Link sharing best practices for secure content collaboration

Sharing links online with colleagues and clients is one of those ordinary tasks most people do without even thinking about it. By the end of the day, you might’ve sent so many pieces of content — contracts, presentations, meeting notes, design assets, and more — that you lost track of which links you’ve shared with whom.

And if you share confidential data through a public link (or accidentally send it to the wrong person), unauthorized users could access sensitive information that impacts your organization’s reputation, financial standing, or even legal compliance — a situation that can lead to unintended risks and inefficiencies, especially when resources are limited.

To protect your content from data breaches and cloud security threats, read this guide on top link sharing best practices to safeguard your content while powering collaboration with your stakeholders.

What is link sharing?

Link sharing is the practice of sending URLs to others through content management solutions, email, social media, or messaging apps. The URLs point to a piece of digital content like a document, a video, or an image, and those who receive a link to a file can then open it. Link sharing can range from simply sending a website URL to providing access to sensitive files stored on the cloud — such as contracts and internal reports — which require additional security measures to protect content from unauthorized access.

You can use link sharing to:

• Give access to project resources to internal or external partners
• Send documents for reviewing or signing
• Onboard new team members
• Submit deliverables to your clients
• Gather feedback on designs or videos

Though it may seem like a simple practice, sharing a link makes it easy for a distributed workforce to complete an extensive annual report, for example. It also eliminates the back and forth of email attachments when project or company leaders need to approve changes in real time. But before going through the link sharing best practices for secure content exchange, let’s take a look at how this process typically works.

How does link sharing work?

The way link sharing works depends on both the content and platform you use. After all, sharing a link to a confidential report stored in your document management system is different from exchanging public URLs via chat. Understanding these steps is important for maintaining control over your shared content.

Here are the steps to create a shareable link for content in your storage and send it online.

1. Link generation: To start, you create a link for a specific file or folder, often through a cloud storage platform. The URL can either give direct access or allow recipients to ask permission to view the content.
2. Permissions setting: Then, you define the level of access for the shared link, including authorization to view, edit, comment, download, share, and even open a file. For example, some links require a decryption key — an additional code that unlocks encrypted content — to open a restricted document. Organizations often use this measure to protect financial data and other sensitive content.
3. Link distribution: You can send a link via email, messaging apps, or a secure file sharing platform. Once you transmit it, anyone with permission can access the content.

Some enterprise content management solutions provide additional steps to personalize the experience — such as customizing the URL to make it more user friendly or tracking access to who accessed the link and when. These features are valuable when you need a transparent process with full control over content security.

Explore the top enterprise-grade features of secure collaboration tools.

Best practices for easy and secure link sharing

Whether collaborating on strategies, proposals, or project timelines, make sure the data you share via link stays secure and accessible for your partners. Here’s how.

1. Choose a link sharing app to send files on the go

Suppose you need to streamline the approval of a legal contract, but signing parties work remotely or in different offices, or simply aren’t available to sign in person. A link sharing app allows them to speed up the content review process from their mobile devices — a lifesaver when you’re facing tight deadlines or need to make last-minute changes before a client meeting.

2. Store content in the cloud to share large assets at scale

According to Wistia’s State of Video Report, 78% of businesses plan to create more videos to promote their products, brands, and marketing initiatives. For this, you need a scalable data storage solution that allows you to upload files of any size without sacrificing speed or exceeding capacity.

Cloud solutions allow you to host large files and share links without overwhelming your email system. This is especially useful when you handle high-resolution images, videos, or extensive reports. 

Discover why enterprise video sharing is on the rise.

3. Secure documents with encryption and password protection

Managing sensitive data, such as personally identifiable information (PII) or health records, requires robust security controls to protect a shared link from being exposed to cyber threats. In Salesforce’s State of Data and Analytics Report, 78% of analytics and IT leaders said their organizations find it challenging to align data with business priorities — and the main reason is security. 

As more data sources and technologies emerge, so do the risks. Encrypting files before sharing them via links helps protect sensitive documents against breaches by converting the data into a format that only people with the correct decryption key or password can access. Password-protecting files can also be a strategy to share sensitive data with someone outside your organization. But encryption is your first line of defense against unauthorized access.

4. Set granular permission levels for link users

Not everyone needs the same level of access. By setting granular permission levels, you can choose who can view, edit, or comment on the content of your shared link. This reduces the risk of someone accidentally changing or deleting information, which could impact the entire team’s workflow or project outcomes.

Misconfigured permissions can lead to accidental exposure of sensitive data, making it critical to restrict access based on specific needs. For instance, marketing teams may need editing access to campaign materials in progress, while clients might only require permission to view final files. You can even set expiration dates to ensure your content is available for a limited time, preventing unauthorized access after the project has wrapped up.

With some link sharing platforms, you can also use access tracking to identify access patterns and quickly catch any sudden attempts to view sensitive information. This visibility helps you adjust permissions when necessary, keeping your sensitive data safe and secure.

5. Stay compliant with link sharing regulations

Healthcare collaboration wouldn’t be possible without secure link sharing, as highly regulated industries must adhere to data privacy standards like GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA. Compliance requires protecting shared folders and files from unauthorized users — for example, by implementing measures such as strong access controls and encryption.

Remember to check your link settings to prevent default sharing options that let anyone with the link access your sensitive data.

6. Enforce multi-factor authentication for external viewers

Enterprise file sharing often has strong policies and controls to prevent security incidents, but when you share a link with someone using a personal account, it may not have the same level of protection. According to Valence’s 2024 State of SaaS Security Report, 46% of external data shares are from businesses to personal, non-corporate accounts.

These credentials typically have vulnerable passwords, so implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for external collaborators helps to reduce the risks associated with weak passwords. MFA adds an extra step, like a code via text or email, to prevent unauthorized access from stolen or compromised passwords. By adding an extra layer of security, MFA helps protect your content from unauthorized access, even if passwords are compromised.

File sharing platforms with advanced security controls offer this feature to protect your content distribution. It’s crucial to educate your external partners on how this security measure works and its importance when accessing shared links from your organization. With Intelligent Content Management platforms, you can create folders that keep sensitive files accessible only to the right audience through robust authentication processes.

Manage and protect your shared links with Box

Box offers a single platform for creating, uploading, editing, and collaborating on files. With the Intelligent Content Cloud, you get storage, sharing, e-signature, mobile content management, and enterprise-grade security to protect your sensitive information. Plus, you can connect your content across 1,500+ integrations.

Features like password protection, file encryption, and advanced authentication let you keep data secure and accessible only to authorized users. This way, you can share your links with confidence, knowing your information stays protected and meets industry standards.

With a single source of truth for your documents and files, you simplify workflows, keep information up to date, and organize data to harness its real value.

Contact us today and explore solutions to implement secure link sharing best practices.

While we maintain our steadfast commitment to offering products and services with best-in-class privacy, security, and compliance, the information provided in this blog post is not intended to constitute legal advice. We strongly encourage prospective and current customers to perform their own due diligence when assessing compliance with applicable laws.