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How to Set OneDrive Personal Sharing Links to Can View by Default
Question details
The user wants to configure OneDrive Personal so that all new sharing links default to 'view-only' access instead of 'editable' for enhanced security and convenience.
- Product
- OneDrive Personal
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Creating and distributing sharing links for files or folders stored in a personal OneDrive account.
- Observed behavior
- OneDrive Personal currently defaults all new sharing links to 'Can edit', requiring the user to manually change the permission to 'Can view' for every single link created.
Confirm that you are using a OneDrive Personal account, as OneDrive for Business includes organizational settings that allow administrators to change the default sharing link permissions globally.
Manually Change Link Permissions to 'Can View'
Because OneDrive Personal does not support changing the default sharing permission globally, you must adjust the settings manually each time you share a file.
By design, Microsoft sets the default sharing permission for personal OneDrive accounts to 'Editable' to encourage collaboration. To ensure your documents remain unaltered, you will need to modify the link settings before copying or sending them to recipients.
Open your OneDrive Personal account, locate the file or folder you wish to share, right-click on it, and select the 'Share' option from the context menu.
In the sharing dialogue box that appears, click on the current permission button, which typically displays 'Anyone with the link can edit'.
Under the permission settings, select 'Can view' or uncheck the 'Allow editing' box, depending on your device interface. Click 'Apply' to save the changes for this specific link.
Click 'Copy link' to copy the secure URL to your clipboard, or enter the recipient's email address to send the view-only link directly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I change the default sharing link permission in OneDrive for Business?
Yes. Unlike OneDrive Personal, OneDrive for Business allows IT administrators to configure the default sharing link permissions to 'View' for the entire organization via the SharePoint admin center.
Why does Microsoft set OneDrive Personal links to 'Can edit' by default?
Microsoft designed personal OneDrive sharing with active collaboration in mind. The default assumption is that personal users sharing files typically want to co-author or edit documents together.
Does changing a link to 'Can view' prevent users from downloading my file?
No. Selecting 'Can view' only stops recipients from modifying the original file in your cloud storage. If you want to prevent them from saving a local copy, you must explicitly enable the 'Block download' option in the link settings.
