How to share a SharePoint?

Dear @Anabelle Nicoud, 

Good day, and I appreciate the clear explanation of your concern. I understand you created a file in SharePoint, set sharing to “Anyone can view with the link”, but recipients are seeing “This link has expired”. 

The link may be expired because it was created earlier and is no longer valid, or because your organization enforces expiration for “Anyone” links, causing them to automatically expire after a set period of time. 

Since you didn't specify whether you are an IT administrator or an end‑user, please see the following workarounds that will help you verify the issue:  

Option 1: Create a new sharing link and resend it 

Open SharePoint and select the file. 

Select Share. 

Open Link settings using the gear icon. 

Select Anyone with the link and set the permission to Can view or edit, as needed. 

If an Expiration option is shown, set it to a future date. The option to remove expiration is only available if allowed by organizational policy. 

Select Apply, copy the link, and send this newly generated link to the recipients. 

Please note that when an “Anyone” link expires, the expected behavior is to generate a new link and share it again. 

Option 2: Remove expired links and recreate a new one 

Select the file in SharePoint > Share > Select Manage access. 

Under the Links section, remove any expired or unused links. 

Create a new “Anyone with the link” link by following the steps outlined in Option 1, then share it again. 

Option 3: Contact your IT admin  

If a newly generated “Anyone” link appears as expired immediately, this usually indicates a policy restriction rather than an issue with the file itself.  

In this situation, verification from an IT administrator is required. If you are an end-user, I recommend reaching out to your IT or SharePoint administrator and share this information with them for reference. 

Step 1: Check organization-level sharing settings 

Note: This setting applies tenant-wide unless restricted further at the site level. 

Go to the Microsoft 365 admin center > Show all > SharePoint. 

In the SharePoint admin center, select Policies, then select Sharing. 

Under External sharing, confirm that: 

• SharePoint is set to Anyone or New and existing guests. 
• OneDrive sharing (if applicable) is also set appropriately. 

Scroll to the Advanced settings for sharing section and review: 

• Whether “Anyone links must expire within this many days” is enabled. 
• The number of days set for expiration. 

If business requirements allow, adjust the expiration period to a longer duration or align it with expected usage. 

Select Save. 

Step 2: Check site-level sharing settings for the affected SharePoint site 

Note: Site-level settings can override organization-level settings and cause links to expire or stop working. 

In the SharePoint admin center, select Sites > Active sites. 

Locate and select the affected SharePoint site. 

Select Settings > More sharing settings. 

Confirm that the External sharing level isn't more restrictive than the organization-level setting. 

For “Anyone” links to work, the site must allow Anyone sharing. 

Save any changes if modifications are made. 

Step 3: Check link expiration enforcement at the site level 

While still viewing the site settings, verify whether: 

The site enforces a specific expiration timeframe for Anyone links. 

The expiration duration aligns with organizational policy. 

If the site enforces immediate or very short expiration, update it if permitted. 

Step 4: Ask the user to generate a new link after policy review 

Additional information is available in the following resources: 
Manage sharing settings for SharePoint and OneDrive in Microsoft 365 - SharePoint in Microsoft 365 … 

Best practices for unauthenticated sharing | Microsoft Learn 

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I hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions or need further support, please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time. 

Thank you for your patience and understanding. 

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how do i access sharepoint admin?

The behavior is caused by link expiration or by the type of link being used.

1. Check if an “Anyone” link expiration policy is set
   • In SharePoint/OneDrive admin, “Anyone with the link” (anonymous) links can be configured to expire after a set number of days.
   • When that time passes, recipients see that the link has expired.
   • To fix this, either:
     • Extend the maximum expiration period for Anyone links, or
     • Create a new sharing link after the old one expires.
   • Note that changing the expiration policy only affects existing links if the new setting is shorter; if it is longer, existing links keep their current (shorter) expiration.
2. Confirm that “Anyone with the link” is actually allowed
   • “Anyone with the link” is only available if external sharing is set to Anyone at the tenant and site level.
   • If the site or OneDrive is configured to allow sharing only with guests who sign in or provide a verification code, the default link type becomes Only people in your organization, and users must switch to Specific people to share externally.
   • If external sharing is more restrictive than “Anyone,” links may not behave as expected for external users.
3. Recreate the link with the right settings
   • In the document library, select the file → Share.
   • Choose Copy link or share with specific people:
     • For broad internal/external access: use an Anyone link (if allowed) and verify the expiration date.
     • For controlled access: use Specific people and enter the email addresses.
   • Adjust permissions (Can view / Can edit) and expiration if available, then select Apply and send the new link.
4. If sharing externally via “Copy link”
   • Open Link settings and select Anyone or People you choose.
   • If People in your organization is enforced in sharing settings, external sharing via link will not work; an admin must relax the policy.

If links continue to show as expired immediately, an admin should review the SharePoint/OneDrive external sharing and “Anyone” link expiration settings for the site and tenant.

References:

• Manage sharing settings for SharePoint and OneDrive in Microsoft 365
• Share SharePoint files or folders
• Access your files on any device
• Sharing files, folders, and list items