Sharing with G Suite
Sharing with G Suite
This guide explains the different types of sharing using G Suite tools. It also explains ways to share sensitive information.
Sharing is providing access to information. This might be for colleagues, or people outside the Council.
This guide is in beta. This means that we are still working to improve it, so your feedback will let us know how we can make sure it is easy to understand and useful. Please let us know your suggestions.
In G Suite, there are many different ways to share. How you choose to share depends on if you are sharing regularly or not. It also depends on what you want others to do or see in a file.
Regular sharing is when you communicate or collaborate with the same people, often. If you work with the same group of people regularly we recommend using a Shared Drives. You do not need to manage access for individual files in Shared Drives - all members of the team can access anything in the Shared Drive. This makes working together easier.
Read Working with G Suite and other systems for advice on working with external parties.
One-off sharing is when you need to share information with people occasionally. If you only need to share something once or occasionally, share it directly. When access is no longer needed, remove it.
You can share access to files in different ways:
The way you share information depends on how sensitive it is. Always consider what you want someone to do before setting permissions. Do not give others permission to do more than they need.
Make sure you read Hackney’s information security guidance. This explains how to work with sensitive information, including:
File titles can be sensitive as well as the content of the file. For example, a file called “John Smith Disciplinary” offers sensitive information about John Smith. Make sure you only send or share files like this to the right people, even if they cannot access the content.
The options below help you identify the best way to share:
1. Does the file contain any Personal or Official Sensitive Information?
If yes, then go to 2.
If no, then go to 4.
2. Are you sharing it to a @hackney.gov.uk email address?
If yes, then share directly with specific people
If no, then go to 3
3. Are you sharing to a business G Suite account or a Gmail account? (This could be an email address ending @gmail.com or @googlemail.com)
Unlike when you send files externally as email attachments, when you share files directly in G Suite, the file stays within the Council's systems. The person you're sharing with is then able to access the file.
If yes, then share it directly with specific people. Make sure you understand the different permissions you can set to control what people can do with the file - do not give others more access than they will need.
If no, or if you're not sure, read our advice on sharing files with people outside the Council, or contact the Information Management team for advice. You might need to check with the person you want to share with.
4. Are you happy for anyone to see the information you’re sharing? (This includes people outside the Council)
If yes then either:
If no then share it directly with specific people
When sharing files in G Suite you must make sure that you do not:
Always think about how others will see the file. Do you want them to see the version of the file at a certain point in time (a fixed version) or in real time as it is updated (a live version)?
If you’re worried something has been shared inappropriately, you can:
When you share a file so that anyone can access it, others can edit and view the file without needing to sign in. These actions will be anonymous. That means you cannot identify people by their actions in the file’s Version History.
This can be a problem in some circumstances. For example, you might need to see who has made changes. In an investigation, we might need to see who has done what to the file. Think about this before sharing in a way that allows anonymous actions.
This is the default way of sharing a file in G Suite. It means that all changes are visible to the person you share with. For example, if you change the wording or add a comment, others will be able to see that as it happens.
This is safe as long as you consider what you want someone to do with the file before setting permissions. The file you share does not leave Hackney, like an attachment would. It remains within Hackney’s G Suite account and you invite the other person into the document.
This shares the document with specific people. You can set up the sharing so that other people can only do certain things with the file - for example, viewing the file or commenting on it.
How to share directly with specific people:
This allows everyone at Hackney to do the same thing with the document - for example, everyone can view the file or comment on it. Sharing links with edit access means everyone can edit.
Never use this method for Sensitive or Personal information.
When you share this way, you cannot remove access for one person - if you remove access, you remove it for everyone in Hackney. You can remove access by turning off link sharing - if you turn link sharing on again, everyone will be able to see it again.
How to share using Anyone at London Borough of Hackney with the link:
This allows anyone in the Council to find the file if they search for it online.
Never use this method for Sensitive or Personal information.
When you share this way, you cannot remove access for one person - if you remove access, you remove it for everyone. You can remove access by turning off ‘Anyone at London Borough of Hackney’ - if you turn it on again, everyone will be able to find it again.
How to share using Anyone at London Borough of Hackney:
This allows anyone in the world to see the file if they have the link.
Never use this method for Sensitive or Personal information.
If you share this way, you cannot remove access for one person - if you remove access, you remove it for everyone. You can remove access by turning off link sharing - if you turn link sharing on again, everyone will be able to see it again.
How to share using Anyone with the link:
This allows anyone in the world to find the file and access it by searching for it online.
Never use this method for Sensitive or Personal information.
When you share this way, you cannot remove access for one person - if you remove access, you remove it for everyone. You can remove access by turning off ‘Public on the web’ - if you turn it on again, everyone will be able to find it again.
How to share using Public on the web:
You can choose to share a fixed version of a file, for example a policy document or guidance notes. This is a version from a particular point in time.
How to Publish to the web (Hackney only):
How to Publish to the web (public)
When you publish to the web, you can choose to stop people seeing future changes. This works a bit like sending a copy.
To do this, turn off automatic updates. This is useful when you do not want others to see earlier versions of the file. For example, if you’ve been drafting a document, and do not want others to see the early stages of your work. This will also stop them seeing the comments thread.
All files in G Suite have a unique link (a URL) that you can send to other people so that they can access a file. You can choose whether to:
Make sure you are confident about how link sharing works before using it.
You can share a link to a file in Google Drive using a number of options:
You can send these links to others without turning on Link sharing access for other people. You can tell who is able access a file by checking the permissions.
If someone with the link does not have access to the file, they will not be able to open it. If they want to access the file they can request it.
Visit the Google Learning Center for more information about sharing links in Google Drive.
You can also share a link so that anyone can access the file. You can decide whether to make this accessible to people who work for Hackney, or anyone in the world. The default is to allow access for anyone who works for Hackney. Never use this method for Sensitive or Personal information.
To do this:
There are a several ways that you can use G Suite to work with colleagues outside the Council. Make sure that you have read and understood the guidance on sharing sensitive information securely before you do this.
When working with people outside the Council you can choose to:
See the G Suite Learning Center for more information on working with people not on G Suite
If you are sharing Microsoft Office files or other non-G Suite files, you can use other existing ways of sharing sensitive information
This might be the right option if you want to send a colleague or external person a copy of a file - for example, in PDF or Microsoft Office format.
Emailing a file as an attachment can sometimes be less useful than sharing a file from Google Drive. This is because email attachments will not be updated to show later changes, like in Drive, and once you have emailed the file you cannot remove access to it.* You are also not able to control who else an email attachment is shared with after you have sent it.
If the file you are sending includes personal or sensitive information make sure that you have read and understood the Council's guidance on emailing sensitive information before you send it.
To send a copy of a file from G Suite as an email attachment:
* The 'recall' feature in Microsoft Outlook is not an effective way to unshare attachments sent in error
Let us know - your feedback will help us improve it.