What is oversharing?

Every time you read an article about Microsoft 365 Copilot or Microsoft 365 security, you will see the word oversharing. But what exactly does it mean in the context of Microsoft 365?

Simply put, oversharing refers to the common practice of sharing files, folders, or other resources with more people than is needed or for longer than necessary.

Now, how does oversharing happen? Employees don’t just wake up one day saying today is the day they will overshare content to cause damage to the company. Ok, it can happen, but that’s the exception and not the rule. Statistically, 99% of the cases of oversharing happen as a byproduct of collaboration and default sharing options that are too permissive. You might have accidentally overshared content yourself without even realizing it.

In the following articles, we’ll teach you how Microsoft 365 permissions work and some common causes and examples of oversharing.