When a candidate on a confidential search asks for the role spec, the document you send may name the client. If it gets forwarded, the client’s name goes with it, so secure document sharing for recruiters helps you control who opens it.

For a spec that names the client, I recommend one named link per candidate: a link issued to that candidate alone, behind an agreement such as a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), and marked with their email in a watermark.

A plain email attachment can’t be taken back once it’s sent, and a link that works for whoever holds it can be forwarded to anyone. You can turn off a named link for that one candidate, but they can still pass on what the spec says. That’s why the link also carries the agreement and the watermark.

Five tools can do some or all of that. Google Drive and OneDrive, which your team may already use, cover who opens the spec and, on some plans, when access ends. DocSend, Papermark, and Digify add the agreement and the watermark.

What is secure document sharing for recruiters?

It’s sending a document outside your company with controls on who can open it, what the reader agrees to and sees on the page, and whether you can take it back afterward. For a recruiter, the document is usually a role spec for a senior or confidential search, sent to a candidate who works for neither your firm nor the client.

Three controls do most of the work, and the comparison below is built on them:

• Who can open it: only the people you name, or anyone who has the link.
• What it carries: an agreement accepted before the first page, and a watermark with the viewer’s details.
• How you take it back: an expiry date, or access turned off for one person after sending.

Decide who opens the spec before anything else, and send it to the candidate’s personal email, not their current work address, which their employer may be able to read.

Five tools for a confidential spec, side by side.

Three tools cover every control: DocSend, Papermark, and Digify. Some of those controls need a higher plan or a data room.

A data room, or virtual data room, is a secure online space that holds a set of confidential documents and shares them through a single link. Companies typically use them for due diligence in mergers and acquisitions, and for fundraising, to keep confidential information under control while outside parties review it.

A data room differs from a shared file in three ways that are useful on a search. It holds many documents, you choose which of them each person or group can see, and it logs who viewed what and when. In all three tools, you can also ask visitors to accept an NDA before they enter.

DocSend, Papermark, and Digify all run data rooms, and DocSend calls its data rooms Spaces. A single spec doesn’t need one. A data room earns its place when the search releases more than the spec, such as package terms for the candidates who reach the final stages.

The grid sets each tool against the three controls.

Storage your team already uses.

If your team is on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, you can send a spec from Google Drive or OneDrive without adding a tool. Both let you share with named people only.

Both tools suit a spec that doesn’t identify the client by name or details like the client’s headquarters city, its size, or the role’s reporting line. For an agreement before the first page or a watermark with the viewer’s details, use one of the three tools below.

1. Google Drive.

Google Drive is Google’s cloud storage, and a team on Google Workspace already shares files from it. A file set to “Restricted” opens only for the people who’ve been given access, so you decide who’s on that list.

To share the spec with each candidate by name:

1. Right-click the spec in Google Drive and choose “More,” then “File Information,” then “Details.” In the panel on the right, click “Manage access” to see who can already open it, because anyone listed there keeps their access.
2. With the spec selected, click “Share.”
3. Under “General access,” click the down arrow and choose “Restricted,” so only people you’ve given access can open the file.
4. Enter the candidate’s personal email address and choose “Viewer,” so they can read the spec but not edit it.
5. Check “Notify people” to email them the link, then click “Send.”

On a work or school account, you can also end each candidate’s access on a set date:

1. In the “Share” menu, click the down arrow next to the candidate’s name.
2. Choose “Add expiration.”
3. Pick a date within one year, such as the day the search should close, and click “Save.”

Then stop viewers from downloading, printing, or copying the spec. The setting works on individual files, not on folders:

1. Open the “Share” menu and click “Settings.”
2. Under “People who can download, copy, print, and access,” uncheck “Viewers” and “Commenters.” Some of Google’s help pages call this option “Viewers and commenters can see the option to download, print, and copy,” so uncheck that if it’s what you see.

Those settings make the file harder to copy, but they can’t stop someone passing on what the spec says in other ways.

2. OneDrive.

OneDrive is Microsoft’s file storage, and the share type you pick decides who can read the spec. An “Anyone” link opens for anyone who receives it, whether it came from you or was forwarded by someone else, so don’t use one for a confidential spec. Use “Specific people” instead, which gives access only to the people you name.

To share the spec that way from OneDrive for work or school:

1. Sign in at onedrive.com, select the spec, and open the “Details” pane with the “Information” icon in the upper-right corner. Under “Has Access,” choose “Manage access” to see who can already open the file, because “Specific people” doesn’t remove anyone who already has access.
2. Open “Share” at the top of the page, then the gear icon, to reach the link settings.
3. Choose “Specific people.” If the candidate forwards your invitation, only people who already have access can use the link.
4. Uncheck “Allow editing” and turn on “Block download,” so the candidate can read the spec on the web but won’t see options to download, print, or copy it.
5. If you see “Set expiration date,” set it to the day the search should close. It’s only available to Microsoft 365 subscribers.
6. Save the settings with “Apply.”
7. In the “Name, group or email” field, enter the candidate’s personal email address, add a message if you like, and choose “Send.”

If you don’t see “Block download,” it may be turned off for your account, so ask your admin. On a folder, you can only set an expiry on an “Anyone” link, so a folder shared with “Specific people” can’t be given an end date.

Document links built for outside sharing.

DocSend and Papermark are built for sending documents to people outside your company. Each can ask for an agreement first and put a watermark on the spec. They differ in how each candidate gets their own link: DocSend creates one per person, and Papermark issues one through a data room invitation.

3. DocSend.

DocSend is Dropbox’s tool for sharing documents as links, and it creates a unique link for each person.

Send a spec to twenty candidates and you have twenty links. When one candidate withdraws or joins a competitor, turn off their link, and the other nineteen keep theirs.

DocSend’s One-Click NDA works through agreements, and an agreement has to exist before a link can require it. Only an account owner or admin can upload one, under “Agreements” in the left sidebar. The access restriction, the agreement, and the watermark all need one of DocSend’s Advanced plans, and the watermark only works on Word documents, PowerPoint and Keynote presentations, and files saved in Portable Document Format, so send the spec in one of those formats.

To give one candidate their own link to the spec:

1. Log in to docsend.com, open “Content library” in the left sidebar, and upload the spec with “Add content.”
2. Find the spec, open its options menu, and choose “Create link.”
3. Under “Add a company or client name,” name the link after the candidate, so you can tell whose visits are whose. Visitors don’t see this name.
4. Under “Access control,” choose “Restrict access,” then “Edit permissions.” Choose “Allow specified viewers,” enter the candidate’s email address, choose “Add,” and save the list. Anyone else who opens the link is denied.
5. Turn on “Require agreement to view,” so the candidate accepts your NDA before the spec opens.
6. Check “Add a watermark to protect from unauthorized use,” choose “Preview and customize,” and add the {{email address}}, {{ip address}}, {{date}}, and {{time}} fields to the watermark text, then save it. Every page then shows who opened it.
7. Finish with “Create link,” then “Copy link,” and send the link to the candidate’s personal email.

Before you send it, tell the candidate they’ll be asked to accept an agreement first, and that it’s there because the spec names the client. Have your legal counsel confirm the agreement meets your organization’s needs before you rely on it.

To turn off one candidate’s link when they leave the process:

1. Open the spec from “Content library.”
2. Find the candidate’s link under “All links” and turn off its “Link accessibility” toggle. Their access stops straight away, and every other candidate’s link keeps working.

Plan for the spec to change, because requirements aren’t always settled when a search begins. To update it for everyone at once:

1. Open “Content library” and select the spec.
2. Choose the “Replace” icon, then “Add file,” and upload the new version. Every link you’ve shared now shows it.
3. Tell candidates yourself that the spec has changed, because DocSend doesn’t notify teammates or visitors when a file is updated.

4. Papermark.

Papermark is open-source software for sharing documents, and its data rooms do most of the work for a search. The agreement needs the Data Rooms plan, and the watermark needs the Data Rooms plan or above.

To set up a data room for the search:

1. Create a data room with “Create Data Room,” name it after the search, and upload the spec.
2. Open the data room’s “Permissions” tab and choose “Share” to create a link. Give it a “Link Name” you’ll recognize, such as the role.
3. In the link settings, choose the “Agreements” option and connect your NDA. With “Link to an online agreement,” candidates accept it with a checkbox; with a “Signing template,” they sign it electronically. Each acceptance is recorded with the signer’s name, email, and timestamp.
4. Turn on “Require email verification,” so you get a confirmed identity for every viewer, including anyone the link is forwarded to.
5. Turn on “Dynamic watermarking” and build the “Watermark Text” from the {{email}}, {{date}}, {{time}}, and {{ipAddress}} variables, so each page shows who opened it.
6. Under “File access,” choose “Limited file access” instead of “Entire data room,” and pick only the spec. Set new documents to “Hidden by default,” so anything you add later stays closed until you open it.
7. Save the link with “Save Link.”

Then invite each candidate, so each gets a link of their own. Invitations are on Papermark’s Business, Data Rooms, and Data Rooms Plus plans:

1. On the “Permissions” tab, find your link and open the three-dot menu at the end of its row.
2. Choose “Send Invitations.”
3. Enter each candidate’s personal email address under “Recipients,” add a “Custom Message” if you like, and send. Each invitation creates a unique link tied to that candidate’s email address.

To revoke one candidate when they leave the process:

1. Open the “Permissions” tab and find the candidate in the invitations list.
2. Open the three-dot menu next to their name and choose “Revoke access.” Their link stops working immediately, and everyone else’s keeps working.

To end everyone’s access when the search closes:

1. Open the link’s settings.
2. Turn on “Expiration Date,” then pick the date and time.
3. Save the link.

Papermark’s data rooms also let you open documents in stages, such as detailed package terms or a board pack for the candidates who reach the later stages. To open more to the candidates in one stage:

1. In the data room, open “Permissions” and switch from “Links” to “Groups.”
2. Choose “Create group” and name it after the stage.
3. On “Members,” add each candidate in that stage by email address and check “Send invite,” so they get the group’s link.
4. On the “File permissions” tab, give the group “View permission” on the documents that stage should see. Permission changes take effect immediately, even for links you’ve already sent.

If your client cares where its documents are stored, Papermark’s cloud keeps data in the European Union by default, and enterprise plans can keep it in the United States instead.

Control after download.

When a candidate has to keep a copy of the spec, you need control that lasts after the download. Digify is built for that: with its protection after download turned on, you can revoke a downloaded copy.

5. Digify.

Digify combines secure document sharing with a data room. For one spec, send it as a file: Digify itself recommends its data rooms for multi-file projects with many viewers. Revoking access and its One-Click NDA, called “Terms of Access” in the settings, are on all paid plans. The watermark and Screen Shield need the Team plan or above, or an add-on on Pro.

Digify’s default access is now a quick access link, which lets a recipient in without verifying their email, so change it every time you send.

To send the spec to one candidate:

1. From your dashboard, open “Send Files” in the left sidebar, then use “Upload” under “Select Files” to add the spec.
2. Under “Permission,” restrict downloading and printing, so the candidate reads the spec online, where an expiry still applies.
3. Under “Expiry,” choose “Expire on a fixed date & time,” then “Custom,” and set the end to the day the search should close.
4. Turn on “Terms of Access,” so the candidate has to agree to your confidentiality terms before the spec opens.
5. Under “Dynamic Watermark,” turn the toggle on and choose “Email address of viewer” under “Display,” so every page shows who opened it.
6. Under “Screen Shield,” choose “Turn On” and pick how much of the page shows at once: 20, 35, 50, or 100 percent.
7. Under “Access,” choose “Only people I specify (email verification),” so the candidate has to verify their email address before the file opens. Without email verification, Digify says its terms aren’t meant to be a legally binding agreement.
8. Under “Recipient,” enter the candidate’s personal email address, then choose “Send & notify recipients.”

Screen Shield also blurs or hides the content during screenshot attempts or when the viewer switches windows or tabs. Most screenshot shortcuts and plugins are blocked, but some system-level methods may still get through.

To revoke a candidate’s access when they leave the process:

1. From your dashboard, open “Manage Sent Files” in the left sidebar.
2. Open the three-dot menu beside the spec and choose “Manage Access.”
3. Find the candidate and turn off their toggle. Gray means their access is revoked, and you can turn it back on at any time.

When a candidate has to keep a copy, use Persistent Protection After Download (PPAD), a preview feature listed on the Team plan and above:

1. When you send the spec, turn on “Allow Downloading” under “Permission.”
2. Choose to turn PPAD on, because it’s off by default when downloads are allowed, then send the file as usual.
3. Tell the candidate the downloaded file opens only in the PPAD Viewer, which they install from digify.com/v in desktop Chrome or Edge.

With it on, you can revoke the candidate’s access or set an expiry date at any time, even after download. That control still applies when the candidate opens the file offline, for whatever period you choose.

Without it, an expiry only applies to online access in Digify, and a candidate who downloaded the spec keeps their copy.

Where Metaview fits after the spec goes out.

Once a candidate has read the spec, the next step is a conversation with them, held by a recruiter or by an artificial intelligence (AI) agent.

On a confidential search, I recommend a recruiter, not an agent, for that conversation, because the person who sent the spec owns the relationship.

This guide to which roles to hand to an autonomous outbound recruiting agent covers how to decide which searches stay with a recruiter.

Not every spec you send is for a confidential search. For the searches where a recruiter doesn’t need to own every follow-up, there’s fillmore. In Metaview, fillmore manages follow-up conversations and books screening calls, and you approve each meeting.

Matching the tool to the search.

The spec decides the tool: what it reveals about the client, and what happens to it after you send it. Find the search that looks most like yours:

• A spec for two or three candidates that doesn’t identify the client, on a team already using Google Workspace or Microsoft 365: share it from the storage you have, to each person by name and view-only. Where your account allows it, set access to end on the date the search should close.
• A retained search that names the client on page one and goes to a long list: send one document link per candidate, behind an agreement and with a viewer watermark, on a plan that includes both. On DocSend, restrict each link to the candidate’s email; on Papermark, send it through a data room invitation.
• A search where the candidate has to keep a copy: use Digify with its protection after download turned on.
• A search that releases detailed package terms or a board pack later: set up one data room per search, and open the later material only to candidates who reach the later stages.