Manage file permissions in SharePoint with control
SharePoint Online has become the go-to platform for collaboration and document management in Microsoft 365. Easy access to files, integration with Microsoft Teams, and seamless linking to OneDrive enable cross-location processes, promote teamwork, and create transparency.
But this is precisely where a serious structural problem arises: control over file permissions. In the following article, we explain how you can use SharePoint to maintain an overview at all times.
Index
When SharePoint grows
As soon as SharePoint is put into productive use, growth begins: more sites, more libraries, more files, more users, and increasingly external participants.
📈 Complexity increases exponentially.
Often, clear authorization concepts are not implemented in day-to-day business. Files and folders are shared ad hoc, shared via links, or distributed directly in Microsoft Teams without considering how these shares affect the underlying SharePoint permissions.
In dynamic work environments in particular, this results in unmanageable proliferation:
- Inheritance is interrupted.
- Users are granted individual access rights to subfolders or individual documents.
- External guests retain permanent access because no one can trace where their access was granted.
As a result, any form of access control dilutes security, posing significant risks to data protection, data security, and internal compliance requirements.
Understanding and systematically implementing authorization models
Structuring SharePoint correctly
The main challenge is to consistently use the underlying SharePoint mechanisms and supplement them with a sensible structure. SharePoint basically distinguishes between
- team websites,
- communication websites, and
- hub sites.
While team websites are often managed via Microsoft 365 groups and are usually part of Microsoft Teams, communication pages are used purely for information distribution, i.e., the consistent push of content to large target groups.
Permission control is handled in the traditional way via SharePoint’s own groups: owners, members, and visitors.
Effective control relies on consistent group structures, targeted inheritance, and centralized management of access rights. It is important to only interrupt the standard permission inheritance where structurally necessary.
A deeply nested permission hierarchy across many subfolders creates more work than it saves in practice. In Microsoft’s own documentation and in training courses on SharePoint administration, the recommendation is to only break inheritance at the library level or at most at the first folder level.
Different website types and their permission models
Team websites use Microsoft 365 groups by default. Group owners are granted full access, while members are granted editing rights. Access to assigned SharePoint content is granted via the same group membership as for Planner, Outlook calendars, or Teams channels. Private or shared channels in Microsoft Teams can only be managed via Teams. SharePoint displays the permissions there in read-only mode.
Communication pages, on the other hand, use classic SharePoint groups. A clear distribution of roles is common, with a few owners with full access, a limited number of members with editing rights, and a large group of visitors with read-only rights. Microsoft recommends administering communication sites centrally and not granting permissions directly to users, but rather using groups, ideally via security groups or Microsoft 365 groups, which are maintained centrally.
For hub sites, the permission model depends on the type of underlying website. Hub membership is controlled by the administrator in the SharePoint Admin Center. There, you can also specify who is allowed to connect sites to the hub. The permissions of the connected sites remain unaffected.
Configure share links specifically
SharePoint offers three main link types for sharing individual content:
- “Everyone,”
- “People in the organization,” and
- “Specific people.”
Configuration is done at the website level, with the most restrictive setting taking precedence.
Links for “Everyone” allow anonymous access, but are not suitable for environments with increased security requirements.
Person-specific links (“Specific people”) require authentication and can be restricted to internal or external partners.
It is important to note that sharing permissions are not associated with every permission level. Content can only be shared if the user has at least “Edit” permission. The frequently used “Contribute” level allows editing but not sharing.
Differentiated security for external sharing
Content is shared with external parties using SharePoint’s own sharing functions, which are technically supported by Microsoft Entra B2B. In this case, guests receive a temporary account and authenticate themselves using a one-time password (OTP) or an existing Microsoft account. There is a special feature for Teams channel websites: Azure B2B Direct Connect is used here, which works without classic guest accounts.
“Active websites” are all SharePoint websites that currently exist, have not been deleted, and can be accessed.
External sharing is managed centrally in the SharePoint Admin Center. There, you can specify whether and in what form external users are allowed to access content. The settings apply organization-wide, but can be restricted for individual websites.
For security-critical content, it is recommended to operate separate sites without external sharing options.
my-IAM platform simplifies permission management
Consolidated group management across system boundaries
As the number of sites and systems grows, so do the demands on group maintenance. In practice, groups are found in various directories, such as Entra ID, the local Active Directory, HR systems, or specialist applications. In many cases, functionally identical groups exist multiple times with different memberships. This results in inconsistencies, redundant maintenance, and unclear responsibilities.
One solution is consolidated management via cross-system platforms:
👉 My-IAM RealGroup, a service provided by the my-IAM platform, consolidates group information from various sources, synchronizes it in real time, and makes it available in a structured format for target systems such as SharePoint.
Organizational groups (e.g., “HR department”) can be integrated as well as technical roles (e.g., “Project X, read access”). Changes in source systems are automatically transferred and distributed without delay.
In addition to Microsoft 365, other systems can also be connected, including CRM software, content management systems, network infrastructures, and SaaS applications. Centralized group management reduces maintenance effort, increases consistency, and facilitates the auditing of permissions.
my-IAM RealGroup in the SharePoint context
Centrally managed groups are integrated into SharePoint using classic SharePoint groups. This allows security groups from Entra ID to be added to the SharePoint member group. All members of the security group are then automatically granted access without having to be managed individually.
A typical use case: A department needs a new site with different roles for management, team leaders, employees, and external parties.
Instead of manually maintaining four SharePoint groups, existing groups are transferred from Entra ID and entered via an interface. Updates are performed automatically as soon as group membership changes in the source system.
In conjunction with IAM solutions such as FirstAttribute’s IDM-Portal, groups can be managed via a graphical user interface. Administrators can view both AD and Entra groups, maintain memberships, and synchronize permissions in connected applications. The platform makes all groups available globally. Users can use them as distribution lists, for calendar invitations, or chats. This creates a consistent and usable group logic without duplicate maintenance or media breaks.
Conclusion
Managing file permissions in SharePoint requires more than a one-time configuration. It requires a consistently well-thought-out model consisting of clearly defined groups, traceable inheritance logic, and controlled sharing. Without central control, you risk losing track of everything, with potential implications for security, data protection, and IT compliance.
Technical tools such as group-based access control via Entra ID, SharePoint’s differentiated permission model, and the integration of consolidating services enable sustainable control. If you want to manage permissions in a traceable, scalable, and auditable manner, centralized group logic is essential.
More about the my-IAM platform
The my-IAM platform unifies all identities from various source systems and makes them available for applications and apps of all kinds. Besides the Teams-integrated app my-IAM PeopleConnect, it includes the business services my-IAM RealIdentity and my-IAM RealGroup.
You can also reach our team by phone at
+49 8196 998 4330.
