AI-powered secure share recommender

The secure share recommender is a feature that uses AI to enhance data security. When a user creates a public Share link or shares a file with specific people via email, ShareFile analyzes the file’s name and content for various Personal Identifiable Information (PII) elements and if PII is detected, recommends users to apply more secure options. If the user accepts the recommendations, the recommended options are automatically applied to the link.

This AI feature is not available to users of the ShareFile Advanced plan.

Note:

ShareFile does not use the file content and any PII that is detected therein to train underlying AI/ML technologies. PII elements cannot be detected for images, videos, compressed, password-protected, or encrypted files.

List of PII that are detected:

Note:

National Identification Numbers: Aadhaar, NREGA, Permanent Account Number, Voter Number, UK National Health Service Number, UK National Insurance Number, UK Unique Taxpayer Reference Number.

Create a share link

Use the following steps to create a Share link and secure it by applying the AI-driven recommendations.

1. Navigate to the file that you want to share and select it.

2. Select Share from the menu.

   The file content is automatically analyzed for sensitive information.

   If PII is detected, users are shown the recommendation.

   Users can view the exact type of PII detected by clicking on View details. Users can use the Create a secure link option to create a link with the recommended options applied or use the Create link option to create a link with default share settings.

   

   If a public link has already been created, recommended options can be applied with a single click. Link settings can be customized using Edit options.

   

3. Select Create and Copy to share the link with recipients.

Send to specific people

Use the following steps to share a file with specific people via email and secure it by applying the AI-driven recommendations.

1. Navigate to the file that you want to share and select it.

2. Select Share from the menu.

3. Select Send to specific people.

   The file name and content is automatically analyzed for PII elements. If PII is detected, users are shown the recommendation. Users can view the exact type of PII detected by clicking on View details.

   Recommended options can be applied with a single click or link settings can be customized using Edit options.

   

4. Type in the email address of the recipient in the To field.

5. Though the Subject is prefilled, you can type in replacement text.

6. Type in a message if necessary.

7. Click the Remember subject and message check box if needed.

8. Select Send.

The Share sent successfully message displays briefly.

Edit options

Use Edit options to configure various settings such as who can access the shared files, the expiration date for the link, notification options, and other options.

• Access options:

  • Allow people with this link to: - allows you to configure the actions that recipients can take with the shared files.

  • Who can access this link allows you to configure the recipients that can access the shared files using the link and whether they’ll need to sign into ShareFile to access them.

    

    • Anyone (public) - Anyone with the link can access the shared files and see the content.
    • Anyone (public, must enter name and email) - Anyone with the link can access the shared files and see the content after entering their name and email. Beware that ShareFile does not verify the recipient's identity in this option. A bad actor with the link could maliciously use a client or an employee’s name/email to access the file content, and the sender will not be alerted.
    • Client and employee users(after signing in) - The recipients must sign in using their ShareFile credentials to access the content. If the recipients are not existing users in the account, that is, if they are not added as an employee or as a client user, then they won’t be able to sign in and access the content. Make sure you create user accounts for the recipients before sharing the files.
    • Employee users (after signing in) - The recipients will need to sign in using their ShareFile credentials to access the content. If they are not added as an employee user, they won’t be able to sign in and access the content. Ensure you create user accounts for the recipients and add them as employees before sharing the files.

  • Access expires - select from various expiration settings for recipients.

    

  • Always link to the latest version of the file - Use this option to share the latest version of the shared files automatically. That is, if you make changes to the files after sharing them, the recipients can see the latest changes. Turning this off will only provide access to the current version of the shared files, and recipients will not have access to any future changes to the shared files.

  • Add a watermark - If this option is turned on, a watermark is added to supported file types.

Notification options

• Notify me when this is accessed - If this option is turned on, you will receive an email notification when the link is accessed.

• Send me a copy of this email - If this option is turned on, you will receive a copy of the email that is sent.

Disabling the secure share recommender

If an administrator chooses to disable the AI-driven secure share recommender feature, they can do so from the Account settings > Advanced Preferences > AI Settings > Secure share recommender section.

FAQs

Does ShareFile use or store any of my data for its AI capabilities?

No, ShareFile does not use the file content and any PII detected therein to train underlying AI/ML technologies.

What are the file types that are supported?

Supported file types are text, PDFs, and Microsoft Office files. PII elements cannot be detected for images, videos, compressed, password-protected or encrypted files.

Are there file size restrictions?

Yes, files larger than 20 MB are not scanned for recommendations.

What kind of data about the content is stored?

We do not store any actual sensitive PII data values from your content. To speed up the analysis, we cache the result of the analysis, but access is restricted to your account.

How long is the data about the content stored?

The information about your content never leaves your account. We cache the results of the analysis in your ShareFile account for 30 days to save you time when you try to share the same file again.