There is no native method in SharePoint for receiving notifications when permissions change. Fortunately, alerts can be set up using third-party software such as Syskit, DeliverPoint, or SharePoint Manager Plus.
Detecting changes to permissions in SharePoint is vital for safeguarding your data. You could do this manually by using the auditing feature. But receiving automatic notifications means that you’ll know immediately when changes occur.
So, in this article, we’ll run through how to set up instant alerts for permission changes in SharePoint.
- Select a management tool (SharePoint Manager Plus, DeliverPoint, Syskit)
- Install the software
- Connect to your SharePoint account
- Turn on alerts for permission changes
Continue reading for a visual, in-depth guide on how to set up alerts for permission changes.
Let’s get started…
How to get Notified for SharePoint Permission Changes Using Third-Party Software
As I mentioned previously, there is no native method in SharePoint for receiving notifications when permissions change on an item or folder. Fortunately, there is third-party software you can use that can help you set up notifications for permission changes.
Follow the steps below for a process — including screenshots — that walks you through getting notifications for permission changes. For demonstration purposes, the piece of software I’m using is SharePoint Manager Plus. I’ll explain why I’ve chosen this third-party software later on in this post.
STEP 1 – Choose Your Permission Management Tool
Today, we’ll be focusing on SharePoint Manager Plus. There’s a 30-day free trial and the prices start from $945 per year. If you want to know why we chose this solution, head down to the comparison section. You can download a free trial of this software at manageengine.com.
Once you’ve downloaded SharePoint Manager Plus, locate the file, right click, and Run or Open.
STEP 2 – Installation Process
In this section we provide a visual, step-by-step guide of how to install the software on your device. The download has been tested from source and is safe to use.
- Follow the on-screen installation instructions. When prompted to enter a webserver port, leave the default port as 8085 and click ‘Next’.
- Continue the installation process and click ‘Finish’ when prompted. This will open up a new tab or browser window.
- The new browser window will be directed to http://localhost:8085/index.html where you will be provided with a login box. Leave the username and password as ‘admin’ and click ‘Login’.
STEP 3 – Connect to SharePoint
In this section we show you how to connect SharePoint Manager Plus to your Office365 account. This will allow you to set up alerts and monitor your site.
- Once logged in, you will be prompted to connect to a server. You can also connect your Office 365 account by clicking ‘Add Microsoft 365’ in the top-right corner.
- Go to your Office 365 Portal.
- Select SharePoint.
- Select and copy the URL from the address bar – that is your Tenant URL
- To connect your Office 365 account, simply enter your Tenant URL, username and password, and click ‘Save’.
STEP 4 – Enable Alerts for Permission Changes
In this section, we guide you through the process of setting up alerts for permission changes in SharePoint. This process will require setting up your mail-server.
- Now you’ve connected your Office 365 account, you can go ahead and set up your alerts profile. Select ‘Alerts’ on the top bar and then click the green box: ‘Create Alert Profile’.
- Next, fill in the Alert Profile Name. This is simply a description of the alert. In this case, it was set to ‘Permission Changes’. Then, select your farm, scope (where you want to apply the alerts), and event. Scroll down on the event list and select ‘Permission Modifications’.
Note: multiple events can be selected from the list.
Before you save, click ‘Advance Configuration’.
- Click ‘Notification’
- Check ‘Enable E-Mail Notification’
- Check ‘Owner’ next to ‘Send E-Mail to’
Note: Before you save, set up your ‘Mail Server Settings‘ to send emails directly to your inbox.
- Enter your mail server, i.e. outlook.
- Enter the mail port number.
- Add your email address in both boxes.
- Click ‘Save‘.
- Finally, return to ‘Alerts‘ > ‘Advanced Configuration‘ and click ‘Save‘.
Now you will be notified whenever permissions are changed across the site. And if the permission change was unauthorized, you can respond quickly to safeguard sensitive data.
For additional help with the set-up head to the Help Center.
Compare SharePoint Permission Management Tools
1: SharePoint Manager Plus
- Pricing starts from $945 per year, per Office365 tenant.
- 30-day free trial
- Demo available
SharePoint Manager Plus is a dedicated SharePoint management tool. Not only can you receive notifications whenever permissions are changed, you can also archive and restore audit logs. You can even compare the old and new permissions to see what changed.
This software is the cheapest solution on our list, and is also the simplest to use. That’s why we selected SharePoint Manager Plus for our guide.
2: DeliverPoint
- Pricing starts from $1000 per year and includes 50 users with an additional $1 per user per year over the initial 50.
- 30-day free trial
- Demo available
DeliverPoint is a SharePoint permissions management tool that helps you efficiently manage your permissions. Reports can be exported to Excel and admins can see exactly who changed permissions. The system also includes automatic notifications whenever permissions are changed.
3: Syskit
- Pricing starts from $3249 per year and includes unlimited users and up to 5 servers.
- 30-day free trial
- Demo available
Syskit is a SharePoint management tool designed to monitor performance of the whole Office 365 environment. If you’re not notified of permission changes or suspicious file-sharing, this can lead to a security risk. Syskit covers the security holes and gives you and your users peace of mind.
Conclusion
Whichever management tool you choose, it’s always important to follow best practices when it comes to data security. Managers must have a clear understanding of who is able to access particular lists, folders, and files. Again, this can be achieved through the audit feature on SharePoint.
To access the audit feature, go to Settings 
and from the pop-up menu, select ‘Site Information’. Then click ‘View all site settings’. Under the ‘Site Collection Administration’ heading, select ‘Site collection features’. Scroll down and look for ‘Reporting’ and select ‘Activate’.
Return to Site Settings and you will see ‘Audit log reports’ under the ‘Site Collection Administration’ heading. There, you can ‘Run a custom report’. And be sure to check ‘Editing users and permissions’.
Thanks for reading.