How to Share Files with Sensitivity Labels

Effective April 28, 2025, sensitivity labels will be available to protect Microsoft 365 files that contain sensitive or high-risk data, reducing the risk when these files are shared without hindering collaboration. To learn more, visit How to Use Sensitivity Labels.

Three labels are available at the university:

Secure is a manual label that you can apply to files containing PHI or PII. This label enables encrypted files to be shared outside of the university.
High Risk indicates that the data in your file contains sensitive content like PHI and PII. Unlike the Secure and SU Only, the High Risk label is an auto-label, which means it will be automatically applied to your file if sensitive data like PHI or PII is detected. Sharing the file outside of the university will be blocked if this label is used.
SU Only indicates that the data in the file is private to Stanford University and should be used for files you want only university recipients to access. Sharing the file outside of the university will be blocked if this label is used.

Before you start

Please review these Important reminders about sharing labeled files:

Any label will permit sharing within the university but only the ‘Secure ’label can be used when sharing sensitive and PHI data externally.
Files with PHI/PII will initially be auto-labeled with High Risk. You must manually change the label to the Secure label when sharing PHI/PII to recipients outside of the university, including to colleagues in Stanford’s hospitals or clinics.
At the university, sharing labeled files should be done ONLY from the application. Avoid sending labeled files by email as attachments. To send moderate or high-risk data via email, you can continue using the Secure Email service.

How to share a labeled file

There are a number of ways to share labeled Microsoft files directly from apps like Teams and OneDrive. Here are a few common methods you can use.

OPTION 1: Share from a locally installed Office application

Open locally saved file (Word/PPT/Excel). If the file contains PHI or PII, ensure it is labeled 'Secure' to share externally or ‘SU Only’ or ‘High Risk’ to share within the university.
Select Share in the upper right corner. Upload to OneDrive - Stanford and click Save.
Select Share in the upper right corner and select Share.
Add the name of the person or group you want to share the file with and click Send.

OPTION 2: Share from Teams via Chat

If the file contains PHI or PII, ensure it is labeled 'Secure' to share externally or ‘SU Only’ or ‘High Risk’ to share within the university.
Go to the Teams app and select Chat from the left menu and select the New Chat button to open a chat conversation.
Enter a name or group in the "To:" field. In the compose box, click Actions and apps (+ ) and click Attach file.
Note: You must be logged into the Stanford (university) tenant to attach a file.
Select the file you want to share. Type a message, if desired, and click Send. This will share the file with the recipients named in the "To:" field.

OPTION 3: Share from Teams via OneDrive

If the file contains PHI or PII, ensure it is labeled 'Secure' to share externally or ‘SU Only’ or ‘High Risk’ to share within the university.
Go to the Teams app and select OneDrive from the left menu. Click +Add new and then select Files upload.
Note: You must be logged into the “Stanford” (university) tenant.
From the OneDrive file library, right click on the file name or click on three dots. Click Share.
Type in the name of the person or group you want to share the file to and select Send.

OPTION 4: Share from OneDrive Online

Go to OneDrive.
Note: If logged into the Stanford (university) tenant, you can also go to the Teams app and select OneDrive from the left menu.
Open the file. If the file contains PHI or PII, label the file 'Secure' to share externally or ‘SU Only’ or ‘High Risk’ to share within the university.
Click on Share in the upper corner.
Add a person or group and select Send.