Simple, Smart, and Secure: The next step in sharing files in Microsoft 365
Today at the Microsoft 365 Community Conference, we announced the next generation of sharing for Microsoft 365. Not just an experience refresh, this year we are improving the underlying model that enables collaboration within oM365. We are making it simpler to use, more intelligent, and ensuring that users can keep their content secure by default. In 2011, the cloud revolutionized collaboration and SharePoint Online launched with direct permissioning to enable sharing. Three years later, the on-going cloud transformation led to the invention of “link-based sharing” to allow users to forward and share URLs that grant access within defined, yet secure scopes. Over the last decade, collaboration flourished with over 1.2 Billon people using the share dialog in M365 per month. But as we look ahead, we see new demands emerging to meet the needs of collaborative, agentic workplaces. We are excited to give you a walkthrough of the third generation of sharing in Microsoft 365 and introduce the hero link, the power behind the next decade of collaboration. Meet the hero link The next generation of sharing makes you the hero of collaboration! Each file gets a single hero link which controls all access to the file. Whether you’re clicking “Copy Link”, sending an e-mail, or yes, even copying the URL out of the address bar, it’s all the hero link! This removes the need to create, delete, and manage multiple links on your files, creating a vastly simpler experience. Sharing files with your company has never been easier: simply update the hero link and anyone with the link in your company will get access. Need to lock down a file? Change the link to only allow access for people you directly add, keeping your files secured. We know that users don’t always check file permissions before they send out a link, which can lead to frustrating “Access Denied” page. With hero links, users are empowered to update the link that they already sent, enabling them to quickly increase or decrease the scope of the hero link to match their needs. Secure by default Every hero link starts by working for only the people who have already been added to the document. As users embark on their collaboration journey, they can add more people and teams directly to the document or update the hero link as needed to broaden access. For files that are shared externally, the new share experience explicitly tags external users and guests to make sure they stand out and can be managed appropriately. Administrators will be able to change this default on a per-site collection or OneDrive basis, as needed. With the next generation of sharing, users can further secure their content by controlling who can add people or update access of the file or folder, which gives users the granular control they need to protect their most important content. At a glance access The next generation of sharing requires easy understanding of not only who has access to a file, but how they have access. The Share Dialog and Manage Access experiences are now unified into a single, powerful interface, ensuring users can see and manage their documents and folders with effortless precision. Updates to permissions now appear in real-time, giving users confidence and real-time feedback as they share! With this new sharing model, you can now update permissions in bulk. It is now easier than ever to change or remove permissions for multiple people in a single session. Changes appear instantly, helping you stay in control! If a user wants additional granularity, they can even create additional sharing links to be used for specific purposes. These links can even be named, to help users track and assign them to specific tasks. Copilot + Sharing Save time for your coworkers and keep your team up to speed by using Copilot when you share. With a single click, generate a summary of your document that will be included in the notification mail. Recipients can now understand what the file is about, without needing to open it and read the content. This is a great way to save time and help get your collaborators up to speed! Choose when you notify Have you ever had those days where your notifications are going crazy from teammates adding you to files? We hear your frustration-and we are happy to tell you that you can now choose whether to send an e-mail notification or not when you add people to your file. This update puts you in control of how you share and notify teammates – simply check the box or not based on your preference! This control is critical when you’re bringing a colleague up to speed on multiple documents, or just want to make sure that your file is shared correctly before incorporating into a SharePoint News Post or Amplify! Looking Ahead This new sharing experience and model will be rolling in late 2025! You can track the latest timelines and updates via the Microsoft 365 Message Center or the Microsoft 365 Roadmap (ID: 492622). We know change management is top of mind with any product change, and especially one’s as critical to your organization as collaboration.In addition to the standard updates at Microsoft Docs, we’ll also be uploading how to videos for end users and IT Pros to the Microsoft Community Learning YouTube Channel, walking through the changes in depth on the Sync Up Podcast and in the OneDrive Customer Office Hours. We’re excited to share the future with you! Frequently Asked Questions We know how important collaboration is to your organization! Here are answers to a few of the common questions we’ve heard! If you have others, let us know in the comments below! Q - What do I need to do to prepare for this change? A – For now, keep an eye on the roadmap id and Message Center for more information! As we get closer to release, we’ll ensure you have the content you need to update and prepare your users, admins and security teams. Q - What happens to my existing collaboration experience? A – Nothing! The new sharing model is fully backwards compatible. All the links and permissions you have today will continue to work and will show up in the “Other Links” section of the dialog! Q - Where will this change happen? A - Everywhere! OneDrive powers the sharing experience across 64 apps in M365. This change will be updated consistently across the entire ecosystem.Making Mac OneDrive Faster and More Reliable
OneDrive on macOS is getting a major update to how it syncs! The Native Sync Engine is rolling out to Insiders today with version 26.098. It's up to 2x faster on initial sync and on-disk state changes, uses less CPU, memory, and battery, and removes the hidden cache folder that's been the source of most reliability issues since 2022. It's the latest in an ongoing effort to make OneDrive feel native on Mac. Earlier this year we shipped a redesigned Activity Center with Liquid Glass and native dialogs, and the Native Sync Engine is a major step in that journey. The cache folder problem When we moved OneDrive to Apple's File Provider platform in 2022, we needed a way to bridge the existing sync engine with how File Provider expected things to work. Broadly, there are two parts to OneDrive sync: the sync engine itself, and the code that OneDrive uses to work with files. To support File Provider, we had to change how OneDrive interacted with the file system. However, to reduce risk, we decided to use a hidden cache folder that mirrored your OneDrive contents, so the sync engine could remain largely unchanged. That cache folder solved the immediate problem and unlocked features like Known Folder Move. Over time, however, feedback and telemetry showed us that it was root cause of many of the reliability and performance issues users have reported since. The Native Sync Engine removes it. What’s changed Over the past several years, we’ve been working behind the scenes on the Native Sync Engine. Building it required us to completely rebuild large portions of our code and build a new sync platform that allows OneDrive to work better with the File Provider system. The Native Sync Engine provides the fastest, most reliable experience we’ve ever delivered on the Mac. It has a simplified architecture, eliminates entire classes of errors, and integrates more deeply with macOS. In our performance testing, the new system is about 2x faster for initial sync and on-disk state changes. It also uses fewer system resources, helping preserve your Mac’s battery life while improving overall responsiveness. We’ve also put the new system through multiple tests that simulate usage well beyond what the average user would ever do, and it has held up extremely well in those scenarios. It’s a massive improvement, and one we are very excited to bring to you. On the surface, the Native Sync Engine looks and feels very similar to what we had before, but there are a few important changes. Let’s walk through a few of them. Hidden folders no longer hold data OneDrive's hidden folders now contain metadata only. Your file data only lives in the OneDrive folder you interact with directly. There are a few cases where a copy of file data will exist in the hidden folder: Files you've created or changed that haven't uploaded yet. The copy is removed once the file has fully synced to the cloud. OneNote shortcuts and similar "link" file types. These are typically a few hundred bytes at most, and we retain them in the hidden folder indefinitely. Some kinds of macOS packages, such as GarageBand files, .app bundles, and certain older iWork files. Copies of these files are retained for longer than most files. Files and folders are always browsable Files in a folder used to be created on disk only the first time the folder was accessed. That led to Finder showing "Loading..." while you browsed and apps hanging while they waited for folders to materialize. Now, every folder and file is always browsable on disk. Navigating your OneDrive folder feels like navigating any other folder. It’s snappy, responsive, and just works. Note that Files On-Demand is unchanged with the Native Sync Engine. Files you haven't opened remain online-only unless you either open them or mark them Always On This Device. External drive support The Native Sync Engine also supports external drives, such as USB drives you can plug into your Mac. If your system and your external drive meet the requirements, all of your files and OneDrive's metadata folder will be placed on this drive. On older versions of macOS and on drives that don't meet the requirements, your files and OneDrive metadata will be stored on the home volume. Syncing shared folders and libraries If your organization has disabled the “Sync” button on SharePoint and your users are using “Add shortcut to My Files”, you can skip this section, as you are already in the ideal state! If you are still using synced libraries, each synced library now appears as its own root in the Finder sidebar, instead of nested under a single tenant entry. Add shortcut to OneDrive remains the modern way to access shared content. Admins can hide the Sync button via aka.ms/HideSyncButton. Identifying the Native Sync Engine You can identify whether your Mac is using the Native Sync Engine by inspecting the OneDrive version in the Preferences dialog: If the version ends with a value such as "(26K)", you are running the Native Sync Engine. If the version ends with the version of macOS, you are not yet running the Native Sync Engine. Rollout Starting today, we’ll be gradually rolling out this new experience to our Insiders audience. This rollout will take several weeks to complete. If you aren't already in Insiders and want to try the new update, simply open OneDrive preferences, click on the About tab, and check the box to join the Insiders program. Your Mac will upgrade to the Native Sync Engine automatically when it receives the update. It might take a couple of minutes for OneDrive to complete the upgrade, and a little while longer for File Provider to finish with the upgrade, but you can still use your OneDrive while this is taking place. We would love to hear your feedback, good or bad. Just click “Send Feedback” in the OneDrive Activity Center and share your thoughts! To learn more, watch the latest Sync Up podcast below:OneDrive for Mac Now Supports Removable Drives
Earlier this year, we announced support for several improvements to OneDrive for Mac, including support for external, non-removable drives. We’ve heard feedback about the differences between “non-removable” and removable drives, and wanting the flexibility to sync OneDrive to any external drive—no matter the type. Now, with OneDrive version 25.127 or later, you can seamlessly sync your OneDrive files to any external drive, including removable ones. Syncing to a removable drive works just like any other drive, except that if you unplug your drive, OneDrive will stop syncing and show an error. You’ll need to plug your drive back in and restart OneDrive to resume syncing. There’s a short grace period between when a drive gets disconnected and when OneDrive shows an error to handle drives that sporadically disconnect. There are a few requirements your system must meet to use this feature: You’ll need version 25.127 or later of OneDrive. You also need to be running macOS 15.0 or later. The drive you select must meet the following requirements: Formatted for APFS Protected by FileVault (see below for instructions) Not read-only, a network drive, or marked as quarantined by macOS. Just like before, you'll need to manually set up a new sync relationship on the new drive. Sync settings won't transfer automatically. You cannot use OneDrive by moving your external drive between Macs; you must set up OneDrive again on each new Mac with the external drive. To protect a drive with FileVault: Format the drive for case-insensitive APFS, if it is not already. Find the drive in the Finder. Option/right click the drive and choose Encrypt. Follow the prompts. That’s it! We’d love to hear your feedback about this change! The best way to do that is to click on the OneDrive icon in the macOS Menu bar (near the clock), click the gear icon, and choose Send Feedback. You can also leave a comment here. We read them all, even if we can’t reply to them all.NOW ON DEMAND | OneDrive Office Hours | July 2026
Get ready for the July 2026 OneDrive Customer Office Hours! This session creates space for open conversation around the latest updates and how they support the way you use your files every day. In this month’s session, we’ll walk through what’s new and open the floor for questions, feedback, and shared experiences. Join us for our next call Date: July 15, 2026 Time: 8:00 AM-9:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada) Special Topic: Hero Link Sharing with Stephen Rice Register Today: aka.ms/OneDriveOfficeHours Join the OneDrive team to learn about Hero Link sharing, a single link that controls access to your files, so you can quickly share content and clearly understand who has permission to view, edit, or reshare. This updated sharing experience makes collaboration easier and gives you control with a single, unified experience to both share and manage permissions. Anyone can join this one-hour webinar to ask us questions, share feedback, and learn more about the features we’re releasing soon and our roadmap. We can't wait to share, listen, and engage every month! Note: Our monthly public calls are not an official support tool. To open support tickets, go to see Get support for Microsoft 365; distinct support for educators and education customers is available, too. New way to register and watch on demand! Go to: Microsoft OneDrive: Customer Office Hours – Microsoft Adoption to see upcoming sessions, to register and rewatch previous sessions! Save the Calendar invite so you never miss a call: https://aka.ms/OfficeHoursCalendar Each call is recorded and made available on demand shortly after. Stay up to date on Microsoft OneDrive adoption on adoption.microsoft.com. Join our community to catch all news and insights from the OneDrive community blog. And follow us on X: @OneDrive. Thank you for your interest in making your voice heard and taking your knowledge and depth of OneDrive to the next level. You can ask questions and provide feedback in the chat during the meeting, and we will do our best to answer them. Register and join live: aka.ms/OneDriveOfficeHours.
Introducing Markdown support in SharePoint and OneDrive
Today, we’re introducing native Markdown support in SharePoint and OneDrive, now rolling out to general availability across both consumer and commercial audiences. As AI and agents increasingly create and update Markdown files to carry out work, teams need a reliable place to manage that content. SharePoint and OneDrive make it easy to view and edit these files in the browser when precision, intent, or changes are required, with built‑in versioning and governance. Markdown files are now fully integrated into the Microsoft 365 file experience, behaving like any other file in your workflow.NOW ON DEMAND | OneDrive Office Hours | June 2026
Get ready for the June OneDrive Customer Office Hours! This session creates space for open conversation around the latest updates and how they support the way you use your files every day. In this month’s session, we’ll walk through what’s new and open the floor for questions, feedback, and shared experiences.OneDrive community call | August 2024 | Join in
Are you ready to connect with OneDrive product makers this month? We’re gearing up for the next call. And a small FYI, we are approaching production a little different: The call broadcasts from the Microsoft Tech Community, within the OneDrive community hub. Same value. Same engagement. New and exciting home. Join the OneDrive product team live each month on our monthly OneDrive Community Call (previously ‘Office Hours’) to hear what's top of mind, get insights into roadmap updates, and dig into a special topic. Each call includes live Q&A where you'll have a chance to ask the OneDrive product team any question about OneDrive - The home of your files. Use this link to register and join live: https://aka.ms/OneDriveCommunityCall. Each call is recorded and made available on demand shortly after.NOW ON DEMAND | OneDrive Office Hours | November 2024 |
Are you ready to connect with OneDrive product makers this month? We’re gearing up for the next call. Join the OneDrive product team live each month on our monthly OneDrive Customer Office Hours to hear what's top of mind, get insights into roadmap updates, and dig into a special topic. Each call includes live Q&A where you'll have a chance to ask the OneDrive product team any question about OneDrive - The home of your files. 😎 Use this Teams link to register and join live: aka.ms/OneDriveOfficeHours. Each call is recorded and made available on demand shortly after. Our next call is Wednesday, November 20th, 2024, 8:00am - 9:00am PDT. This month's special topic: “New OneDrive Sync Updates" with Carter Green, Principal Product Manager on the Microsoft team. Our goal is to simplify the way you create and access the files you need, get the information you are looking for, and manage your tasks efficiently. We can't wait to share, listen, and engage - monthly! Anyone can join this one-hour webinar to ask us questions, share feedback, and learn more about the features we’re releasing soon and our roadmap. Note: Our monthly public calls are not an official support tool. To open support tickets, go to see Get support for Microsoft 365; distinct support for educators and education customers is available, too. Stay up to date on Microsoft OneDrive adoption on adoption.microsoft.com. Join our community to catch all news and insights from the OneDrive community blog. And follow us on Twitter: @OneDrive. Thank you for your interest in making your voice heard and taking your knowledge and depth of OneDrive to the next level. You can ask questions and provide feedback in the event Comments below and we will do our best to address what we can during the call. 😎 Register and join live: aka.ms/OneDriveOfficeHours. See you there, Rob Nunez (Product Marketing Manager – Microsoft)
