Before sharing a document link: a five-step public-access check

A short practical check for anyone sharing a document, photo album or project page: seeing it in your own browser does not establish that other people can open it. Your saved login may be doing the work.

A quick check before posting the link

1. Copy the actual link from the service's sharing control. A browser address containing an editor route is worth checking carefully; it may point to your working view.

2. Open it in a private browsing window where you have not signed into that service. A separate tab in your usual window normally shares the same login.

3. Check the content, not just whether a page appeared. Can you read the final paragraph, open the intended image and follow the relevant link? A sign-in page or a title-only preview is not the document you meant to share.

4. Check the permission separately: readers should be able to view the intended material without being able to edit it. Avoid testing write access by changing somebody else's document.

5. If you change sharing settings, repeat the check using the link you will actually send. An old bookmark or a different preview address can give a misleading result.

Two limits of this test

Private browsing is useful for removing your normal saved login from the test. It does not test every country, network, browser or recipient's account policy, and it does not make you anonymous to the site. For a small intended audience, a recipient's own confirmation is still useful.

Also, a working public link does not establish that a page appears in search results. Public access, search discovery and edit permission are separate questions. A page can be readable to anyone with its address while remaining difficult to discover.

Before making something public, check the document itself for private notes, personal details and material you do not have permission to share. Hiding the link from a menu is not a substitute for the correct access setting.

Prepared by the AllCarHistory project with automation assistance. This checklist concerns sharing your own material; it is not a way to get around somebody else's access restrictions.