Uninvited "guests" on OneDrive?

Question

Uninvited "guests" on OneDrive?

kenhallett-2525 5

A Word document saved to OneDrive and shared only to my own (personal )e-mail accounts (Outlook and Yahoo) showed 8 "guests" had the document open ! (Their icons were listed above the toolbar r/hand side.)

Who are these people? They all have plant names. If they can view my file I assume they can make copies?

This is private information which I would only share with trusted people. No one else has access to my e-mail accounts or to my OneDrive. I am a single home user. Nothing on my OneDrive has been shared with anyone, except myself.

I am worried about this. It's never happened before. The file has been there for several weeks, with no unwanted "guests" appearing until last night.

Have I been hacked?

Kufre Inyang 5 Reputation points

2026-05-15T10:45:03.0533333+00:00
What you saw is usually not a sign that strangers hacked your document. In many cases, those “plant name” guests in Microsoft Word/OneDrive are temporary anonymous session names automatically assigned by the system.

Examples can appear as names like:

Blue Orchid

Green Fern

Purple Tulip

These are often created when:

A document is opened through a sharing link

The same account is signed in from multiple sessions/devices

Word Online sync glitches occur

Cached browser sessions reconnect

Co-authoring temporarily detects unknown sessions

However, because the file contains private information, you should still verify your account security immediately.
Check Sharing Permissions

Go to:

OneDrive Official Site

Then:

Locate the document

Right-click it

Select Manage Access

Verify:

No unknown people listed

No “Anyone with the link” sharing enabled

If you see public sharing:

Remove it immediately

Set access to Only you
kenhallett-2525 5 Reputation points

2026-05-15T11:19:06.47+00:00

Thank you, Kufre!

Yes: I was just changing the "manage access" before your message arrived.

I changed it to "only people you specify can view" (none can edit).

Incidentally it says "This file has not been shared with anyone else, yet."

Though it's still listed as "shared" rather than "private", on the right-hand column.

Actually, I have shared it to 2 devices. Both mine.

To be honest, I'm quite old, and don't really understand tech well. But it feels kind of scary to be told eight unknown users have your file open!

Thanks again, for your advice.

PS: The 'guest' names were given when I clicked on single-letter coloured icons: C; J; P; S; etc.

Which showed 'Cauliflower"; 'Jackfruit'; 'Papaya'; 'Spinach'; etc.
Kufre Inyang 5 Reputation points

2026-05-22T12:35:26.5433333+00:00

You’re very welcome. I’m really happy I could help.

What you described actually sounds normal, those fruit and vegetable names are usually just temporary “guest” labels Microsoft uses for anonymous sessions or devices, especially when files are syncing or opened across different devices. Since you’ve now restricted the access properly, that’s a very good step.

And honestly, your concern was completely understandable. Seeing unknown names on a file can feel unsettling, especially when you’re trying to protect your personal documents.

You handled it well, and I’m glad everything is looking safer now. If you ever need help with tech stuff again, feel free to ask anytime.