Permission & Access Issues

How to Remove the Everyone Claim from a SharePoint Site

Huda Qurayshi Oct 9, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to remove or hide the "Everyone" or "Everyone except external users" claim from SharePoint sites to prevent overly broad access permissions.

How to Remove or Hide the Everyone Claim in SharePoint

Product: SharePoint Online and SharePoint Server
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Managing tenant and site permissions to restrict broad access granted by default SharePoint claims.
Observed behavior: The "Everyone except external users" claim is automatically provisioned and simplifies access, but grants broad internal access that must be manually or programmatically removed.

Before you start

Before making tenant-wide changes or running automation scripts, audit your SharePoint environment to ensure no critical resources or legacy workflows rely exclusively on the Everyone claim for access.

Solution 1Recommended

Hide the Claim Tenant-Wide Using PowerShell

Use the SharePoint Online Management Shell to hide the claim across your entire tenant, preventing users from assigning it in the future.

The 'Everyone except external users' claim is provisioned automatically. Hiding it tenant-wide stops users from finding and selecting it in the People Picker going forward. However, it does not retroactively remove the claim from sites where it has already been applied.

Open Management Shell

Download and launch the SharePoint Online Management Shell as an administrator on your computer.

Connect to SharePoint Admin

Run the command Connect-SPOService -Url https://yourtenant-admin.sharepoint.com and authenticate using your global administrator or SharePoint administrator credentials.

Execute the Hide Command

Type Set-SPOTenant -ShowEveryoneExceptExternalUsersClaim $false and press Enter to hide the claim globally across your Microsoft 365 tenant.

Hide the Claim Tenant-Wide Using PowerShell

Scope of Action: This command applies to the entire tenant. To fully secure existing sites, you must still remove the claim from them individually.

Solution 2

Remove Claims from Individual Sites via Automation

Use an automated process like Microsoft Graph APIs or PowerShell scripting to clean up the claim from existing SharePoint sites.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I manually delete the Everyone claim from a single SharePoint site?

Yes. Site owners can manually remove it by navigating to Site Settings > Site Permissions, selecting the claim within the permission group, and clicking 'Remove User from Group'. However, for dozens of sites, automation is heavily recommended.

Does hiding the Everyone claim delete it from existing groups?

No. Running the Set-SPOTenant command only hides the claim from the People Picker for future assignments. It remains fully active and functional on any sites where it was previously granted.

What is the difference between the 'Everyone' and 'Everyone except external users' claims?

The 'Everyone' claim includes all authenticated users, which can include guests and external partners in your directory. The 'Everyone except external users' claim restricts access exclusively to internal members of your organization.

Document & File Issues