- It's easy to share a Google Doc if you want people to collaborate on it, and it's just as easy to unshare a Google Doc if you want to keep it private.
- The creator of a Google Doc can unshare a document at any time, or choose what level of permission others have: view-only, comment-only, or full editing access.
- If you ever decide you want to unshare a Google Doc that you've shared before, it only takes a few clicks to do so.
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Whether you want to share a Google Doc with a colleague so you can work together, or you want to kick a coworker off a project entirely and unshare a Google Doc, it's easy to alter the permissions on a Google Doc.
Read more: How to share a Google Doc and customize its sharing settings
When you unshare a Google Doc, anyone you've unshared it with will have their permissions revoked immediately. This means they won't be able to edit or comment.
If you've totally locked the document, they'll still be able to read it until they refresh the page. But once they do refresh, their access will be gone.
How to unshare a Google Doc
1. Open the shared Google Doc.
2. Click on the blue box reading "Share" in the top right corner, and then, in the bottom right corner of the popup window, click "Advanced."
Steven John/Business Insider
Click the blue "Share" button.
3. On the new popup menu that appears, to simply unshare the Doc entirely, click the "X" next to the name of each person you want to remove access from.
Steven John/Business Insider
If you click the X icon, all that person's permissions will be removed.
4. If instead of removing someone altogether, you'd rather change the person's permissions in the Doc, click the pencil icon beside their name and email, and then select their access ("Can view," "Can comment," "Can edit," e.g.).
Steven John/Business Insider
You can also select what sort of permissions you want each person to have.
5. Click "Save changes" and then "Done" to confirm the change or removal.
Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:
How to change the owner of a Google Doc by adjusting its sharing settings on your computer
How to change the line spacing on any text in Google Docs, from your desktop or mobile device
How to edit Google Docs files offline, for when you're without internet or trying to eliminate online distractions
How to make a brochure on Google Docs for your company or cause
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