I run a small business and want to share my Google docs and sheets with third-party clients, such as banks, consultants, etc. Usually, these parties don't have a Gmail account so the "get shareable link" features appears to be the only solution. However, the data is somewhat sensitive and I would prefer to share it only with specific users.
Is there a way to create guest accounts for Google Apps for Business, or something similar?
Best Answer
There are no such things as guest accounts, no. However, you could create a new Google account, invite that new account to your document, then send the login and password to third-party clients. It would essentially act as a guest account and you could change the password for later third-parties (granted they don't need to access it at the same time. If they did, you could create multiple new accounts). But, as a third party, I would really dislike this option - I would want you to trust me with a secure link because it's easier to use. Besides, using this method would really not be any more secure because once they have access they could share it as they please anyway, or just share the login info...
If you send an invite to a non-Google account then that link is open to anyone with the link.