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How to Hide Users from the SharePoint Online People Picker

Aamir Naveed Akram Sep 27, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user is trying to find a way to prevent specific individuals from appearing in the standard SharePoint Online People Picker.

How to Hide Users from the SharePoint Online People Picker

Product: SharePoint Online
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Administrators or site owners are trying to restrict certain users from being selectable when sharing documents or assigning site permissions.
Observed behavior: Selected users continue to appear in the standard SharePoint Online People Picker even after attempting to hide them from the Exchange global address list or applying access policies.

Before you start

Note that SharePoint Online natively populates its People Picker directly from Microsoft Entra ID, meaning Exchange-specific visibility settings like hiding a user from the Global Address List (GAL) will not apply.

Solution 1Recommended

Implement a Custom Power Apps Workaround

Since SharePoint Online lacks a built-in feature to hide users from the standard out-of-the-box People Picker, using a custom Power Apps form is the most viable workaround for specific lists.

SharePoint Online obtains directory information directly from Microsoft Entra ID. Therefore, standard methods like hiding a user from the Global Address List (GAL) will not prevent them from showing up in the out-of-the-box People Picker used for sharing documents and assigning site permissions.

To achieve a filtered user selection experience on custom lists, you can replace the default list form with a customized Power Apps form.

Create a custom SharePoint list form

Navigate to your SharePoint list, select 'Integrate' from the command bar, choose 'Power Apps', and then click 'Customize forms'.

Set up a filtered data source

Inside Power Apps, create a custom data source or apply a filter function to the Office 365 Users connector to exclude the specific users you wish to hide.

Replace the default People Picker

Insert a Combo box control linked to your filtered data source, effectively replacing the default SharePoint People Picker integration for that specific list form.

Implement a Custom Power Apps Workaround

Submit Feedback to Microsoft: Because this requirement involves the existing out-of-the-box People Picker used for core sharing and permission functions rather than just custom forms, you must submit a feature request through the Microsoft 365 Feedback Portal to request native support.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why doesn't hiding a user from the Global Address List (GAL) hide them in SharePoint?

SharePoint Online's standard People Picker queries Microsoft Entra ID directly for directory information, bypassing Exchange's Global Address List visibility settings. This means that even if a user is hidden in Exchange, they will still appear in SharePoint.

Can I use access policies to restrict visibility in the People Picker?

No, standard access policies and site permissions do not restrict a user's visibility within the out-of-the-box People Picker control. The picker searches the entire directory by default.

Will a custom Power Apps form apply to the standard document sharing dialog?

No, custom Power Apps forms apply primarily to custom list items. They cannot override or customize the default SharePoint document sharing dialog or the site permission assignment panels.

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