Sharing Files Securely
Attaching a file to an email is familiar, but it’s often not the best — or safest — way to share something, especially anything containing personal or sensitive information.
Why attachments aren’t always the right choice
Section titled “Why attachments aren’t always the right choice”- Once sent, it’s largely out of your control. Outlook’s “Recall” feature rarely works reliably — especially once a message has been opened, or sent to anyone outside the company — and there’s no way to restrict who can open it or stop it being forwarded on.
- No record of who’s actually seen it. If you need to know who’s opened a document, an attachment can’t tell you.
- Version confusion. Once several people have their own copy of an attachment, it’s easy to end up with conflicting edits and no single “current” version.
What to use instead
Section titled “What to use instead”Share a link to the file in OneDrive or SharePoint rather than the file itself:
- Right-click the file (in File Explorer, OneDrive, or SharePoint) and choose Share.
- Choose who the link should work for — specific people, anyone in the company, or (only when genuinely needed) anyone with the link.
- Set whether they can view or edit, then send the link.
This keeps one single up-to-date copy of the file, lets you see who’s accessed it, and means you can revoke access later if needed — none of which is possible once an attachment has been sent.
Sharing with people outside the company
Section titled “Sharing with people outside the company”External sharing is often possible but usually needs care — some sensitive information shouldn’t leave the company at all, and what’s shared externally should generally be view-only unless there’s a clear reason otherwise. If you’re not sure whether something’s appropriate to share externally, ask support before sending it.
A quick rule of thumb
Section titled “A quick rule of thumb”If you’d be uncomfortable with that file being forwarded on without your knowledge, share a revocable link rather than an attachment — an attachment, once sent, offers no way to take that control back.