Unable to Share Google Document externally

1. Overview

When you attempt to share a document externally and receive a message indicating it “contains sensitive content,” this is an automated safeguard enforced by our Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies. These policies are in place to protect proprietary and confidential information belonging to the district, its staff, and its students.

2. Common Triggers

2.1 Keyword-Based Rules

Any of the following terms—when detected in a document—will automatically block sharing outside our domain:

IEP (Individualized Education Program)
Password
Salary

2.2 Format-Based DLP Rules

In addition to keywords, certain patterns defined by Google’s DLP engine will prevent sharing. These include:

Health Information Formats
- FDA‑approved prescription drug identifiers
- National Provider Identifier (NPI)
- DEA registration numbers
Identification & Financial Data
- Social Security Numbers (SSNs)
- Credit card numbers
- ABA routing numbers
- Bank account numbers (including SWIFT format)
- CUSIP (Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures)

3. Step‑by‑Step Remediation

Identify the Blocked Element
- Open your document and use Ctrl + F (Windows) or ⌘ + F (Mac) to search for the terms listed in Section 2.
- If you find any occurrence, decide whether that content is truly needed for external sharing.
Remove or Redact
- Delete or redact the triggering word or number.
- If removal isn’t feasible, consider replacing it with a placeholder (e.g., [REDACTED]) and add a note explaining why the real value was removed.
Wait for Policy Rescanning
- After saving your changes, wait approximately 5 minutes for Google's DLP system to rescan the document.
- Attempt to share the file again.
Iterate as Needed
- If the document is still blocked, repeat steps 1–3 to remove additional occurrences.
- In complex documents, it can help to export plain text (e.g., save as .txt), search for patterns, then reapply formatting once cleared.

4. When to Contact the Helpdesk

If you have redacted all known triggers and the document still cannot be shared after 15 minutes, please submit a ticket with:

The document name
Link to the document, share it with the technician helping you with editor access.

Our team can then help review the document.