Permission & Access Issues

How to Stop Shared Folder Users from Accessing Specific Subfolders

John Wilson Oct 12, 2026 870 views

Question details

The user needs to prevent specific individuals who have access to a shared parent folder from opening or viewing certain subfolders within it.

How to Restrict User Access to Subfolders in a Shared Parent Folder

Product: Cloud File Sharing
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Sharing a main directory with a team or client while keeping sensitive subdirectories restricted and private.
Observed behavior: Sharing a parent folder automatically grants users access to all nested files and subfolders due to default permission inheritance.

Before you start

Ensure you have owner or administrator permissions for the folders you are modifying, as standard editing rights may not allow you to change advanced inheritance settings.

Solution 1Recommended

Disable Subfolder Inheritance and Re-share the Parent Folder

To restrict access, you must first break permission inheritance on the targeted subfolders to remove the user's access, and then adjust the parent folder's sharing options so unique permissions are not overwritten.

By default, subfolders inherit permissions from their parent folder. To block a user from a specific subfolder, you must stop this inheritance before you apply sharing settings to the parent directory.

Stop inheriting permissions on the subfolder

Navigate to the specific subfolder you want to restrict. Right-click the subfolder, select 'Manage access', open the 'Advanced settings' menu, and click on 'Stop inheriting permissions'.

Remove the user's access

While still in the subfolder's Advanced settings, select the specific user or group you want to restrict and completely remove their permissions from this subfolder.

Share the parent folder safely

Go back to the parent folder. Right-click it, select 'Manage access', and navigate to 'Advanced'. Grant permission to the user, but click 'Show options' and uncheck the box labeled 'Share everything in this folder, even files with unique permissions'.

Disable Subfolder Inheritance and Re-share the Parent Folder

Order of Operations: It is critical to remove the user's permissions from the subfolders first. If you share the parent folder with 'Share everything' enabled, it will overwrite the unique restrictions you just applied.

Secure Team Collaboration

Manage Folder Permissions Easily with WPS Cloud

WPS Office features an integrated Cloud Workspace that simplifies file sharing and permission management. You can effortlessly share parent folders with your team while maintaining strict, customizable access controls on specific subfolders to protect your sensitive documents.

1. Access WPS Cloud: Open WPS Office and click on 'WPS Cloud' from the left-hand navigation pane to view your workspace.
2. Share the parent folder: Right-click the main folder you want to distribute, select 'Share', and invite collaborators with standard viewing or editing rights.
3. Customize subfolder permissions: Locate the sensitive subfolder, right-click it, and choose 'Permission Settings' to override the default access.
4. Restrict user access: In the permission panel, designate exactly which users are permitted to open or edit the subfolder, keeping unauthorized users locked out.

Fine-grained permission controls for folders and individual filesFully compatible with Microsoft Office formats (DOCX, XLSX, PPTX)Seamless real-time document collaboration and cloud synchronizationLightweight, intuitive interface across Windows, Mac, and mobile

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do users automatically get access to my subfolders?

Most file systems and cloud storage platforms use a feature called 'permission inheritance'. This means any access rights granted at the parent folder level automatically trickle down to all nested files and subfolders unless explicitly stopped.

What happens if I leave 'Share everything in this folder' checked?

Leaving this option checked forces the system to apply the parent folder's permissions to all contents inside it, overwriting any unique restrictions you might have placed on individual subfolders or files.

Will the restricted user know they have been blocked from a subfolder?

Typically, when a user's permissions are removed from a subfolder, that subfolder simply disappears from their view, or they will receive an 'Access Denied' error if they try to click a direct link to it.

Document & File Issues