How to Share a Google Sheets Link and Control Access

To share a Google Sheets link, open the sheet in a browser, select Share, choose who can access it, and set their role. Copy the link from the sharing window and send it to the intended people. The link only works for them if its access settings allow it, so check permissions before you send it.

What You’ll Need

A Google account with access to the spreadsheet. If you are not the owner, the owner may need to let you share it.
The email addresses of specific people you want to invite, or a decision about whether to allow access to anyone with the link.
A web browser and an internet connection. These instructions are for Google Sheets in a browser; Excel has a different sharing interface and permission controls.

Step-by-Step

Open the correct spreadsheet. Go to Google Sheets in your browser and open the file you intend to share. Check its name and, if useful, confirm that it contains the right tab or information. If you have several similarly named copies, sharing the wrong one can send people to an empty or outdated file. You can also open a sheet from Google Drive, then use the same Share button.
Open the sharing controls. Select Share near the top-right corner of the sheet. A sharing window appears. If it asks you to save changes first, follow the prompt and reopen Share. The window usually offers a field for adding people and a section called General access. These control two different things: inviting named accounts and deciding whether a link can be used more broadly.
Choose whether to invite specific people or share by link. For limited access, enter the email address of each person in the field for adding people and groups. Use the full address they use for their Google account; a work or school account may be different from their personal address. For link-based access, find General access and open its dropdown. It is commonly set to Restricted, which means only people who have been granted access can open the file. Select the available link-sharing option only if it fits your privacy needs.
Set the permission level. Choose Viewer if recipients should only read the sheet, Commenter if they should be able to leave comments, or Editor if they need to change cells and content. For a link shared with a group, choose the role from the permission dropdown beside the link-access setting. For named invitations, select the role beside the people you added. Give people the least access they need; an editor can change the spreadsheet, so do not select Editor just to let someone view it.
Send an invitation or copy the link. When you invite named people, check the recipient list and role, add an optional message, and select Send. If you do not want Google to email an invitation and the dialog offers a notification checkbox, clear it before sending; the person must still have permission. To share a link, select Copy link in the sharing window, then paste it into an email, chat, or document. Copying a link does not itself change access. If access is Restricted, adding the link to a message will not grant access to someone who has not been invited.
Confirm the settings and share carefully. Select Done if the window offers it, then send the copied link only to the intended audience. If your sharing window shows the updated access immediately, you can close it after copying. For a sensitive file, avoid choosing an anyone-with-the-link setting merely for convenience. If available, verify access using a separate account that should be allowed to open the sheet. Do not make confidential information broadly accessible just to test the link.

Google Workspace accounts can have extra restrictions set by an organization. For example, an administrator may limit sharing outside the organization or remove the option to share with anyone who has the link. If you cannot select the access level you want, ask the file owner or your Workspace administrator rather than trying to work around the policy.

Common Mistakes

Copying the link but leaving access Restricted. The URL is not a substitute for permission. If a recipient sees an access request, add their account or change the general access setting if that is appropriate.
Giving Editor access when Viewer is enough. Editors can alter cell contents and may disrupt formulas or formatting. Choose the narrowest role that still lets the recipient do their task.
Sharing with the wrong email address. A person may open the link while signed in to a different Google account than the one you invited. Confirm which address they are using before changing the sharing settings.
Assuming link sharing is private because the URL is hard to guess. Anyone with access to a link set for broad sharing may be able to open it. Treat the link according to the permission you selected, not as a secret password.
Sending a link to an outdated copy. Several files may have similar names. Open the copied link yourself or check the title in the sharing window before distributing it.

Tips

Use named invitations for private collaboration. Inviting particular Google accounts keeps access limited to people you choose and makes it easier to remove one person later.
Use link sharing for a group that changes often. It can reduce the work of adding each recipient, but select the correct audience option. In a work or school account, an option may allow anyone in your organization with the link rather than anyone on the internet.
Tell recipients what they can do. When you send the link, say whether it is view-only, open for comments, or editable. This helps avoid unnecessary access requests and clarifies how you expect people to use the sheet.
Review access after the work is done. Open Share again to see who has access. You can change a person’s role or remove their access, or return general access to Restricted. Removing access does not recall copies, downloads, screenshots, or information someone already viewed.
Share a specific tab only when that is genuinely sufficient. A normal spreadsheet link generally opens the workbook, not an independently permissioned version of one tab. If recipients should not see other data, make a separate file containing only the material they need and share that file instead.

Troubleshooting

The recipient gets an access request. First check the General access setting in Share. If it is Restricted, add the recipient’s exact Google-account email address, or choose a broader link setting if it is safe and permitted. If you already invited them, ask which account is active in their browser; they may be signed in to another address. After correcting access, have them reopen the same link.

The sharing option is missing or disabled. You may not own the file, or the owner may have limited sharing. A work or school administrator can also block external sharing or anyone-with-the-link access. Ask the owner to grant the appropriate access or make the change. If the file is in a shared drive or shared folder, its rules may affect what you can change.

The link opens the wrong file or says the file does not exist. Return to the original sheet, select Share, and use Copy link again. Check that you copied the full link and did not accidentally copy a link to another file. If the owner moved the file, ask them for the current link or confirm that the file has not been deleted.

The recipient can open the sheet but cannot do what they need. Check their role in the Share window. A Viewer cannot edit cells, and a Commenter can leave comments but cannot edit the sheet’s contents. Change the role only if the person needs the additional ability. If they are an Editor but still cannot make a particular change, the sheet may have protected ranges or other restrictions set by its owner.

You changed the setting, but the recipient still cannot open it. Confirm that the change was saved and that you are checking the same file whose link you sent. Ask the recipient to reload the page, try the correct signed-in account, or open the link in a browser where they are signed in. Organization policies can override available options, so contact the owner or administrator if the issue persists.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does copying a Google Sheets link automatically give people access?
No. Copying only places the URL on your clipboard. The file’s access setting determines whether the recipient can open it. With Restricted access, invite their account; with link sharing, set the audience and role before sending.

Can I share a Google Sheet with someone who does not have a Google account?
It depends on the file’s sharing options and any organization rules. A link-sharing option may let people open the sheet without an individual invitation, but some recipients or policies may still require sign-in. If the file is private or sensitive, invite specific accounts instead.

What is the difference between Viewer, Commenter, and Editor?
A Viewer can read the spreadsheet, a Commenter can read it and add comments, and an Editor can change its contents. Pick the role based on what the person needs to do, and use Viewer for read-only access.

Can I stop sharing a link after I send it?
Yes. In Share, change General access back to Restricted or remove a specific person’s access. People who no longer have permission should not be able to open the live file, but this does not erase anything they already copied, downloaded, or saw.

Can I share only one tab from a Google Sheets file?
A standard sharing link grants access to the spreadsheet file, not just one tab. If other tabs contain information a recipient should not see, create a separate spreadsheet with only the appropriate information and share that instead.

Try it: the Date Difference Calculator: days, months, years and weekdays between two dates, with the DATEDIF formulas.

More in How-to basics

Sources: Function behaviour and menu paths: Microsoft Support documentation for Excel. Method & sources

Spotted an error in this guide? Let us know.