Use Google Docs Sharing Restrictions to Protect Your Document
Sharing restrictions in Google Docs control access to the document while it lives in Google Drive. Setting these correctly before you export to PDF is part of a complete document security workflow.
Setting access to Restricted
Open Google Drive, right-click the document, and select Share. In the sharing panel, click the access dropdown that says 'Anyone with the link' and change it to Restricted. This means only people explicitly added to the share list can access the document.
Adding specific people
Enter email addresses in the sharing dialog to add specific individuals. Set each person's role to Viewer, Commenter, or Editor based on what they need to do. Viewer role is read-only within Google. Editor role allows full modification.
Using organizational access
If you are in a Google Workspace organization, you can restrict access to people within your domain. In the sharing dialog, select your organization from the access options. This is useful for internal documents that should not be accessible with a public link.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do sharing restrictions apply to the exported PDF?
No. Sharing restrictions only apply to the Google Doc inside Drive. A PDF you export and distribute is outside Google's control. Apply a PDF password separately for that.
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