User access: what one person can open – and giving another person the same access
Enter an e-mail address or user name to list every site, subsite, list and file that person can open, then copy that access to a new team member or a replacement.
Find what someone can open
Sharing → User access. Enter the person (jane@contoso.com, or CONTOSO\jane on-premises), choose the SharePoint connection and the sites – with an admin center connection you can pick every site and OneDrive – and click Start audit.
The result lists every site, subsite, list, library, folder and file the person can open, the permission level, and through what:
| Through | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Direct | Permissions given to the person themselves |
| SharePoint group: … | They are a member of that SharePoint group |
| Site collection administrator | Full control of the whole site collection |
| Everyone / Everyone except external users | Everyone in the organization has this access |
| … link | A sharing link that was shared with them |
| Security group / Microsoft 365 group … – membership not checked | Access given to an Entra ID or AD group; SharePoint can't tell whether the person is in it |
Access to a site includes everything in it that doesn't have its own permissions – only the places with their own permissions are listed separately.
Copy the access to another person
Typical uses: a new starter who needs the same access as a colleague, or a replacement for someone who left.
- In the result, select rows – or select none to copy everything shown.
- Copy to another person → enter the person.
- Choose what to copy:
- SharePoint group memberships – the person is added to the same groups (each group once).
- Direct permissions – the same permission levels on the same sites, lists, folders and files.
- Site collection administrator – only if you tick it.
- Copy access.
Not copied, and listed with the reason: access through Everyone (they already have it), sharing links (share the item with them instead) and Entra ID / Microsoft 365 groups (add them to the group).
Nobody is notified, the first person keeps their access, and every change is written to the Actions log. Run User access for the new person afterwards to check.
Updated 2026-10-26