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Can users with Sharepoint Viewing permissions download?

Dorothy Osubor 40 Reputation points
2026-04-13T10:37:43.4133333+00:00

If a user has viewing permissions for a SharePoint folder can they download it?

Microsoft 365 and Office | SharePoint | For business | Windows
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  1. Q&A Assist
    2026-04-13T10:37:58.03+00:00
    AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn more

    Yes. With standard SharePoint/OneDrive sharing:

    • Can view permission allows people to view, copy, or download items. They cannot change the version stored in SharePoint, but they can save a copy locally.
    • To prevent downloads, Block download / Can't download must be explicitly enabled on the sharing link or in link settings. Otherwise, view-only users can still download.

    So, if a user only has view permission and no “block download” setting is applied, that user can download the files in the folder.

    References:

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  1. Nam-D 3,395 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-04-13T11:45:12.13+00:00

    Hi @Dorothy Osubor ,

    Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

    Yes. By default, users with View (Read) permissions in Microsoft SharePoint can download files.

    There isn’t a built-in permission level that allows users to only view content without downloading. To restrict downloads, you’ll need to apply additional settings. Here are some options:

    Option 1: Use “Block download” when sharing

    1. Go to the document library and select the file or folder
    2. Click "Share"
    3. In the sharing dialog, click Link settings
    4. Enable "Can't download"
    5. Apply the link and share it with users

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    User's image

    Option 2: You can also refer to this article for more details how to block download for a site by using PowerShell: Block download policy for SharePoint sites and OneDrive

    Hope this information will help. If you still have any other questions or concerns, please let me know.

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