You want to share a Notion page with someone so they can view the content but not make any changes. Notion offers a read-only sharing option that locks the page for external users while preserving your own editing access. This article explains how to enable read-only sharing for individual pages and full workspaces, and what limitations you need to know before publishing a page.
Key Takeaways: Setting Up Read-Only Sharing in Notion
- Share menu > Can View: Grants read-only access to a specific person via email invite.
- Share menu > Share to web > Can View: Publishes a page publicly with view-only access for anyone with the link.
- Settings & Members > Permissions > Guest access: Limits workspace guests to read-only on selected pages.
How Read-Only Sharing Works in Notion
Notion read-only sharing gives a person or a group the ability to see the content of a page without editing, commenting, or duplicating it. This is useful for publishing documentation, sharing project updates with stakeholders, or giving clients access to reference materials without risking accidental changes.
There are two main methods: sharing with specific people by email and sharing to the web with a public link. Both methods use the same permission level called Can View. The page owner and anyone with Can Edit or Full Access permissions can still modify the page normally.
Before you start, ensure the page you want to share is not set to Private in the workspace settings. If the workspace owner has restricted external sharing, you will need to request an exception from the workspace admin.
Steps to Set Up Read-Only Sharing for a Specific Person
- Open the Share menu
In the top-right corner of any Notion page, click the Share button. A dropdown panel appears. - Add the person by email
In the Invite field, type the email address of the person you want to share with. Notion will show a matching workspace member or you can type a full external email address. - Set permission to Can View
After typing the email, click the permission dropdown that appears next to the email. Select Can View. This ensures the person cannot edit, comment, or share the page further. - Send the invitation
Click Invite. Notion sends an email notification to the recipient with a link to the page. The page appears in their Notion sidebar under Shared with me with a read-only lock icon.
What the Recipient Sees
When the recipient opens the page, all text, images, databases, and embeds are visible. They cannot click into any text field, drag blocks, or use the Edit button. The page header shows a banner that says View-only.
Steps to Set Up Read-Only Sharing to the Web
- Open the Share menu
Click the Share button in the top-right corner of the page. - Toggle Share to web on
In the Share to web section, click the toggle switch to enable public sharing. The page URL becomes accessible to anyone who has the link. - Set permission to Can View
Below the toggle, click the permission dropdown and select Can View. This is the default option, but confirm it is set correctly. - Copy and distribute the link
Click Copy link and share the URL via email, chat, or embed it on a website. Anyone with the link can see the page but cannot edit it.
Important Note About Public Pages
Public pages indexed by search engines can appear in Google results. To prevent indexing, go to Share > Share to web > Search engine indexing and toggle it off. This keeps the page accessible only to people who have the direct link.
Limitations and Things to Avoid
Read-Only Users Can Still Copy Content
A person with Can View permission can still copy text by selecting it and using Ctrl+C. They can also take screenshots. Read-only sharing does not prevent content extraction. For sensitive data, consider using a dedicated document management system with digital rights management.
Read-Only Users Cannot Access Sub-Pages Automatically
If the shared page contains links to sub-pages or databases, the recipient may not have access to those linked pages unless each one is shared separately. To give access to a hierarchy, share the top-level parent page and ensure all child pages inherit sharing settings from the parent. Check this by opening each sub-page and verifying the Share menu shows the same permissions.
Guests vs Workspace Members
When you invite an external person by email, Notion creates a Guest account for that person. Guests can only see pages that are explicitly shared with them. Workspace members who already belong to your workspace can also be set to Can View on individual pages, but they still retain their workspace-level permissions for other pages.
Read-Only Sharing vs Other Permission Levels
| Item | Can View | Can Edit | Full Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Read content | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Edit text and blocks | No | Yes | Yes |
| Add comments | No | Yes | Yes |
| Share page with others | No | No | Yes |
| Delete page | No | No | Yes |
| Change permissions | No | No | Yes |
The table above shows that Can View is the most restrictive permission level available in Notion. Use it when you want to distribute information without allowing any interaction.
If Read-Only Sharing Is Not Working
Recipient Sees an Edit Button
If a person with Can View permission sees an Edit button, the page may be part of a workspace where the recipient is already a member with higher permissions. Check the recipient’s workspace membership in Settings & Members > People. If they are a member, remove them from the workspace or set their workspace-level permission to Can View in the workspace settings.
Public Link Shows a 404 Error
A public link that returns a 404 error means the page was deleted or the Share to web toggle was turned off after the link was distributed. Re-enable sharing and copy the new link. The old link will not work.
Guest Cannot Access Sub-Pages
If a guest reports missing sub-pages, open each sub-page individually and share it with the same guest using the Can View permission. Alternatively, move all content into a single page so the guest does not need to navigate between pages.
You can now set up read-only sharing for any Notion page using either email invitations or a public link. Test the permissions by opening the shared link in a browser window where you are not logged into Notion. For a more advanced setup, combine read-only sharing with locked databases by setting the database view to Locked in the view options, which prevents visitors from changing the sort or filter of the view.