Use a no-sharing default when the intended audience is limited. A public-link choice is appropriate only when anyone who might receive the link is an intended viewer. The key fact is direct: anyone who has a link created from a personal account can view the shared conversation or scheduled task. A link should therefore not be treated as private merely because its sender wants it to be private.
What the labels do—and do not—tell you
“Private” is best treated as an audience decision, not as a guarantee about link access. The sharing guidance establishes the personal-account rule above, but the available controls depend on whether someone is signed in, the plan, and the workspace settings. The same label may therefore not represent the same control in every context.
A public link fits a different situation: everyone who obtains it may be an intended viewer. If the material is meant for a smaller audience, do not make link-based sharing the default.
How to check the setting
Before sharing, confirm each of the following:
- Audience: Identify who could obtain the link. If not every link holder should see the item, keep link sharing from being the default.
- Sign-in status: Check whether the account is signed in. The available controls depend on this condition.
- Plan: Check the current plan, because it also affects which controls are available.
- Workspace settings: Review the applicable workspace settings rather than assuming they match another account or context.
- Item being shared: Confirm whether the item is a conversation or a scheduled task, the two types addressed by the sharing guidance.
What the reader must still confirm
The chosen default does not remove the need to check the current context. The reader must confirm the intended audience, the applicable sign-in state, plan, and workspace settings, and the exact item being shared.
It is also important not to treat a familiar label, an existing sharing arrangement, or a general expectation of privacy as proof of an additional restriction. The available guidance does not establish one universal private-link behavior for every account and workspace; the current controls must be verified.
Practical rule
Default to not sharing through a link when the audience is not intentionally broad. Before choosing a public link, accept the concrete implication: anyone with a link created from a personal account can view the shared conversation or scheduled task. Then check the current control against the intended audience, sign-in status, plan, workspace settings, and item type.
The word “private” is not a substitute for that check.