You’ve shared a Google Doc with someone. Now, you want to unshare that document. What does that mean by unsharing? This means those who you decided to share the file with will no longer be able to read that document. Unsharing is as easy as sharing. Let’s find out.
How to Unshare a Google Doc
To unshare a Google Doc, follow these steps.
- Find and open the Google Doc you want to unshare.
- Try to find the “Share” button on the top right corner and click it.
- On the popup box, find the “Advanced” button on the bottom right corner and click it.
- You will see the persons you have shared with under the “Who has access” list.
- Click the “x” button right next to the persons you want to unshare that document.
- Click the “Done” button.
By following these steps, you can unshare the file from the selected persons.
Before you leave, have you noticed some interesting features on the last popup window?
How to Unshare Shareable Link
If you shared your document with someone using the link, you can also unshare it.
- Find and open the Google Doc you want to unshare.
- Try to find the “Share” button on the top right corner and click it.
- On the popup box, find the “Advanced” button on the bottom right corner and click it.
- Find “Anyone who has the link can …” in the “Who has access” section and click “change”.
- Among the three options, select “Off – Specific People”.
- This will only disable link share while still keeping the permission of those under “Who has access”
- Click “Save”.
Change Permission for Shared Persons
So, you were about to remove some persons from the sharing list. What if you change your mind and want to limit the permissions. Currently, you can give one of the four permissions to each shared person to own, edit, comment, or view.
On the window, it is shown as the image on the right.
- Is the owner: by selecting this option, you give up the ownership and transfer it to that person. Please note that you will no longer become the owner of the document.
- Can edit: the person can only edit the document.
- Can comment: the person can only comment in that document.
- Can view: the person can only read that document.
Limit Sharing or Downloading by Non-Owners
There are more options you might find interesting. You may not want to allow editors to share the document with any other person. Or, you may not want to let commenters and viewers download or print the original document. All these are legitimate requirement that an owner can have. You can achieve these quite easily as well.
Disallowing Editors to Share
To block editors from sharing your document,
- Repeat the steps above until step 3 – going to the Advanced menu.
- On the popup window, find “Prevent editors from changing access and adding new people” at the bottom and check that option.
- Click “Done”
Preventing Commenters and Viewers from Downloading, Printing, or Copying
To block editors from sharing your document,
- Repeat the steps above until step 3 – going to the Advanced menu.
- On the popup window, find “Disable options to download, print and copy for commenters and viewers” at the bottom and check that option.
- Click “Done”
Video Guide
If you found my written guide difficult, try this video guide.
Conclusion
Unsharing your shared Google Doc file is not difficult. If you follow the steps, you should be able to do it. To make sure, I added the video guide for you to follow.
Useful Links
If you want to learn some useful tips in Google Docs, try this link.
