14, iOS/iPadOS 5.0 |
Not set means Swif doesn't send the setting, so the feature stays available.
Setting | What it does when turned on | Default | Platforms and minimum OS |
Disable Bonjour Advertising | Stops the Mac from advertising its own Bonjour services, such as shared folders, screens, and printers, on the local network. Takes effect after the Mac restarts. | Not set | macOS 12 |
About Handoff
Apple has deprecated the Handoff restriction on unsupervised devices and for Managed Apple Accounts. Apple says it will eventually require supervision and apply only to personal Apple Accounts. It still works on unsupervised devices for now.
About Siri
Apple deprecated the Siri restriction in OS 26.4 and recommends declarative Siri settings instead. Allow Siri still works on OS 26.4 and later, but Apple may remove it in a future release.
About Bonjour advertising
Disable Bonjour Advertising stops the Mac from announcing its services. It doesn't stop the Mac from finding other devices, so users can still discover and use network printers and AirPlay displays.
It does mean other devices can't automatically discover services the Mac offers, such as a shared printer, File Sharing, or Screen Sharing. Users would have to connect by address instead. Apple says the change takes effect after a restart.
Using this policy with other Swif policies
To control which AirPlay destinations a device can send to, use the Apple AirPlay Policy. This policy only controls whether a Mac can receive AirPlay.
Before you start
Decide which features users need. Handoff and Universal Control are common productivity features.
Check whether any Mac shares services on the network before you turn on Disable Bonjour Advertising.
Plan a restart for Macs that get Disable Bonjour Advertising.
Check for overlapping policies that set the same restrictions.
Create the policy
In Swif, go to Device Management > Policies > New Policy.
Select Apple Application and Service Control Policy.
Enter a clear name, such as
Continuity & Services – Restricted.Set the features you want to control.
Save the policy.
Assign it to a device group.
Restart Macs that receive Disable Bonjour Advertising.
Test on a few devices before a wider rollout.
Example configurations
Example 1: Company Macs on shared office networks
Setting | Value |
Allow AirPlay Receiver | Off |
Disable Bonjour Advertising | On |
All other settings | Defaults |
Other people on the network can't AirPlay to these Macs or see their services advertised.
Example 2: Macs handling regulated data
Setting | Value |
Allow Handoff | Off |
Allow Universal Control | Off |
Allow AirPlay Receiver | Off |
Allow Siri | Off |
Content can't move to personal devices through Continuity, and Siri is unavailable.
Example 3: Company iPhones without Siri
Setting | Value |
Allow Siri | Off |
All other settings | Defaults |
Verify the policy
Mac
Open System Settings > General > Device Management and open the Swif profile. Confirm that it includes the restrictions.
Check each restricted feature:
Handoff and AirPlay Receiver: in System Settings > General > AirDrop & Handoff, the options should be unavailable.
Siri: Siri should be unavailable in System Settings.
If Disable Bonjour Advertising is on, restart the Mac. From another Mac on the same network, confirm that this Mac's shared services, such as File Sharing, no longer appear automatically in the Finder sidebar.
iPhone or iPad
Go to Settings > General > VPN & Device Management, open the Swif profile, and confirm that it lists Restrictions.
If Allow Siri is off, confirm that Siri is unavailable in Settings.
In Swif, open the device and confirm that the policy shows as applied.
Troubleshooting
Handoff still works on an iPhone
Check that the device runs iOS 8 or later.
Check that no other policy turns Handoff on.
Universal Control or AirPlay Receiver still works on a Mac
Check that the Mac runs macOS 13 or later for Universal Control, or macOS 12.3 or later for AirPlay Receiver.
Siri is still available on a Mac
Check that the Mac runs macOS 14 or later.
Bonjour advertising hasn't stopped
Restart the Mac. The setting takes effect only after a restart.
Other devices can't find a printer or folder shared by the Mac
This is expected when Disable Bonjour Advertising is on. Connect to the Mac by its IP address or host name, or turn Disable Bonjour Advertising off for that Mac.
The Mac can't find network printers
Disable Bonjour Advertising doesn't stop the Mac from finding other devices. Check the printer and network instead.
Related resources
Swif
Apple