Share Policies
gPanel / gPanel Beyond / Share Policies
*Be sure to add domains to your allow list before saving this setting or you may lose all of your shares.
*Please note: Share policies run every night and not instantly.
Description
To understand what the Share Policies feature does you must first understand the following general mechanics and terminology about Google Sites and Google Drive:
When a user creates a Google Drive file or Google Site a link is created between the owner and the item called a "Share".
When a user shares a Google Drive file or Google Site to another user, this also creates a "Share".
When a user shares a Google Drive file or Google Site to another user in the same domain, this creates an "Internal Share".
Example: Peter.Bretter@Google.com shares a document to Rachel.Jansen@Google.com.
Example: Peter.Bretter@Google.com shares a site to Rachel.Jansen@Google.com
When a user shares out a Google Drive file or Google Site to another user in a different domain, this creates an "External Share".
Example: Peter.Bretter@Google.com shares a document to Sarah.Marshall@GoDaddy.com.
Example: Peter Bretter@Google.com shares a site to Sarah.Marshall@GoDaddy.com
The Share Polices feature allows the administrator control over the "Shares" in their domain through the implementation of a "Block List" or "Allow List". If an administrator creates a "Block List" then any domain that is on this list that has been shared Google Drive files or Google Sites will be removed.
Example: A user on "domain.com" has shared a Google Drive file to Peter.Bretter@Google.com, but the administrator has placed Google.com on the "Blocklist". When the Share Polices feature runs it will see the share to Peter.Bretter@Google.com and remove it from the Google Drive file.
If an administrator creates an "Allowlist" then any domain that is NOT on this list will have shares to Google Drive files or Google Sites removed.
Example: A user on "domain.com" has shared a Google Drive file to Sarah.Marshall@GoDaddy.com, but the administrator has only placed their domain "domain.com" on the "Allowlist". When the Share Polices feature runs it will remove all the shares with all domains except those with "domain.com".
This feature will quickly become your favorite, since it does so much for you while you sleep.
How To
To configure the Share Polices feature click on "View" and select "Setup" and in the you must first enable it by selecting the Enable Share Policies checkbox.
You must next pick if you want to implement a "Block List" or "Allow List".
A Block List will remove all shares from domains on that list.
An Allow List will remove all shares from domains that are NOT on that list.
Next, you must add domains to your list. Type the domain in the "Add Domain" field and click on "Add".
The domain will then be added to your list.
Next, click the Save button.
Make sure that your Allow List is populated with the domains that you want to keep safe. If you click on this option without having any entries in your Allow List you are going to lose All of your shares with All of your domains.
Once the feature has run you can view the shares that were removed by returning to the feature the next day and reviewing the "View" section.
*Note* The share policies run every night and not instantly.
Scenario
Your company, Healthysnacks.com was collaborating with another company, Puresugar.com during a brief business venture and partnership.
During the collaboration you and your users shared thousands of Google Drive files and Google Sites between Healthysnacks.com and Puresugar.com. The business venture did not go as intended and both companies have decided to end the partnership effective 8:00am tomorrow.
Your CEO does not want any users from Puresugar.com to have access to any Google Drive files or any Google Sites owned by Healthysnacks.com
To accomplish this you create a "Block List" using the Shared Policies feature. You add Puresugar.com to the list. Overnight the feature will run and every share to Puresugar.com will be removed.
The next day the CEO gives you the day off since he assumes that you were working throughout the night removing shares.*
*Individual results may vary.