What is external sharing in SharePoint?

This Microsoft 365 feature allows organizations to collaborate securely with external partners, clients, vendors, or contractors while maintaining control over shared content.

Administrators can configure external sharing settings at both the tenant and site levels, determining whether sharing is allowed, restricted to specific domains, or requires additional authentication.

SharePoint offers multiple sharing options, such as providing direct access, sending secure links, or requiring guest sign-ins through Entra ID (formerly Azure AD).

It is essential for an organization to properly manage external sharing in order to avoid issues with oversharing, mainly unauthorized access. With proper guardrails in place, you can prevent unauthorized data access without sacrificing the benefits of external communication and collaboration. Organizations can enforce policies, such as expiration dates on shared links, sensitivity labels, and audit logs, to monitor and control external sharing.

If you would like to learn more about oversharing, its causes, scenarios, and how to prevent it, check out our Governance handbook, which has an entire section on the topic.