Cloud storage, One Drive, G Drive or similar.

Cloud storage, One Drive, G Drive or similar.

How University Domain Policies Can Affect Sharing

Universities run OneDrive for Business inside a managed Microsoft 365 tenant. Admins can enable or disable specific sharing behaviours.

We have seen many instances where students have issues with domain policies, or Uni networks affecting access to OneDrive, and other Microsoft365 cloud licenses or apps, because the Uni policy is unconfigured/left as Microsoft supplied it or poorly configured.

This is not malicious, it is just a poorly configured/non configured domain policy.

1. External Sharing Restrictions

Some universities block sharing outside the organisation.

If external sharing is blocked:

  • You cannot share a Uni OneDrive folder with your personal OneDrive email.

  • You cannot share with Gmail.

  • “Add to my OneDrive” will not appear.

  • You may see errors like:

    • “Your admin has blocked external sharing”

    • “This link is not available”

If external sharing is allowed:

Everything works exactly as described below.

Admins can restrict link types to:

  • People in this organisation only

  • Specific people

  • Anyone with the link (least restrictive)

Impact:

  • If “Anyone with the link” is disabled, you must use Specific People and enter your personal email manually.

  • If “Specific People” is disabled, you may not be able to share externally at all.

3. Sync Restrictions (OneDrive App)

Some universities block syncing to unmanaged devices. Some personal machines, once they become managed devices become unusable for non Uni work/may become locked down because of bad policy/after you leave Uni, despite being your personal device.

If blocked:

  • You can still use the web browser to move files.

  • But you cannot sync Uni OneDrive to your home PC using the OneDrive app.

This does not affect sharing between accounts, only local sync.

4. Domain Allow/Block Lists

Admins can explicitly block sharing to:

  • Gmail

  • Outlook.com

  • Hotmail

  • Yahoo

  • Any non‑university domain

If blocked:

  • You cannot share Uni OneDrive → personal OneDrive

  • You cannot share Uni OneDrive → Google Drive

  • You can still download → upload manually

5. File Type or Sensitivity Labels

Some universities use Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels.

If applied:

  • Certain files may be marked “Internal Only”

  • These files cannot be shared externally, even if the folder is shared

  • You may see:

    • “This file is protected by your organisation”

    • “External sharing is not permitted for this item”

6. Expiring or Disabled External Access

Some universities set:

  • External sharing links expire after X days

  • External users must re‑authenticate

  • External access is disabled after inactivity

This can break long‑term shared folders.

7. Google Drive Restrictions

Google Drive itself is rarely the issue — the limitation is always on the OneDrive side.

If Uni OneDrive blocks external sharing, Google Drive cannot receive shared folders.

MethodWorks if Uni allows external sharing?Works if Uni blocks external sharing?
Share Uni OneDrive → Personal OneDrive✅ Yes❌ No
Share Uni OneDrive → Google Drive⚠️ Sometimes❌ No
Share Personal OneDrive → Uni OneDrive✅ Yes⚠️ Usually yes (depends on inbound rules)
Sync both accounts on PC✅ Yes⚠️ Uni account may be blocked from syncing
Download → Upload✅ Always✅ Always


Best practice for cloud storage and backups.

1. Share a University OneDrive Folder With Your Personal OneDrive

This is the simplest and most reliable method.

Steps

  1. Log into your university OneDrive (OneDrive for Business).

  2. Right‑click the folder you want to share → Share.

  3. Enter your personal Microsoft email (Outlook/Hotmail) or your Gmail.

  4. Set permissions to Can Edit.

  5. Open the link from your personal account.

  6. Click Add to my OneDrive.

Result

  • The folder now appears inside your personal OneDrive.

  • Anything you drop into it syncs both ways.

  • Your university cannot see your personal OneDrive files.

2. Share a Personal OneDrive Folder With Your University OneDrive

Same process, reversed:

  1. Log into personal OneDrive.

  2. Share a folder with your university email.

  3. Open the link from your university account.

  4. Click Add to my OneDrive.

Result

  • The folder appears inside your university OneDrive.

  • You can move files between accounts without downloading.

3. Sync Both Accounts on the Same Computer

Windows and macOS both support multiple OneDrive accounts.

How it works

  • Your personal OneDrive syncs to one folder.

  • Your university OneDrive (OneDrive for Business) syncs to another.

  • You can drag files between them like normal folders.

This is fully supported because they are different account types.

4. Share University OneDrive With Google Drive

There is no direct integration, but you can:

Option A — Share via Email

  1. Share a OneDrive folder with your Gmail.

  2. Access it from Google Drive under Shared with me (it won’t sync, but you can open it).

Option B — Use “Download → Upload”

For one‑off transfers:

  • Download from OneDrive → Upload to Google Drive.

Option C — Use a third‑party sync tool

Tools like MultCloud or Mover.io can sync OneDrive ↔ Google Drive.

5. Important Notes

  • Your university cannot access your personal OneDrive even if you’re logged into both.

  • University OneDrive is OneDrive for Business, which is separate from personal OneDrive.

  • You can safely store personal files in your personal OneDrive — universities recommend keeping personal and academic files separate.