Permission & Access Issues

How to Share SharePoint Sites with External Users Anonymously

Amos Gikunda Oct 12, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user wants to know if it is possible to share a SharePoint site anonymously with users outside their organization.

How to Share SharePoint Sites with External Users Anonymously

Product: SharePoint
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Attempting to grant external collaborators access to a SharePoint site, files, or folders without requiring them to create an account or sign in.
Observed behavior: Anonymous access is not available at the site level; external users generally must authenticate as guests, though individual files may support anonymous links if enabled.

Before you start

Verify that you have Site Owner permissions and check with your IT administrator to ensure external sharing is enabled for your organization's SharePoint environment.

Solution 1Recommended

Invite External Users as Authenticated Guests

Because SharePoint does not support anonymous access at the site level, the standard method to grant full site access to external users is by inviting them as authenticated guests.

To protect organizational data, Microsoft requires external collaborators to be added as Guest Users in Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD). Once added and authenticated, they can browse the shared site.

Request guest access from an administrator

Contact your organization's IT administrator to add the external user's email address as a guest user in the Microsoft Entra admin portal.

User accepts the invitation

The external user will receive an email invitation. They must click the redemption link in the email and sign in to authenticate their identity.

Share the SharePoint site

Navigate to your SharePoint site, click the 'Share' button in the upper-right corner, enter the authenticated guest's email address, select their permission level, and click 'Send'.

Invite External Users as Authenticated Guests

Solution 2

Create Anonymous Links for Specific Files or Folders

While entire sites cannot be shared anonymously, you can create 'Anyone with the link' sharing links for individual documents or folders if your organization allows it.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the 'Anyone with the link' option greyed out in SharePoint?

This occurs when your IT administrator has disabled anonymous sharing for security purposes. Administrators can restrict external sharing at the organizational level or specifically for individual SharePoint sites. You will need to contact them to request a policy change.

Can I share a full SharePoint site without requiring the user to sign in?

No, anonymous access is strictly disabled at the site level in modern SharePoint. To access a full site, external users must be formally invited as guests and sign in using a valid email account.

How do external guests accept a SharePoint invitation?

Once an admin adds the external user to the directory, they receive an automated email invitation. The user must click the 'Accept invitation' link inside the email, sign in using their email provider credentials, and accept the permissions prompt before gaining access to the SharePoint site.

Document & File Issues