Google doc creation defaults the link to public

[richardaspinall]

When you create a Google Doc in Dropbox, and copy the URL, it's automatically public and anyone with it can edit the file (granted they would need to guess the link). You have to click Share > Settings > Delete link to make it private.

Why is this? Shouldn't it default to private and then you make it public when you want to share it just like in Drive? 

I can't see any way to change these default settings either.

[Jay]

Hi @richardaspinall, thanks for posting today!

In order to understand what you're referring to, is this the link of the document as it appears in your Dropbox account when logged in?

Or, is it when you create a shared link to the file and then view it online?

This will help me to assist further!

[richardaspinall]

Hi Jay! 

Thanks for following up.

It's just the URL when you create a google doc (or others). 

Reproduction:
1. Create a gdoc: https://www.dropbox.com/s/82vih53n20eeswj/1.%20create%20gdoc.png?dl=0

2. Give this URL to anyone and they can now view or edit the gdoc: https://www.dropbox.com/s/kbqsowb34hkn5vd/2.%20share%20url.png?dl=0

You don't need to actually go and press the share button (like I had to on the image shares above). This is for any docs as soon as they are created.

With that, you can go and delete the link so it can't be viewed through the URL: https://www.dropbox.com/s/e61fxqywpzkppgz/delete%20link.png?dl=0

Here is the URL to that doc that you should be able to edit (I haven't touched anything except created it): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/dmsokhtx87ppfc4cbkk41

(Granted the URL is effectively private because of the unique string but it could still be accidentally shared when you didn't mean to)

Cheers!

Richard

[Jay]

Thanks for the feedback on this matter. By default, Google Docs files would allow other users to edit the file is they have access to the link.

You can manually change the permission of the link to view-only, which would prevent other people from editing the file.

If you'd prefer them to be view-only by default, If you wish, you can suggest this option for others to vote on, so the dev team can look into this in future!

[richardaspinall]

Thanks Jay! Yeah that's what I have found. 

I do think it should be private by default as all documentation about Dropbox files point to them being private by default > then make them public. It's nearly on the border of privacy / security in my opinion because it's not clear that this is the case without testing yourself.

I'll go ahead and make the suggestion, at the very least the documentation should be updated.