Permission & Access Issues

How to Restrict External OneDrive Sharing to Read-Only Access

Huma Ashraf Ch Oct 13, 2026 870 views

Question details

The organization needs to enforce read-only permissions for documents shared externally via OneDrive, preventing users from granting edit access.

How to Restrict External OneDrive Sharing to Read-Only Access

Product: OneDrive / SharePoint
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Administrators want to secure external file sharing by enforcing view-only rights organization-wide.
Observed behavior: Users currently have the ability to change sharing permissions to 'Can Edit' when generating external links.

Before you start

You must have SharePoint Administrator or Global Administrator privileges in Microsoft 365 to modify organization-wide sharing policies.

Solution 1Recommended

Configure Sharing Policies in SharePoint Admin Center

Restrict external sharing permissions to read-only by modifying the organization-wide 'Anyone' link settings.

This organization-wide setting limits the maximum permission level that users can grant when sharing files via anonymous 'Anyone' links.

Access SharePoint Admin Center

Navigate to Sharing Policies

In the left-hand navigation pane, expand 'Policies' and click on 'Sharing' to view organization-level settings.

Modify Anyone Link Permissions

Scroll down to the 'Choose the permission that's selected by default for sharing links' section. Under the 'Anyone links' options, set the file and folder permissions to 'View'.

Save Policy Changes

Scroll to the bottom of the page and click 'Save'. This immediately restricts users from choosing the 'Can Edit' option for newly created 'Anyone' external links.

Configure Sharing Policies in SharePoint Admin Center

Review Other Link Types: Users might still see editing options if a different sharing method (like 'Specific people') permits it. Ensure you review other security groups and site-level settings if total restriction is required.

Solution 2

Restrict Sharing at the Site Level

Apply stricter external sharing permissions to specific SharePoint sites or OneDrive accounts if an organization-wide policy is too broad.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I restrict external sharing for specific users instead of the whole organization?

Yes, you can configure external sharing settings on a per-site or per-user basis in the SharePoint admin center, or use Microsoft 365 security groups to limit external sharing capabilities to specific accounts.

What happens to existing 'Anyone' links if I change the policy to View only?

Changing the global sharing policy to View-only generally prevents new Edit links from being created. However, you should audit existing links, as previously generated links might retain edit access depending on your tenant's specific configuration.

Why can users still see the 'Can Edit' option after I updated the sharing policy?

This usually happens if the users are selecting a different link type, such as 'Specific people' or 'People in your organization', which may still allow edit permissions by default. The View-only restriction must be applied to those specific sharing methods as well.

Document & File Issues