Sharing files without sharing too much

The three kinds of link

When you share from OneDrive or SharePoint, the sharing box offers different types of link:

• Anyone with the link. No sign-in needed. Anyone who gets the link, including someone it is forwarded to, can open the file.
• People in your organization. Anyone signed in with a work account in your business.
• Specific people. Only the people you name, who have to prove who they are.

“Anyone” links are convenient, which is why they get used for everything. They are also how files end up in places nobody intended.

Good habits

• Use “Specific people” for anything sensitive: contracts, payroll, client data, financials.
• Set an expiration date on links for outside people when the option is offered.
• Choose “Can view” unless they need to edit.
• Review what you have shared. OneDrive’s “Manage access” shows everyone who can open a file.
• Share the link, not a copy. An attachment can never be taken back. A link can be turned off.

For the business as a whole

Defaults matter more than training. Microsoft 365 lets your administrator choose which link type is offered first and whether “Anyone” links are allowed at all.