How to delete shared files from an unknown person on One drive

Question

How to delete shared files from an unknown person on One drive

John I 5

Somebody unknown to me has shared some inappropriate files onto my one Drive shared files and I am unable to delete these files.

mikeli77 0 Reputation points

2026-09-05T17:24:42.0466667+00:00

This is still happening today.

Onedrive is showing an unknown person shared a file to me. It shows up in the "shared" list. I want to delete that share request, but only option I see is to "hide" it. This is a security risk - I should be able to delete it permanently and prevent future shares to me that I did not request.

Unfortunately the "hide" option does not work either. After selecting the file and then selecting "hide from shared" from the toolbar, the file is still visible. Same behavior (or lack of it) occurs when I use the "..." menu for that file.

Additionally, "Report a concern" from the toolbar reports "sorry, something went wrong. Please try again later".

Umm, is there anyone working on OneDrive anymore? So frustrating.

3 answers

Your answer

mikeli77 0 Reputation points

2026-09-05T17:24:42.0466667+00:00

This is still happening today.

Onedrive is showing an unknown person shared a file to me. It shows up in the "shared" list. I want to delete that share request, but only option I see is to "hide" it. This is a security risk - I should be able to delete it permanently and prevent future shares to me that I did not request.

Unfortunately the "hide" option does not work either. After selecting the file and then selecting "hide from shared" from the toolbar, the file is still visible. Same behavior (or lack of it) occurs when I use the "..." menu for that file.

Additionally, "Report a concern" from the toolbar reports "sorry, something went wrong. Please try again later".

Umm, is there anyone working on OneDrive anymore? So frustrating.

Answer 1

EmilyS_726 34,015 Volunteer Moderator

Hello,

You are doing the right thing by not opening this file. It appears scammers have found a product loophole to share files with users knowing the files would show up on their OneDrive. As of now, there's no way to delete this. You will see this file in your ONedrive.com when you go online in the "Shared" section, but you can check the box, the right click and report it. If you run into issue hiding or reporting, it can mean that the account is already being reviewed or the file share link is being reviewed.

You can also hide it. The file technically doesn't live in your OneDrive, but lives in the sender's OneDrive. It doesn't take up your OneDrive storage. It is just listed for you to see, but like I said, hide it and report it. And also consider sending this as a feedback for the product team to make them aware. https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback

Rick Updike 0 Reputation points

2026-02-25T17:40:07.3466667+00:00

This is the first answer I found that contained an explanation that was useful

Answer 2

Francisco Montilla 31,825 Independent Advisor

Hello,

In OneDrive you cannot delete files that someone else owns. The right fix is to remove the items from your Shared view so they disappear from your OneDrive everywhere.

Sign in to OneDrive on the web. Open Shared on the left, then Shared with you. Select the files or folders from the unknown person, then choose Remove from shared list. This hides them and stops them from showing up in File Explorer if they were syncing.

If you still see a shared folder under My files or in File Explorer, it is a shortcut you previously added. In OneDrive on the web go to My files, select that shortcut folder, then choose Remove shortcut from My files. If you prefer doing it from File Explorer, right click the folder under your OneDrive, choose View online, then use Remove shortcut there.

If the content is inappropriate or illegal, open one of the files in OneDrive on the web and use Report abuse in the menu. That alerts Microsoft and can prevent further shares from that account.

Try this and tell me what you see after removing the items. If anything remains visible, describe exactly where it still appears and I will guide you to clear it.

JOEZEN APOLINAR 0 Reputation points

2025-12-19T03:21:03.4133333+00:00
I have tried 2 things and did not fix the issue:

Hide from Shared

Report a concern > any of the options did not work

See attached for the unsolicited file share (re: get bitcoin).
John I 5 Reputation points

2025-12-19T14:04:04.35+00:00

Hello

My response's were the same as Joezens above
Francisco Montilla 31,825 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2025-12-20T01:21:30.39+00:00
That toast is coming from File Explorer's Shared hub, which pulls a cached feed from OneDrive. The message means that local OneDrive cache has a stale entry, so Explorer cannot map it to the owner's drive. Try to reset the OneDrive client so that cache is rebuilt, then remove the share from the web.

Quit OneDrive first.

Select the cloud icon in the taskbar, open Settings, choose Quit OneDrive. Press Start, type cmd, right click Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator. Run this command exactly:

%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset

Wait a minute. If OneDrive does not restart on its own, start it with:

%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe

After it signs back in and finishes the initial refresh, open File Explorer and check Home > Shared. If the spam entry is still there, remove it from OneDrive on the web by opening Shared, switching to Shared with you, selecting that GET BITCOIN 023 item, then choosing Remove from shared list. That action should flow back to Explorer after the reset.

Do not open the file. Tell me if the reset completes but you still cannot remove it on the web. I will give you the next step.
Jen B 0 Reputation points

2025-12-27T18:03:42.5033333+00:00

I am having the exact same problem. There is a shared file in my onedrive I want gone. I have the same errors as OP. When I tried the commands you suggest I get a Microsoft OneDrive error that says "OneDrive can't be run using full administrator rights" "Please restart onedrive without administrator rights"
Rick Updike 0 Reputation points

2026-02-25T17:38:12.78+00:00

I do not have an option to Remove from Shared List in OneDrive. I do have a Hide option that then asks me if I want to Remove and that worked when I tried it. I reported the file that was shared with me by what looks to be someone phishing.

Answer 3

Jen B 0

I wanted to respond to the person who just commented but I can't directly reply.

Anyway - I emailed Microsoft Support about this, and they had me record my actions of trying to delete the file and send them the file and they did some sort of patch. I honestly don't know much about that part, but you could reach out to the Microsoft support email and see where it goes. The file was still in my shared folder, but I generally let it go because I was able to get my account secured again. I just "hid" the file and it finally worked (it didn't use to), but I don't know if that actually removes the file from being in that shared folder.

mikeli77 0 Reputation points

2026-09-06T20:57:14.67+00:00

Unfortunately hiding the file has no effect for me - I've tried 2 ways both yesterday and today. The file share is still showing up. Given this is random file shared by someone I don't know, I want to remove this shared invite so I don't accidentally click on it at sometime in the future. I will try emailing microsoft support about since "report a concern" also does not work for 2 days now.