How to Prevent Users from Downloading Files in SharePoint Online? A Detailed Guide

Overview: SharePoint usage is increasing at an alarming rate, but managing the document’s sensitivity is a major concern for organizations. So, in this write-up, we will discuss how to prevent users from downloading files in SharePoint Online.

Because of the emergence of cloud-based solutions for file storage and collaboration, SharePoint Online has come out as a popular platform due to its integration with Office 365.

However, along with the wide range of its collaborative features, it is essential to ensure sensitive information remains secure. One major concern for organizations is preventing users from downloading files in SharePoint Online or disabling the download option.

In this article, we will explore numerous methods to remove download option in SharePoint Online.

Importance of Disabling Download Option in SharePoint Online

Below are the key reasons to remove the download option from the documents in SharePoint Online.

• It keeps data confidential from being copied or shared outside of the organization.
• Fulfilling the compliance requirements of organizations to restrict data from the outside the environment.
• Prevents unauthorized distribution of proprietary information.
• Helps to maintain data integrity especially while dealing with contractual-based employees.

How to Prevent Users from Downloading Files in SharePoint Online?

There are different approaches through which, you can disable or remove the download option from the documents. By using any of the methods, you can accomplish your tasks. So, let’s start discussing them sequentially.

Method 1. Share a File With Block Download Option

You can disable the particular document from not being downloaded by using the below steps:-

• Step 1. Choose the document, that you want to restrict from not being downloaded.
• Step 2. Hit on the Share button and choose the required option.
• Step 3. Now, uncheck the Allow Editing option and enable the Block download option.
• Step 4. Press the Apply button and provide the recipient’s name.

Method 2. Setting up Conditional Policy in Office 365

You can set the conditional policy in SharePoint. To do so, first, you need to create it and then apply the permission to the users.

• Step 1. Log in the Microsoft 365 with the right credentials and then Admin.
• Step 2. Now choose Identity, now inside the Microsoft Entra ID.
• Step 3. Click on Protection > Conditional Access.
• Step 4. Now, hit on the Create New Policy option in the conditional access window.

• Step 5. Assign a name to the policy and then choose the Users to which you want to apply this policy.
• Step 6. Choose the SharePoint as the Target Resource.
• Step 7. In the Sessions tab, tick the checkbox of the Use Conditional Access App Control. Choose the Block downloads option from the drop-down to disable download option in SharePoint Online and hit the Select button.
• Step 8. Enable the toggle option from the end and press the Create button,

Method 3. Block Download Policy via PowerShell

It is also possible to remove the Download option from the documents by using the PowerShell commands. Follow the below steps to do so.

• Step 1. Enroll in the Advanced Management Add-On.
• Step 2. After successful enrollment, install the PowerShell
• Step 3. Then, connect to your tenant by executing the below command.

Connect-SPOService -Url https://domain-admin.sharepoint.com

• Step 4. Enter the required credentials and hit Sign in.
• Step 5. Now, execute the below command

Set-SPOSite -Identity https://domain.sharepoint.com/sites/sitename -BlockDownloadPolicy $true

Method 4. SharePoint Permissions Out of the Box

SharePoint supports 3 main permission levels: Site Owner, Member, and Visitors. All these permissions provide the access to the users. Now, let’s follow the below steps to prevent users from downloading files in SharePoint Online.

• Step 1. Open the Site Permissions and then Advanced Permission settings.

• Step 2. Now, click on Permission Levels to see all of the permissions.

• Step 3. So, rather than creating a new permission level, it is better to copy the Read permission and customize it.
• Step 4. So, enable the Read option and then hit on Copy Permission Level.
• Step 5. Assign a name and description to this new permission level.
• Step 6. Also, make sure to uncheck the “Open Items” option.
• Step 7. Finally, hit the Create button, and the new permission level is created.
• Step 8. After that, go to Grant Permission and select the users on which it needs to apply.
• Step 9. Select the newly created permission level and hit on Share button.

Now, the users who are selected are not able to see the download button.

By using the above-explained methods, you can prevent users from downloading files in SharePoint Online. There might be the possibility of data loss by applying these methods in the wrong way. So, copy  document library from one site to another is a best practice before using these methods.

Due to this, your data will be stored at a safe and secure SharePoint site, that you can access whenever required. To achieve this, you can use the Most Safest SharePoint Migration Tool. This tool can transfer data from one site to another without any hindrances.

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Conclusion

In this write-up, we have explained how to prevent users from downloading files in SharePoint Online. Removing or disabling of download button from the files can protect sensitive information. To do so, we have elaborated on the numerous methods, so you can pick the most suitable ones as per your needs.