Shared folders in the cloud: who actually still has access?

Shared folders in Google Drive, OneDrive, and Dropbox keep piling up. These four questions help you clean up who still has access — in just 20 minutes per quarter.

You start working with a new supplier or client, and they send you a link to their cloud folder: "Everything you need is in here, enjoy." Convenient — no account required. But what's actually going on with that folder? Can anyone open it? Will it stay accessible forever? And who exactly can see what's in there?

Shared folders in Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, and SharePoint are one of the most widely used ways to collaborate. They're also one of the most neglected. In this post, we walk through the questions you should be asking yourself at least once a quarter.

Why this matters now

Most SMBs have been working in the same cloud environment for years. Folders have been created for projects that wrapped up long ago, for clients who are no longer clients, and for interns who have since moved on. Every shared folder is a small door into your business information. And the more doors there are, the greater the chance that one of them is still wide open.

The frustrating part: you only notice when something goes wrong. Someone accidentally forwards the wrong link, or a former employee still has access to the project folder where your quotes are stored. Nobody notices — they're simply still sitting there in the list of "people with access."

The four questions to ask yourself

1. Who has access to this folder?

Open a shared folder and click "Share" or "Manage access." You'll see a list of names and email addresses. Go through them. Do you recognise everyone? Do these people still work at the company, or with one of your suppliers? Is there a personal Gmail address in there that you can't place?

Tip: sort by "last opened" if that option is available. Anyone who hasn't viewed anything in two years can usually be removed.

2. Is the link set to "public" or "anyone with the link"?

This is the most dangerous setting. "Anyone with the link can view" means the folder can be opened by anyone who gets hold of that URL — however they came across it. Forwarded in an email, pasted in a chat, accidentally included in a public document — the folder is open.

For documents you genuinely want to share with everyone (a brochure, a price list), this is fine. For anything internal or confidential: switch it to "specific people only."

3. Can someone only view, or also edit?

There's a big difference between "can view," "can comment," and "can edit." With edit access, the other person can delete, rename, or replace files. Useful when collaborating, but unnecessary for a client who just needs to read a document.

As a rule, grant as few permissions as possible. You can always increase them later.

4. When does access expire?

In Google Drive, OneDrive, and SharePoint, you can set an expiry date on a shared link. Do it — especially for external parties. A quote you share with a prospect doesn't need to be accessible indefinitely. Set it to 30 days and you're done.

A quarterly check that takes 20 minutes

Put it in your calendar: every three months, half an hour to "clean up access." Go through:

• The five folders that hold the most sensitive information (finance, HR, client contracts, projects, general documents).
• The list of external users — people outside your own company domain.
• All links set to "anyone with the link" access. Convert them or revoke them.

Twenty minutes per quarter. That's all it takes. And it saves you a lot of explaining if you ever have to account for why a competitor got their hands on your quote template.

What you can do today

Pick one folder. The biggest or the most important one. Open the sharing settings and answer the four questions above. Chances are you'll find something that needs tidying up: a former employee still listed, a link that's publicly accessible when it doesn't need to be, or an external party you added years ago for a one-off job.

Does this feel like more than you want to tackle on your own? Our access check takes you through all the systems your people have access to — including those shared cloud folders — and maps out exactly who can get to what. People are often surprised by what comes up, but afterwards you have a clean baseline to work from.