Office 365 is one of the most used applications worldwide.
Your work may include sharing files with your clients.
If they are not part of the organization, the workflow will get affected.
To help you out in this scenario, Microsoft offers guest access.
you might collaborate with people outside your organization without adding them to your data pipe.
You dont even need to think about any security constraints.
In this article, we will talk about guest accounts and how to set them up.
I have also discussed how to delete one and the difference between guest accounts and external access.
So lets go through every step to help you make the best out of Office 365.
What are Guest Accounts in Office 365?
Collaborating with people outside your connection requires frequent communication and sharing of files.
Adding them to your corporate Office account is not the ideal solution.
When they pull up the organizations data, it can raise security concerns.
To solve this problem, Microsoft offers guest accounts.
It works by giving the user limited permissions to access information.
Users can view only the files and access messages provided to them.
you’ve got the option to work without the extra burden of thinking about security.
you’ve got the option to add guest accounts from the Admin panel by default.
The owner of a group can add guest accounts too.
you’ve got the option to send the invite using Outlook.
The user can poke the link and be able to join the group.
Check out the easiest way how toOffice 365: Unable To Add Signature.
How to Enable Guest Accounts in Office 365?
Only the Administrator has the authority to turn on the guest accounts.
Note:If you are a Group owner, ensure you have the privilege to add a guest user.
Often Group owners cannot add users due to a rule that prevents it.
It is present in the admin panel, and the Administrator can change this setting for you.
How to Add Guest Accounts in Office 365?
The process of adding a guest account is pretty simple.
All you oughta know is the email address of the user you want to give access to.
First, search the user using his email address.
Then send an invite link.
Once the user clicks it, he can join your group.
If you have previously added the person as a guest account, he will be listed under theGueststab.
And they will be able to join your group.
How to Resend Invitation in Office 365
You sent out the invite to a user.
But the mail did not reach his inbox.
Go to groups and click manage members.
Find the user in the list of guest accounts.
nudge the users account, and press the resend invitation link button.
This way, the user will get another link to join the group.
Also, check out our separate post onwhat is Microsoft Rewards.
How to Remove Guest Accounts in Office 365?
An Organization contains confidential data.
It is of utmost importance to see to it it is secured.
The guest users need to be removed once their work is done.
Your data will be safe and free from any malicious practice.
Well, the removal process of a guest account is not that difficult.
Just grab the users it’s crucial that you delete and remove them.
Pro tip: Guest accounts will fill your groups over time.
Users often forget to leave the groups they are in.
Practice a habit of removing inactive users from your groups.
Check out the easiest way toGreen Screen with Microsoft Teams.
What is the difference between Guest Accounts and External Access in Office 365?
To understand the difference between guest accounts and external access, let us consider a scenario.
The number of people in different groups can be huge.
Giving access to individual persons would be a very tedious task.
In this case, you’ve got the option to use external access.
It is designed for groups containing many people.
With minimal effort, it’s possible for you to give shared access to your content.
On the other hand, guest access is designed to give internet access to individuals.
What are the Limitations of Guest Accounts?
In guest accounts, you cannot remove other members in the group.
The option to delete the group you are in is also disabled.
An Administrator can limit what guests can do.
you might also disable it if they want to send GIFs.
Guest accounts are provided to people who are not part of your Organization.
As a result, Microsoft has added restrictions to that particular account.
It is primarily due to security and region limitations imposed by Governments and Organizations.
Note: Guest accounts can access files and chats in the group.
The users can also search in conversations, edit group files, and access notebooks.
Also, Check out the exact and appropriate steps tomerge Microsoft accounts.
If you add a guest account from a blocked domain, this will result in an error.
You have to communicate with the Admin to remove the block.
The Administrator can block users with email accounts from specific domains.
It is done to increase the security of your Organization.
Why is a user from Guest Account unable to initiate the shared files?
The shared files owner must allow the guest accounts to access them.
If the guest account encounters issues, verify if file access is turned off.
How can I add Guest users in Office 365?
Go toManage>Groups>Manage Members>Add Member> Send theinviteusing the email address.
Final thoughts
Collaboration can bring innovations to Organizations.
Office 365 and its suite of tools are the perfect pairings for you in your projects.
Guest accounts may sound like a difficult topic.
But it is easy to set up.
Turn on the correct tweaks, and you are good to go.
I have tried to explain the steps in an easy-to-understand way.
Hope this helps you out.
