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MERENA
Advisory Alert

Be careful what you put in “anyone with the link” Google Docs

A Google Doc set to “anyone with the link” may be easier to find than people expect, and sensitive information in those documents can end up appearing in public search results. This means private notes, passwords, or company details stored in shared documents could be exposed to strangers.


Who is at risk

Anyone who uses Google Docs to store personal, work, or family information and has shared a document with broad access settings is most at risk.

What to watch for

Watch for documents that contain sensitive details and are shared beyond a small trusted group, especially if they were created for convenience and never locked down later.

What to do

Immediately review your Google Docs sharing settings, remove broad access, and take any passwords or sensitive information out of shared documents.