Share a Confidential File With Expiring Access
Design a secure file-sharing flow with recipient verification, access limits, activity history, and revocation.
The brief
Understand the problem
Background
Teams often need to send a sensitive document outside their organization. A simple link is convenient but gives little control over forwarding, expiry, downloads, and proof of access.
User context
Nora is sending a draft acquisition agreement to two external lawyers. One may download it, the other should only view it, and access must end on Friday.
Product problem
Security settings become ineffective when labels are vague or recipients cannot complete verification. Owners also need to understand activity without treating logs as proof that a person read the content.
Objective
Create a secure external share, recipient access, monitoring, and revocation experience.
What to design
Define the experience
Required experience
- Share setup with recipient-specific permissions
- Security and expiry review before sending
- Recipient identity verification and file access
- Owner activity log and immediate revocation
Screens and states
- File detail
- Share settings
- Security review
- Recipient access
- Activity log
Core user flow
Follow the critical path
- 01
Nora selects the agreement and names two recipients
- 02
She assigns view-only and download permissions separately
- 03
She sets an expiry date and reviews the security summary
- 04
A recipient verifies their email and opens the file
- 05
Nora sees an unexpected access attempt and revokes the link
Product rules
Requirements and constraints
Requirements
- Assign permissions per recipient rather than only per link
- Explain expiry, download, forwarding, and watermark behavior
- Require recipient verification appropriate to the risk level
- Show access attempts, successful opens, and downloads distinctly
- Allow immediate revocation without deleting the source file
- Confirm the effect of changing access on current sessions
Constraints
- Recipients may not have an account
- Email addresses can be mistyped or forwarded
- Downloaded files cannot be fully revoked
- Activity logs can be large and sensitive
Reality check
States worth considering
Finish line
What to deliver
- Design five desktop screens covering protected sharing, recipient access, auditing, and revocation.
Optional direction
Visual resources
Use these as a starting constraint if you want one. They are not part of the required solution.