GitLaw How-To guides

File sharing permissions in personal and organisation accounts

Everything you create on GitLaw is private by default: no one can see your documents unless you explicitly share them, not even other members of your organisation. The only exception is Organisation Owners, who can view all files owned by the organisation. Access is controlled at two levels: organisation roles (Owner, Admin, Member) and per-document roles (Owner, Editor, Viewer).

Before you start: a GitLaw account. Organisation roles only apply if you belong to an organisation.

How do organisation roles work?

When you create or join an organisation on GitLaw, every member is assigned one of three roles. These roles control what you can do at the organisation level, like managing people and settings, but they do not automatically grant access to documents.

Organisation Owner: can see all files and matters owned by the organisation; can add and remove people; can change anyone's role (Owner, Admin or Member); can edit organisation settings, policies and billing; can delete the organisation.
Organisation Admin: can invite and remove Members and Admins; can change roles for Members and Admins but cannot grant or revoke the Owner role; cannot see organisation files unless explicitly shared with them; can downgrade their own role to Member.
Member: a regular organisation user with no special administration powers; can see who else is in the organisation; cannot see any documents unless they are the document owner or it has been shared with them; can leave the organisation at any time.

Key point: being an Admin or Member does not give you access to any documents. You only see documents you own or that someone has shared with you.

How do document-level roles work?

Separately from your organisation role, every document has its own set of permissions. When someone shares a document with you, you are given one of three resource roles:

Owner: full control over the document. Can edit, delete and transfer ownership, manage who has access and change their roles, and share with anyone inside or outside the organisation.
Editor: can edit the document and accept or reject changes, share the document with others and invite new participants, and promote other participants to Editor. Cannot remove Owners, grant the Owner role, or delete the document.
Viewer: can view the document read-only and create their own copy. Cannot edit, share, or see the list of other participants.

What are the general access settings?

Document owners can control how broadly a document is accessible:

Only people you invite (default): only people you have explicitly invited can open the document.
Organisation: anyone in your organisation can view the document.
Anyone with the link: anyone holding the link can view the document, including people who are not signed in.
Public: the document is published publicly on GitLaw (used for templates and open documents).

Sharing with external parties

You can share documents with people outside your organisation, such as counterparties, clients or collaborators. They do not need to be a member of your organisation. External participants:

Receive access only to the specific documents shared with them.
In legal negotiations, as long as you share view-only access, counterparties receive view-only access.
Can create their own copy of the document and submit their changes back to you via a change request for your review.
Have no visibility into your organisation, its members, or any other documents.

Frequently asked questions

Can my team see my documents by default?

No. All documents are private until shared. Only Organisation Owners can see all organisation-owned files.

Can an Org Admin see all organisation files?

No. Only Org Owners have that visibility. Admins see only documents they own or that have been shared with them.

Can a Viewer share my document with others?

No. Only Owners and Editors can share. Note that Viewers can make copies, which they can then share as their own documents.

Can external parties see my other documents?

No. They only see what you share with them.

Reviewed by the GitLaw team. Last updated 29 July 2026.