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Fix "Anyone with the Link" Disabled in SharePoint and OneDrive
Question details
Users are unable to share files or folders using the "Anyone with the link" option in SharePoint and OneDrive, even when external sharing appears to be enabled.
- Product
- SharePoint and OneDrive
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Attempting to generate an anonymous sharing link for an external user to access a file or folder.
- Observed behavior
- The "Anyone with the link" option is greyed out or completely disabled in the sharing dialog, preventing anonymous external sharing.
Ensure you have SharePoint Administrator or Global Administrator privileges in your Microsoft 365 tenant, as resolving this requires accessing tenant-level policies and security group settings.
Update Security Group "Can share with" Settings
Use this solution if your organization limits external sharing to specific security groups, which often restricts sharing permissions to authenticated users only.
Even when tenant-level sharing allows "Anyone" links, restricting external sharing to a specific security group can override these settings if the group's permissions are too strict. Changing the group's sharing scope resolves the conflict.
Log in to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center with administrator credentials and navigate to the SharePoint Admin Center.
In the left-hand navigation pane, click on 'Policies' and then select 'Sharing'.
Locate the 'Limit external sharing to specific security groups' setting. Click 'Manage security groups'.
Find the security group you are a member of. Change the 'Can share with' dropdown option from 'Authenticated guests' or 'Authenticated users' to 'Anyone'.
Click 'Save' to apply the changes. It may take a few minutes for the new permissions to propagate across your tenant.
Verify Tenant and Site-Level Sharing Policies
Check this if you are not using security groups but the "Anyone" link is still disabled across the entire tenant or a specific site.
Deactivate Limited-Access User Permission Lockdown Mode
Apply this solution if the "Anyone with the link" option works for individual files but is disabled specifically for folders.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the "Anyone" sharing link disabled by default in my tenant?
Microsoft 365 often restricts external sharing to 'Authenticated users' or disables it entirely by default to prevent accidental data leaks and ensure strict security compliance within organizations.
Does enabling "Anyone" links pose a security risk?
Yes, it can. Because "Anyone" links can be forwarded and used by unauthenticated users, anyone with the URL can access the files. To mitigate this, administrators can enforce link expiration dates or set them to view-only.
Can I set an expiration date for anonymous sharing links?
Yes. In the SharePoint Admin Center under Policies > Sharing, you can enforce a mandatory expiration time (e.g., 30 days) for all "Anyone" links generated by users in your tenant.
Why can I share files but not folders with "Anyone"?
This usually happens when the 'Limited-access user permission lockdown mode' is active in your Site Collection Features. Deactivating this feature restores the ability to share folders anonymously.
