diff --git a/httpclient5-cache/src/main/java/org/apache/hc/client5/http/impl/cache/CacheValidityPolicy.java b/httpclient5-cache/src/main/java/org/apache/hc/client5/http/impl/cache/CacheValidityPolicy.java
index 63d941763..f3c99f1a1 100644
--- a/httpclient5-cache/src/main/java/org/apache/hc/client5/http/impl/cache/CacheValidityPolicy.java
+++ b/httpclient5-cache/src/main/java/org/apache/hc/client5/http/impl/cache/CacheValidityPolicy.java
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ class CacheValidityPolicy {
 
     private static final Logger LOG = LoggerFactory.getLogger(CacheValidityPolicy.class);
 
+    private final boolean shared;
     private final boolean useHeuristicCaching;
     private final float heuristicCoefficient;
     private final TimeValue heuristicDefaultLifetime;
@@ -55,6 +56,7 @@ class CacheValidityPolicy {
      */
     CacheValidityPolicy(final CacheConfig config) {
         super();
+        this.shared = config != null ? config.isSharedCache() : CacheConfig.DEFAULT.isSharedCache();
         this.useHeuristicCaching = config != null ? config.isHeuristicCachingEnabled() : CacheConfig.DEFAULT.isHeuristicCachingEnabled();
         this.heuristicCoefficient = config != null ? config.getHeuristicCoefficient() : CacheConfig.DEFAULT.getHeuristicCoefficient();
         this.heuristicDefaultLifetime = config != null ? config.getHeuristicDefaultLifetime() : CacheConfig.DEFAULT.getHeuristicDefaultLifetime();
@@ -87,12 +89,14 @@ public TimeValue getCurrentAge(final HttpCacheEntry entry, final Instant now) {
      */
     public TimeValue getFreshnessLifetime(final ResponseCacheControl responseCacheControl, final HttpCacheEntry entry) {
         // If the cache is shared and the s-maxage response directive is present, use its value
-        final long sharedMaxAge = responseCacheControl.getSharedMaxAge();
-        if (sharedMaxAge > -1) {
-            if (LOG.isDebugEnabled()) {
-                LOG.debug("Using s-maxage directive for freshness lifetime calculation: {} seconds", sharedMaxAge);
+        if (shared) {
+            final long sharedMaxAge = responseCacheControl.getSharedMaxAge();
+            if (sharedMaxAge > -1) {
+                if (LOG.isDebugEnabled()) {
+                    LOG.debug("Using s-maxage directive for freshness lifetime calculation: {} seconds", sharedMaxAge);
+                }
+                return TimeValue.ofSeconds(sharedMaxAge);
             }
-            return TimeValue.ofSeconds(sharedMaxAge);
         }
 
         // If the max-age response directive is present, use its value
diff --git a/httpclient5-cache/src/test/java/org/apache/hc/client5/http/impl/cache/TestCacheValidityPolicy.java b/httpclient5-cache/src/test/java/org/apache/hc/client5/http/impl/cache/TestCacheValidityPolicy.java
index 02cf52fcd..06d4aa7de 100644
--- a/httpclient5-cache/src/test/java/org/apache/hc/client5/http/impl/cache/TestCacheValidityPolicy.java
+++ b/httpclient5-cache/src/test/java/org/apache/hc/client5/http/impl/cache/TestCacheValidityPolicy.java
@@ -152,11 +152,26 @@ protected TimeValue getResidentTime(final HttpCacheEntry ent, final Instant d) {
     public void testFreshnessLifetimeIsSMaxAgeIfPresent() {
         final ResponseCacheControl cacheControl = ResponseCacheControl.builder()
                 .setSharedMaxAge(10)
+                .setMaxAge(5)
                 .build();
         final HttpCacheEntry entry = HttpTestUtils.makeCacheEntry();
         assertEquals(TimeValue.ofSeconds(10), impl.getFreshnessLifetime(cacheControl, entry));
     }
 
+    @Test
+    public void testSMaxAgeIsIgnoredWhenNotShared() {
+        final CacheConfig cacheConfig = CacheConfig.custom()
+                .setSharedCache(false)
+                .build();
+        impl = new CacheValidityPolicy(cacheConfig);
+        final ResponseCacheControl cacheControl = ResponseCacheControl.builder()
+                .setSharedMaxAge(10)
+                .setMaxAge(5)
+                .build();
+        final HttpCacheEntry entry = HttpTestUtils.makeCacheEntry();
+        assertEquals(TimeValue.ofSeconds(5), impl.getFreshnessLifetime(cacheControl, entry));
+    }
+
     @Test
     public void testFreshnessLifetimeIsMaxAgeIfPresent() {
         final ResponseCacheControl cacheControl = ResponseCacheControl.builder()