Sharing links are the simplest way to share files with people who don’t have a storageDRIVE account. One URL you send by mail or messenger — the recipient clicks and sees your file. With options for password, expiration date, permissions.
Where you create sharing links
Three ways:
A) File Station
Right-click a file or folder → Share
B) Synology Drive (browser)
Right-click a file or folder → Share
C) Drive client (desktop) / mobile app
Right-click a file → Synology Drive → Share
All of them lead to the same sharing dialog with the same options.
Sharing options
The dialog offers:
Permission
- Preview (read-only): recipient can only view
- Download: recipient can download the file
- Edit: recipient can edit (Office files only) in the browser
- Upload: recipient can upload their own files into a shared folder
Password protection
Enable → set a password.
The recipient needs the password when opening the link. Send the password over a different channel (e.g. SMS if the link goes by mail).
Recommendation: always use a password for sensitive files.
Expiration date
Enable → pick a date.
After expiry the link becomes invalid. Handy for:
- Job-application documents (3 weeks)
- Photo galleries for friends (1 month)
- Contract handovers (1 week)
Bandwidth and download limits
Optional: max number of downloads, max data volume per recipient.
Handy when you share a 5 GB file and don’t want someone downloading it a dozen times.
Link URL
After saving you get a URL, something like:
https://drive.xaweho.de/d/s/abc123XyZ/It’s automatically in your clipboard — paste it straight into mail/messenger.
What the recipient sees
Click on the link → the browser opens:
For a single file
- File name
- Preview (image, PDF, Office, video)
- Download button (if permitted)
For a folder
- File list
- Preview per file
- Download button for individual files
- ZIP download for the whole folder (for large folders)
- With upload permission: an upload button for their own files
The recipient needs no account, no login (except the password, if set).
Managing shared links
In the Synology Drive browser → sidebar → Shared links.
A list of all active sharing links with:
- File/folder name
- Created on
- Expiration date
- Number of downloads
- Status
Actions:
- Copy link
- Change permission
- Change password/expiry
- Disable link (the link becomes invalid)
Recommendation: go through the list every few weeks and switch off old links.
Use cases
Photo gallery for the family
You took wedding photos and want the family to browse them without an account.
→ Public link to the album with:
- Permission: preview + download
- Expiry 6 months
- Optional password
→ Link into the family mailing list
Job-application documents
You send your CV to HR.
→ Public link to the PDF with:
- Permission: download
- Expiry 4 weeks
- Password (via SMS)
File drop point for staff
You collect receipts from field staff — and none of them should see the others’ files.
Important: a regular folder link with upload permission is not enough for that — everyone with the link sees the complete folder contents (see the FAQ below). Use the file request instead:
→ In Synology Drive: right-click the target folder → Create file request
- Optional password and expiration date
- Send the link to your staff
→ Recipients see only an upload form — upload yes, look inside no. The files land in your folder.
Lawyer sends a contract draft
Sensitive data — extra protection.
→ Public link to the contract PDF with:
- Permission: preview only (no download)
- Expiry 7 days
- Password
- Download limit 1
Sharing with the family
storageDRIVE is a single-account product: one plan, one login. Family plans with multiple accounts no longer exist — Synology DSM doesn’t map shared quota pools cleanly in a multi-tenant environment, and what we can’t run reliably, we don’t sell.
For the family that changes little: share via sharing link with password and expiration date (see above) — recipients don’t need an account.
If every person needs their own login, there are two ways:
- A separate storageDRIVE plan per person — everyone has their own storage, sharing happens via link.
- Nextcloud Hosting — unlimited users, shared storage, internal sharing between accounts.
Pitfalls
Keep public links under control
If someone forwards your public link, the third party has access too. Solution:
- Enable password protection
- Set an expiration date
- For very sensitive files: set a download limit of 1 and disable the link in Shared links after the download
Shared folders and subfolders
When you share a folder via public link, all contents are shared — including every subfolder. Be careful what’s inside.
Co-editing Office files via link
With edit permission, Synology Office opens in the browser for the external person. Externals can edit in parallel with you — co-editing with cursor visibility. Handy, but: everyone editing in parallel sees the content.
The expiration date is server-side
Even if the link stays in the recipient’s browser history — after expiry the server hands out no more data. Safe.
Audit / statistics
In Shared links you see per link:
- When it was last accessed
- How often it was downloaded
- IP addresses of the accesses (anonymized per GDPR)
On suspicious activity: disable the link immediately.
Frequently asked questions
What is the default expiration time? By default there is no expiry (the link stays valid indefinitely). You have to actively set a date.
Can the link be googled publicly? No. Links have cryptographic IDs (typically 10+ characters) — not guessable. But: if you send the link to many people and one of them puts it on the web, Google can find it. Hence password protection for anything sensitive.
Can I send sharing links directly by mail? The sharing dialog has a Send via email option — Synology sends the link straight to the entered mail address through the mail server we configured.
Does sharing work without internet on the recipient’s side? No. The recipient needs internet to open the URL.
Can the recipient change the sharing password? No, only you. If you want to swap the password: edit the link entry in Shared links.
Does a public link work for very large files (>10 GB)? Yes. The recipient can download it, the browser has to cope — some browsers have limits (Safari historically had a 4 GB limit).
Shared folder with write permission — do recipients see each other? Yes. Everyone who opened the folder with the same link sees all files (including those of the other recipients). If you don’t want that: use the file request — see the “file drop point” use case above.
Sharing for sensitive business data — are there audit logs on the server side? We don’t look at server logs on a regular basis, but if you have compliance needs we can enable detailed audit logs on request. Open a ticket.
What’s next
First login to DSM
What you receive after ordering and how to log in to your storageDRIVE account for the first time.
Account and quota — how your storageDRIVE storage works
One plan, one user account, a fixed quota: what counts toward the quota, what happens when it's full, and how upgrades work.
File Station — the file manager in your browser
The classic file manager in DSM. Upload, download, creating folders, ZIP creation, previews, sharing links.
Mounting storageDRIVE as a drive (SMB)
How to connect your storageDRIVE via SMB as a drive — in the Mac Finder, Windows Explorer and as a mount on Linux. Step by step, including auto-mount and Time Machine.