How To Remove Shared Access Permissions For Someone In An Excel File

Device Links

• Android
• iPhone
• Mac
• Windows
• Office 365
• Device Missing?

At some point, you may want to revoke another user’s access to your Excel file. Excel gives you the option to stop sharing your workbook whenever. You can remove each user’s access manually or take away everyone’s permissions at once.

In this article, we’ll show you how to remove sharing permissions on Excel on various devices.

How to Remove Permissions on Excel on a PC

The easiest and quickest way to remove or change restricted access on Excel is on the computer. When you’re working on an Excel workbook, you have the option to share it with other users via OneDrive. When you want to restrict someone’s permission to access the Excel file, this is what you do:

1. Launch Excel on your desktop.
   
2. Click on the “File” tab in the upper-left corner of the screen.
   
3. Choose “Open” and then “OneDrive – Personal.”
   
4. Locate the Excel workbook and open it.
   
   Note: The workbook you opened in Excel should have the word “[Shared]” in its title.
5. Go to the “Share” button in the upper-right side of Excel, or click on the “File” tab on the top menu and proceed to “Share” on the left sidebar.
   
6. Find the user whose shared access you want to remove on the right pane.
   
7. Right-click on the user and select “Remove User” from the drop-down menu.
   
8. Proceed to the “Review” tab at the top of the screen.
   
9. Click on the “Share Workbook (Legacy)” button. This will open a new window.
   
10. Uncheck the “Allow changes by more than one user at the same time” box.
11. Select “OK.”
    

Now that you’ve followed these steps, anyone who has permission to access your Excel file will be removed. Another way to remove restricted access on Excel is by selecting the “Change Permission” option on the yellow bar at the top of the workbook. Note that you can only restrict access to an Excel file if you’re the one who created it.

Keep in mind that these methods don’t apply to the newest version of Excel, where the “Share Workbook” feature isn’t available on the “Review” tab. Instead, Microsoft has introduced a new share feature called co-authoring.

If you’re using Excel 365, and you want to restore the share features to the Quick Access Toolbar, follow the steps below:

1. Go to “File” in the upper-left corner of the screen and select “Options.”
   
2. Choose “Quick Access Toolbar” on the drop-down menu.
   
3. Under “Choose commands from,” choose “All commands.”
   
4. Find “Share Workbook (Legacy)” on the list and click on the “Add” button on the side.
   
5. Repeat the same steps for “Track Changes (Legacy),” “Protect Sharing (Legacy),” and “Compare and Merge Workbooks.”
6. Select “OK.”
   

Now that you have the “Share Workbook” feature, you can give others access to your Excel workbooks and remove them as well. If you’re using the newest version of Excel, then it’s recommended that you use the co-authoring feature rather than the share feature, as it’s much easier and more convenient to use.

How to Remove Permission on Excel 365 Through a Browser

If you prefer using the online version of Excel 365, you can still remove permissions via OneDrive.

1. Go to OneDrive on your browser.
   
2. Sign in to your OneDrive account.
   
3. Click on the Excel file or folder that you want to stop sharing.
   
4. Navigate to the “i” icon in the upper-right corner of the browser.
   
   Note: The information “i” button will only appear once you select one or more documents.
5. Go to “Manage Access” on the “Details” bar.
   
6. Find the user whose shared access you want to remove.
   
7. Click on the downward arrow next to their name and select “Stop sharing.”
   
8. Confirm that you want to remove them.
   

When you go to the “Manage Access” section, you’ll be able to see three types of icons – for people, links, and emails. These signify whether you’ve shared your Excel files with other OneDrive users, via links, or emails. Aside from removing shared access for Excel files, you can also set passwords and link expirations. All of this can be done with the “Edit link page” feature.

How to Remove Permissions in Excel on an iPhone

You also have the option to remove or change shared access on Excel on the mobile app as well. Here’s how you would do it on an iPhone:

1. Open the Excel app on your iPhone.
   
2. Select “Open” in the bottom-right corner of the app.
   
3. Proceed to the “One Drive – Personal” option.
4. Locate the shared document and tap on it.
   
5. Select the share icon in the upper-right corner of the document.
6. Choose “Shared With” from the drop-down menu.
   
7. Find the person whom you want to remove and tap on their name.
   
8. Select “Remove.”
   

That’s all there is to it. If you want to remove more users at once, you’ll have to repeat this process for each user. Make sure that you have an internet connection when you remove shared access from other users in Excel. You also need to be signed in to your Microsoft account in order to do this.

How to Remove Permissions in Excel on an Android Device

If you’re an Android user, the process of removing or changing shared access to Excel files is more or less similar. Here’s how it’s done:

1. Open the Excel app on your Android.
   
2. Proceed to “Open other workbooks” on the right sidebar.
   
   Note: If you are immediately taken to a different document (the last one you viewed), you need to tap the “File” tab first. Afterward, go to the “Open” section on the sidebar.
3. Select “OneDrive – Personal” on the list of options.
   
4. Locate the shared document that you want to restrict access to.
   
5. Continue to the “Share” icon in the upper-right corner of the screen.
   
6. Tap on “Manage” and then go to “Editing.”
   
7. Find the person who you want to remove and tap on the drop down arrow.
   
8. Select “Stop Sharing.”
   

Doing this will immediately remove the user from the shared document.

How to Remove Permissions on Excel on an iPad

Some Excel users prefer to work on an iPad since it has a bigger screen and it’s more accessible. If you want to remove shared access from other users in Excel on an iPad, here’s what you need to do:

1. Run the Excel app on your iPad.
2. Navigate to the “Open” tab in the bottom-left corner.
3. Choose “OneDrive – Personal.”
4. Find the document that you want to remove shared access from.
5. Go to the person icon in the upper-right corner of the screen.
6. Proceed to “Shared With.”
7. Locate the user who you want to remove from this file.
8. Tap on their username and select “Remove.”

You’ve successfully removed shared access from someone in Excel on your iPad. Once you’ve stopped sharing your file, you can edit it any way you want.

Restore Your File Ownership on Excel

Sharing your Excel workbooks with other users can be extremely useful when you need to work on a project together. However, when you no longer need the input of your colleagues, or when you’re simply done with it, you can revoke their access to the file. While you can use various devices to do this, if you use Excel on your desktop, you’ll be able to remove shared access of individual users, as well as the entire team at once.

Have you ever removed shared access from someone in an Excel file before? Which device did you use? Let us know in the comments section below.