Microsoft 365 is introducing a simpler sharing experience centered around a reusable hero link. Here’s what SharePoint Online and Microsoft 365 admins should know about the new interface, key behavior changes, rollout preparation, and end-user communications.
Microsoft is introducing a new sharing experience for Microsoft 365 that is designed to simplify collaboration and make link-based access easier to manage. At the center of this update is the hero link: a single sharing link for a file that is reused across common sharing actions such as copying a link, sharing by email, or using the file URL.
Roadmap ID: 492622
Rollout start: October 2026
This post is intended for Microsoft 365 and SharePoint Online administrators who want to understand what is changing in the new sharing experience, how the interface differs from the current experience, and how to prepare end users as rollout continues.
Meet the hero link
Hero sharing visual
The hero link is the core change in the new sharing model. Each file uses a single sharing link that controls access, whether a user selects Copy link, shares by email, or copies the file URL from the browser.
This reduces the need to create and manage multiple links for the same item and makes sharing behavior more consistent.
What changes in the sharing interface
The screenshots below highlight some of the most noticeable differences between the classic sharing experience and the new sharing experience. They are intended to help admins and support teams quickly understand where familiar actions have moved and how behavior changes in the new model.
Sharing UI
Classic sharing experience: More settings are exposed up front, which gives flexibility but can feel busier and harder to scan.
Classic SharePoint Online sharing UI
New sharing experience: The experience is simpler and more guided, helping users share faster with less decision friction.
New sharing UISharing settings
Classic sharing experience: Link options and permission settings can feel more fragmented, requiring users to interpret multiple choices.
Classic link settingsNew sharing experience: Settings are more streamlined around the hero link, making access management easier to understand and reuse with additional options like File level resharing options, options to apply folder level access, remove access and reset links.
Link scope
Classic sharing experience: Classic sharing relies more on separate link choices and less flexible scope adjustments.
Classic link scope optionsNew sharing experience: The new link scope experience lets users change permission scope while continuing to use the same link, making sharing more flexible without creating separate links.
New link scope optionsExpiration links
Classic sharing experience: Creating links with expiration dates is built into the main link settings, so users can configure expiration as part of the standard sharing flow.
Classic expiration link settingsNew sharing experience: Creating expiration links is not yet fully incorporated into the main flow. Users must click the gear icon and choose Create new sharing link to create a link with expiration settings.
Menu option to access new link settingsNew expiration link settingsStop sharing
Classic sharing experience: Stop sharing is accessed from Manage Access. Stopping sharing removes all unique permissions from the item and causes it to inherit permissions from the top-level object again.
Classic stop sharing optionsNew sharing experience: Remove Access and Reset Link sharing options are accessed from Sharing settings.
- Remove Access: Sets the link to Only people added and remove any added people. Only file owners will have access.
- Reset Link: Deletes this file's current link and generate a new URL that is set to Only people added. Anyone who had access to the file through only the link will lose access.
Manage Access
Classic sharing experience: Manage Access separates sharing details into different tabs for People, Groups, and Links. From there, users can review existing access, remove members or links, and open advanced settings for deeper permission management.
Classic Manage Access experienceNew sharing experience: Manage Access is a single unified view where users can see people, groups, and links together. This makes it easier to add or remove access without switching between separate tabs, and advanced settings are available from the gear icon.
New Manage Access experienceAdvanced settings
Classic sharing experience: Advanced settings are reached from Manage Access by clicking the More options button.
Classic advanced settingsNew sharing experience: Advanced settings are available from the main sharing link properties by clicking the gear icon.
Key takeaways for end users
For end users, the main change is not what sharing can do, but how sharing is presented and managed.
The new experience is built around a single reusable sharing link, so actions such as Copy link, sharing by email, and using the file URL are more consistent than before. Users will also notice that some familiar actions have moved. Manage Access is now a unified view, advanced settings are accessed from the gear icon, and tasks such as creating expiration links follow a slightly different flow than they do in the classic experience.
The result is a simpler interface that may require a short adjustment period for users who are familiar with the classic layout.
First-run experience
To help users adjust to the new sharing model, Microsoft has added a first-run experience that appears the first time a user opens the Share dialog. It introduces the main parts of the new experience and explains how the hero link works.
The first-run experience guides users through the core components of the dialog and helps them learn how to get the most out of the hero link.
If users want a refresher later, they can click the ellipsis and select View tutorial to launch the walkthrough again.
First-run experience View tutorial optionFirst-run experience tutorial walkthroughCustomer communications
Before rollout reaches your tenant, admins should review the updated sharing flow, validate internal help content, brief support teams on where key controls have moved, and prepare a short user communication for frequent sharers and site owners.
Here is a sample communication you can adapt for your organization:
Hello team,
We want to let you know about an upcoming update to the SharePoint Online and OneDrive sharing experience. This update introduces a simpler sharing experience centered around a single sharing link for each file, helping make sharing more consistent and easier to manage. Existing links and permissions will continue to work, so no action is required for files that have already been shared.
As part of this change, some sharing options will appear in different places than they do today. For example, users may notice updates to Sharing settings, Manage Access, Stop sharing, and how expiration links are created. The overall goal is to simplify the experience, reduce link sprawl, and make access management easier to understand.
Before this reaches our tenant, we recommend that site owners, frequent content sharers, and support staff review the updated experience so they are familiar with the new layout and behavior. We will share more guidance and screenshots before rollout is complete.
If you have questions after the new experience appears, please contact your SharePoint or Microsoft 365 support team.
More information
This new experience was demonstrated during the SharePoint 25th Birthday event. You can watch the full event playlist here: SharePoint at 25 | Birthday Celebration Event.
You can also read the Product Group blog post: Simple, Smart, and Secure: The next step in sharing files in Microsoft 365.
Known issues and current limitations
Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps on Mac currently use an older version of the Share dialog and therefore do not yet have the new experience. This is expected to roll out shortly.
FAQ
What’s changing with sharing?
SharePoint Online and OneDrive are moving to a single canonical sharing link per file or folder. Whether a user selects Copy link, shares by email, or copies the file URL, the same link is reused instead of creating multiple separate links for the same item.
What problem does it solve?
Today, sharing can create a different URL almost every time. The new model replaces that sprawl with one stable link per item, so links embedded in emails, chats, and documents stop breaking when you adjust who has access.
How does the new sharing link change my governance model?
There is less link sprawl to govern. One canonical link per item replaces multiple parallel links with independent lifecycles. Policy, audit, and lifecycle decisions now attach to a single object per file or folder instead of a fan-out of link variants.
Will any existing links or permissions break during rollout?
No. Existing sharing links and permissions will continue to work during rollout, so users do not need to reshare content or recreate access that is already in place.
What if a link leaks?
You can invalidate it. The old URL stops working, and a new sharing link is issued for the file. Direct permissions on the item are not touched; only the link is rotated.
How does this interact with information barriers?
Information barriers continue to prevent sharing across segmented groups. The new sharing link cannot be used to grant access in violation of an information barrier policy.
Why does the new sharing link matter for Copilot?
Copilot grounds its answers in content that a user already has access to. The more intentional your sharing posture is, the easier it is to understand who can access what content and the lower the risk of oversharing.
By reducing link sprawl and consolidating sharing around a single canonical link per item, the new model gives admins a clearer view of access that supports Copilot readiness.
Does the new sharing link reduce oversharing risk for Copilot?
Indirectly, yes. Today, multiple parallel links per item with independent lifecycles make it hard to see and remediate oversharing. One canonical link with explicit scope and re-share controls makes over-permissioning easier to detect and clean up before turning on Copilot more broadly.
Final takeaway
The new sharing experience simplifies how links are created, reused, and governed in SharePoint Online and OneDrive. For admins, the main preparation work is straightforward: understand the hero link model, review the UI differences called out in this post, and proactively communicate the changes to users before rollout reaches your tenant.
Existing links and permissions continue to work, but the user experience will change enough that a short readiness plan is worth putting in place now.
Document Contributors: Mike Lee | Mariel Williams
Microsoft