Help Needed - trying to remove "view" rights on a folder on MS OneDrive

Question

Help Needed - trying to remove "view" rights on a folder on MS OneDrive

Darren 0

I have a parent folder with multiple sub folders on my MS OneDrive. I have shared the parent folder so anyone with the link can view the contents and may have shared some of the sub-folders with a view only link and others would have no separate share link and only shared through the parent folder's link.

I have trying to remove all shares from the parent folder and all sub folders.

When I open the Manage Access window and navigate to the "links" tab I see the following:

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When I click the trash can to delete the link I get prompted that "Deleting this link removes access to a set of items....." is what I want to do so I click the remove button and see the screen below for a second or two and then if goes right back to the original screen (posted above) with the link in tact.

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I understand there is suppose to be a global stop sharing option located as a text link or button at the very top of the pane but I do not see it. I also believe there is suppose to be a way to remove the people on the manage access pane but I don't see that option either.

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Can anyone help me please to determine how I can delete sharing access? All help is greatly appreciated.

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2 answers

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Answer 1

Hi Darren,

Your screenshots reveal two key clues about why the link keeps reappearing and why you cannot remove specific people: the folder is inheriting permissions from a higher level, and the link was created for a batch of items rather than this folder alone.

1. Inherited Permissions (Missing "Stop sharing" button) In your third screenshot under the "People" tab, the message "More people may have access because this item is in a shared folder" is visible. This indicates that the folder you are currently inspecting is actually a subfolder.

You cannot remove people or use a global "Stop sharing" button on a subfolder if the parent folder above it is already shared. You must navigate up your OneDrive directory to the absolute top-level parent folder and remove the access from its "Manage Access" pane.

2. "Set of Items" Link Your first screenshot shows the link is for "a set of items shared on 2-15-2025" rather than just "this folder". When a link is generated by highlighting multiple files or folders at once and sharing them as a group, trying to delete the link from inside just one of those folders causes it to instantly reappear.

To permanently delete this batch link:

Open OneDrive in your web browser.

Click Shared in the left navigation menu.

Select the Shared by you tab at the top.

Locate the specific grouping of items shared on that date.

Click the three dots (...) next to that grouping and select Manage Access to successfully delete the link.

Answer 2

Hello,

That glitch is usually because the interface struggles when you try to remove an inherited link from a subfolder instead of the main one. Looking at your last screenshot, there's a big clue at the top saying more people might have access because this item is in a shared folder. This confirms that the folder you have selected is actually inheriting its sharing settings from a parent folder higher up the tree.

Because of this, OneDrive won't let you permanently trash the link from here. You will need to track down the absolute highest-level parent folder that you originally shared, select that one specifically, and try trashing the link from its Manage Access panel instead.

If you are certain you are already doing this on the absolute highest-level parent folder and it is still getting stuck in that loop, let me know. We can see about opening the Manage Access settings straight through File Explorer on Windows instead of the browser to see if that forces it through. Just have a look up your folder tree first and see if there is another parent sharing its permissions downwards.