Unknown pdf file was just shared to my OneDrive, how do I delete/remove this?

To delete or remove a shared PDF file from your OneDrive, you can follow these steps:

1. Sign into OneDrive: Go to your OneDrive account.
2. Locate the Shared PDF: Find the PDF file that was shared with you.
3. Remove Sharing: If you are unable to delete it directly, you may need to stop sharing it first. You can do this by right-clicking on the file and selecting the option to stop sharing or remove permissions.
4. Delete the File: After stopping the sharing, try to delete the file again by right-clicking and selecting "Delete".

If you continue to encounter errors when trying to remove the file, it may be due to permissions set by the person who shared it. In this case, you might need to contact your IT support or check the sharing settings in your OneDrive.

To prevent this from happening in the future, you can adjust your sharing settings:

• Limit External Sharing: Go to your OneDrive settings and adjust the external sharing options to restrict who can share files with you. You might want to set it to allow sharing only with specific people or disable sharing with anyone outside your organization.

For detailed guidance on managing sharing settings, you can refer to the Microsoft documentation on external sharing in SharePoint and OneDrive.

References:

• Overview of external sharing in SharePoint and OneDrive in Microsoft 365
• Sharing errors in SharePoint and OneDrive

Thanks for sharing the details, marineturtle! Try to remove the sharer from your OneDrive contact list (this cuts the link entirely)

OneDrive keeps a hidden “people you interacted with” list. Removing that person breaks the share.

Steps:

• Go to: https://people.live.com/
• Look for the unknown sender in the contacts list.
• If you see them → Delete / Remove the contact.
• Wait 1–2 minutes, refresh OneDrive Shared.

The shared file should disappear once the backend syncs.

See if this helps. If you need further assistance just let me know.

Best regards,

Kimberly