What Happens When I Change General Access on a Shared Resource?

Last updated: April 7, 2026

Changing General Access affects everyone who was accessing the resource through that level. Reducing it (e.g., Organization to Restricted) revokes access for those users. Direct grants (people added by email) are never affected.

What Changes When You Adjust General Access

Change

What happens

Widen (e.g., Restricted to Organization)

More people gain access at the role you set. No one loses access.

Narrow (e.g., Organization to Restricted)

People who relied on the broader level lose access immediately. Only people with direct grants (added by email) keep access.

Change the role (e.g., Editor to Viewer)

Everyone accessing through General Access gets the new role. Direct grants are unaffected.

Team to Restricted

Not allowed for team resources. If a resource lives in a team, the minimum General Access level is Team.

Direct Grants Always Win

If someone was added to the resource by email (a direct grant), changing General Access does not affect them. Their access level is determined by the role you assigned them individually.

This means you can safely reduce General Access without worrying about your key collaborators — as long as they were added directly.

Good to Know

  • All General Access changes are logged in the audit trail (Enterprise plans).

  • If you want to restrict a resource completely, set General Access to Restricted and add only the specific people who should have access via the Share dialog.

  • Personal resources cannot use "Team" access (there's no team). Team resources cannot use "Restricted" (team members always have at least Viewer access).

Related Docs

Still Need Help?

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