Permission & Access Issues

How to Remove a SharePoint User Who Still Sees an Empty Document Library

Camila Milosovich Oct 10, 2026 870 views

Question details

A user needs to completely remove a user's visibility of an empty SharePoint document library after document sharing has been stopped.

How to Remove a SharePoint User Who Still Sees an Empty Document Library

Product: Microsoft SharePoint
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Document sharing is stopped, but the user retains Limited Access and can still see the empty library structure.
Observed behavior: The user without site access can still see the empty SharePoint document library, and Limited Access persists in the permissions list even after several days.

Before you start

Ensure you have Site Owner or Site Collection Administrator privileges in SharePoint before attempting to modify advanced site permissions.

Solution 1Recommended

Delete the User from the Site Collection Directory

Manually remove the user from the hidden People and Groups directory to clear lingering Limited Access permissions.

SharePoint sometimes retains Limited Access permissions at the site level. To fix this, you need to access the hidden all-users list by modifying the SharePoint URL.

Access advanced permission settings

Open your SharePoint site and navigate to Settings, then click on Site permissions, and select Advanced permission settings.

Open the site Members group

Click to open the default Members group for your site to view its current members.

Modify the URL to access the hidden directory

In your browser's address bar, locate the 'MembershipGroupId' number at the end of the URL (e.g., 5). Change this value to 0 and press Enter.

Delete the user

On the People and Groups page that appears, select the problematic user. Click the Actions menu and select 'Delete this user from the site collection'.

Impact on Internal Users: If the issue affects internal users across multiple document libraries, deleting them from the site collection will remove their access to the entire site. Use caution if they require access to other site resources.

Solution 2

Contact Microsoft 365 Support with HAR Logs

If the user is not listed in the directory or the issue persists, escalate the issue to Microsoft Support with diagnostic logs.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the document library stay visible after sharing is stopped?

This usually occurs when 'Limited Access' permissions remain cached or active at the site level, which grants the user visibility of the library structure even though they no longer have item-level access.

How do I access the hidden People and Groups page in SharePoint?

You can access this complete directory by navigating to any site group's permission page and manually changing the 'MembershipGroupId' value in the URL address bar to 0.

Is there an automated tool to diagnose SharePoint permission issues?

No, there is currently no public diagnostic tool available from Microsoft for this specific 'Limited Access' caching issue. Deep investigation requires generating HAR logs and contacting Microsoft 365 support.

Document & File Issues