What is an anonymous link

Anonymous links are also known as “Anyone links,” these links are:

• Convenient for fast collaboration with people outside the organization.
• Commonly used for documents stored in SharePoint or OneDrive.
• Not tied to a specific user, making it impossible to track who accessed the content.

While anonymous links improve ease of sharing and speed up collaboration, they also present significant governance and security risks, including:

• Uncontrolled data distribution if the link is forwarded.
• Inability to audit who accessed or edited content.
• Increased risk of data leaks or compliance violations.

Many organizations choose to restrict or disable anonymous links in favor of authenticated or organization-only sharing to maintain better visibility and control over shared information.