Receiving unsolicited OneDrive File/Folder shares, how do I stop it?

Phillip Confused 65

Recently strangers (AI driven bots) have started sending me emails sharing links to their Microsoft Onedrives!

How do I stop this from happening?

Are there any security concerns (Viruses/Malware)?

Am I liable if they attempt to share any illegal content?

I receive the Email into my junk folder which I can't stop and then I get a Onedrive notification of the file/folder share. What can I do?

Thank you very much for any advice.

Regards

Phil

Moved from: Community Center | Discuss the Q&A site | Other feedback

Suraj Pavawalla 5 Reputation points

2025-12-11T06:19:51.3766667+00:00

Hi, How can I turn off receiving shared files in OneDrive? I don't want to risk it.
MadPeanut 30 Reputation points

2025-12-11T12:52:58.69+00:00

This is a significant security risk and Microsoft needs to address this pretty urgently. Allowing people to share files with you, which you can ONLY hide is a serious flaw. ITs fine someone wants to try and share something with me but I need to have the ability to accept or reject it not just hide the file. This is allowing an attacker to flood people's onedrive with unsolicited and malicious files and the recipient has no control (other than to hide)...
Sander Morsink 0 Reputation points

2025-12-15T09:26:21.11+00:00

This has been a big problem for me for the last week. Seemingly random people sharing PDF's with possibly malicious links in them, and there is no way to remove them except for reporting and hoping MS does something. It makes OneDrive rather dangerous to use.
A 0 Reputation points

2025-12-15T18:57:33.6833333+00:00

Ja ik heb dit ook. Ze sturen me afschuwelijke websites op

Answer accepted by question author

Katerina-N 3,455 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-12-04T22:45:43.0566667+00:00
Hello Phillip Confused,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum!

I understand that you have confusion when receiving OneDrive share notifications. That's very understandable and believe me you're not alone. I am here to help you out.

As your description, someone share OneDrive files with your Microsoft account email and Microsoft sends notifications by default. With this case, Are there security concerns?

Yes, potential risks exist:

The shared links could lead to malicious files (viruses, ransomware, phishing).

Clicking the link or downloading files could compromise your device.

Best practice:

Do NOT click any links from unknown senders.

Ignore or delete the notifications.

Keep your antivirus and Microsoft Defender up to date.

Are you liable if they share illegal content?

No, you are not liable just for receiving a share.

Liability only arises if you download, store, or redistribute illegal content.

Simply ignoring or deleting the share keeps you safe.

Therefore, I have these suggestions for you:

Block the sender’s email

In Outlook.com or Outlook app, add the sender to your Blocked Senders list.

This will stop future email notifications from that address.

Disable OneDrive share notifications

Go to OneDrive Settings → Notifications: Uncheck “Someone shares files with me”.

This stops the in-app pop-up notifications (but not the email unless blocked).

Report the share

In the OneDrive web interface:

Open Shared → Files shared with you.

Select the suspicious share → Remove.

Optionally click Report abuse.

Enable stricter spam filtering

In Microsoft 365 Security & Compliance Center (if you have a paid plan): Add rules to quarantine external sharing notifications.

I hope this will help with your situation. Please feel free to reach back if you have further update or more questions.

Best Regards,

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1 person found this answer helpful.
Anonymous

2025-12-06T11:54:37.19+00:00

And where do you find "remove" function - there is only "hide from shared" which clearly is not a removal?

Joao Carlos Fernandes Serodio 20 Reputation points

2025-12-08T19:54:21.4733333+00:00

I received a OneDrive notification that a file was shared with me. I tried deleting the files, but there is no option to do so. I need help removing these files and preventing future harassment — for example, how can I restrict who can send shared files to me?

Katerina-N 3,455 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-12-09T00:34:13.2233333+00:00

Hello Phillip Confused,

Thank you for your respond.

As your concerns, unfortunately, you can’t delete files that others share with you in OneDrive because you don’t own them, but you can remove access and block future sharing. I suggest you:

1. Remove the shared file from your OneDrive view

Go to OneDrive on the web.

In the Shared section (left panel), find the file or folder.

Select it, then click Remove from shared list (or stop sharing if you own it).

This removes it from your view, but the owner still has the file.

2. Block the sender from sharing with you

Unfortunately, OneDrive doesn’t have a direct “block sharing” feature, but you can:

Block the person’s Microsoft account:

Go to People & Contacts.

Find the person and choose Block.

Report abuse if the sharing is harassing Use Microsoft Report Abuse and select OneDrive.

If you have any updates or further questions, feel free to tag me in your reply so I can assist you more directly. I'll be happy to.

Best Regards,

ToW 10 Reputation points

2025-12-11T08:05:55.2866667+00:00

Hello together, I have an similar issue. The malicious shared folders / files show up directly in my one drive and I receive a notification on my iPhone. It‘s already the 7th folder in < 24h… I don’t want to have to delete every single folder/ file manually. Is there no possibility in settings to only receive shared files/ folders from contacts ? And if no, why not?

MadPeanut 30 Reputation points

2025-12-11T14:04:41.3866667+00:00

This is a significant security flaw with Microsoft. As a user of this platform I should not have to suffer receiving unsolicited onedrive shares, hiding it is not sufficient, its unreasonable to have to keep blocking users, it creates a risk because it floods your shared files area which can mistaking lead to users opening them and being exploited.

Andorus 5 Reputation points

2025-12-11T19:12:10.97+00:00

This is ridiculous! Microsoft is exposing users to malicious attacks. They can release instructions for blocking/reporting/deleting, etc., but the fact remains. Across millions of users, privacy and security breaches WILL occur in hundreds or thousands of users.

The only remedy here is to report and delete? block "notifications" but not block malicious attacks?! Please tell us you're doing something about this...

Katerina-N 3,455 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-12-13T16:02:33.1166667+00:00

Hello Andorus, MadPeanut, ToW, Joao Carlos Fernandes Serodio, A S,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum!

I understand that you’re facing the same issue with receiving unwanted OneDrive folder-sharing notifications. I’m truly sorry for this inconvenience when getting spam shares without any way to block the sender must feel very frustrating. I completely understand how upsetting this can be, and I’m here to help.

1. Contact Microsoft Support for escalation

Since these unwanted shares happen every few hours, this is considered persistent harassment.

Please reach out to Microsoft Support through https://support.microsoft.com/contactus → Sign in → OneDrive → For Home Use → Chat or Request a Call.

You can explain: “I am receiving repeated unwanted OneDrive shares without email notifications and I have no option to block the sender. Please help escalate this issue.”

2. Submit feedback

Your feedback is very important to us, it helps our engineering team improve the product for all users. Visit here: Send feedback to Microsoft with the Feedback Hub app

Please understand for us that, we don’t have access to your personal account, your subscription, or your OneDrive data, so we’re not able to control who sends you shared files or stop those shares from your side. To help prevent similar issues in the future, it’s also a good idea to be careful when sharing your email address or personal information on external websites or services.

I truly hope this helps, and I’m always here if you need more assistance or have any updates.

Best regards,

Robert Falk 0 Reputation points

2025-12-15T23:00:49.6933333+00:00

It is unacceptable to put the onus on the users of this product. As users, we are unable to control who sends these files to us. This is a design flaw.
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13 additional answers

Manon 0 Reputation points

2025-12-08T10:46:50.4566667+00:00

I have a similar issue, but I only receive a OneDrive notification, no email, and therefore cannot block the sender. What can I do? I get sent such a file every three hours since Friday, this is distressing. @Katerina-N can you help me?
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Enza 10 Reputation points

2025-12-09T17:23:53.1633333+00:00

I have the same problem. No email and therefore I cannot block the email address. Also, the instructions you provifed to Disable OneDrive share notifications (Go to OneDrive Settings → Notifications: Uncheck “Someone shares files with me”) are not available for me. I have only three options.

Enza 10 Reputation points

2025-12-09T17:27:32.9166667+00:00

Why isn't the option to block the sender in the same window of reporting a concern? Why do I have to go into outlook? In fact, the email addresses are not available to me.

I prefer Microsoft to Google but man, do you really suck at blocking junk/phishing emails. I receive up to 100 emails a day in junk mail folder and I am constantly reporting them as fishing. The same emails or domains keep filling up my junk mail folder. At one point the spamming was so bad that I had 1000+ emails flooding my Junk Mail.

You have to figure out a better way to make this better for your customers, especially the ones who have been with you for almost 30 years!!!

Katerina-N 3,455 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-12-11T00:22:26.4033333+00:00

Hello Manon and Enza,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum!

I understand that you’re facing the same issue with receiving unwanted OneDrive folder-sharing notifications. I’m truly sorry for this inconvenience when getting spam shares without any way to block the sender must feel very frustrating. I completely understand how upsetting this can be, and I’m here to help.

Here are some suggestions that may improve the situation:

1. Hide the shared files

Go to OneDrive Web → Shared → Files shared with you → Select → Hide from Shared.

This will remove the files from your view (though they will still remain in the sender’s OneDrive).

2. Report abuse

In the same menu, choose Report abuse for each unwanted share.

This notifies Microsoft so we can investigate and take appropriate action if the sender is violating policies.

3. Contact Microsoft Support for escalation

Since these unwanted shares happen every few hours, this is considered persistent harassment.

Please reach out to Microsoft Support through support.microsoft.com/contactus → Sign in → OneDrive → For Home Use → Chat or Request a Call.

You can explain: “I am receiving repeated unwanted OneDrive shares without email notifications and I have no option to block the sender. Please help escalate this issue.”

4. Submit feedback

Your feedback is very important to us, it helps our engineering team improve the product for all users. Visit here: Send feedback to Microsoft with the Feedback Hub app

Please understand for us that, we don’t have access to your personal account, your subscription, or your OneDrive data, so we’re not able to control who sends you shared files or stop those shares from your side. To help prevent similar issues in the future, it’s also a good idea to be careful when sharing your email address or personal information on external websites or services.

I truly hope this helps, and I’m always here if you need more assistance or have any updates.

Best regards,
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Sumit 42,926 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2025-12-11T12:07:56.9366667+00:00

Possibly your email had a breach and the attacker is taking a benefit of it.

https://haveibeenpwned.com/ is a good site to check if your email ID is breached.
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Anthony Philipp 20 Reputation points

2025-12-11T12:36:51.7533333+00:00

Hi Sumit - thanks for the response. Although possible, I think that's unlikely as I use two factor and a unique password with significantly more than 20 characters. I also checked my recent activity on the account and there's nothing unusual. Moreover, these are files shared with my account, not from my account. The line under the file shows the owner, and it's not me.
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Suraj Pavawalla 5 Reputation points

2025-12-11T14:31:41.05+00:00

I keep receiving them. If they continue, I'm going back to Google Drive.
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tyler gillette 0 Reputation points

2025-12-12T00:19:39.98+00:00

I do not use, nor do I want OneDrive. I have been getting spammed for days with these same notifications.

How do I disable this securty risk entirely? How do I shut down my OneDrive account so no files can be shared with it?
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Receiving unsolicited OneDrive File/Folder shares, how do I stop it?

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