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Secure document sharing

Send chosen documents to an organisation behind three checks: a unique link, the email it was sent to, and a time-bound access code you give over the phone. Available on Plus.

Plus pricing

What it is

Secure document sharing is a stronger version of the compliance passport for sensitive files. Instead of the link alone granting access, the person who opens it must also enter the email address you sent it to and a short access code you give them separately, over the phone. Three things are needed to see the documents, not one, so a forwarded or intercepted link is useless on its own.

Sending a secure share

Open Documents, choose the Share tab, and choose the locked link, protected by an access code. (A quick link with no code is the compliance passport.)
Tick the documents you want to include. You choose exactly what to share, document by document.
Enter the recipient email address and, optionally, a name and an organisation label.
Create the share. Sessional emails the recipient a link, with a line saying that Sessional has not checked the documents, and shows you a six-digit access code once.
Call the organisation and read them the code. The code is never included in the email.

The access code

The code is six digits and lasts 15 minutes, long enough for a phone call. It is shown to you only once when you create the share, and it is never sent in the email, so seeing the email is not enough to open the documents. If the code expires before the organisation uses it, open the share in your dashboard and generate a fresh code, then read the new one out.

How the organisation opens it

They open the link, enter the email address the link was sent to, and enter the access code you gave them. Once both match, the documents open in that browser for a limited time, 30 minutes at present, counted from the moment of unlocking. Reloading the page inside that time keeps it open. After that the page locks again, and opening it once more needs the email address and a current code, so if they need to come back later, generate a fresh code from the share and read it out. No account is needed on their side.

Control and revocation

You stay in control of every share. Each link expires after seven days, and you can revoke any of them at any time from the same page, which stops access immediately. For safety, a link locks itself after five incorrect attempts, so a code cannot be guessed; generating a fresh code unlocks it and gives that code its own attempts. Each share records when it was opened.

Limits: one share can carry up to 50 documents, and you can create up to 20 shares a day.

Important: Sessional does not verify documents

Note

Sessional does not check, verify, or validate your documents. It shares exactly what you select. Confirming the documents are genuine, current, and sufficient for the role is the responsibility of you and the organisation, the same as if you had emailed them.

Frequently asked questions

How is this different from the compliance passport?

The compliance passport shares documents behind a link alone, which is quick for routine clearance. Secure document sharing adds two more checks, the recipient email and a code you read out over the phone, for more sensitive documents where a link on its own is not enough.

What if the organisation loses or never gets the code?

Open the share in your dashboard and generate a new code, then read it to them over the phone. The old code stops working straight away.

Can the code be sent by text instead of read over the phone?

No. The code is given verbally, which keeps it off any channel the link itself could travel on.

Which plan includes this?

Secure document sharing is a Plus feature. You upload documents in the document store first, then share them here.