How to control who sees new uploads in your data room?

When you add documents to an active data room, you usually don't want every visitor to see them automatically. Upload visibility settings let you decide what happens the moment a new file lands in your data room, so you can stage releases during due diligence without granting access by accident.

Upload visibility is available on the Data Rooms plan and above.

What upload visibility controls

Upload visibility sets the default access rule applied to a document the instant it's uploaded. It works alongside granular file permissions and visitor groups.

You can choose between three options:

Visibility option	What happens on upload
All visitors	Everyone with access to the data room sees new uploads immediately
Specific groups	Only selected visitor groups see the new content
Hidden by default	New uploads stay hidden until you explicitly grant access

Each option can be set at the data room level, the folder level, or per upload session, so you can mix strategies inside the same data room.

Step-by-step: set a data-room-wide upload default

1. Log into Papermark and open your data room.
2. Click the Settings tab.
3. Open the Permissions section.
4. Find Default permissions for new documents and pick one of the three options above.
5. Save your changes.

From now on, every new upload follows the rule you selected.

Step-by-step: set a per-folder rule

If your data room has different sensitivity levels per folder (for example, a public-facing folder and a restricted financials folder), you can override the default per folder.

1. Open the folder inside your data room.
2. Click the three-dot menu next to the folder name.
3. Choose Folder settings.
4. Set the upload visibility for documents added to this folder.

Subfolders inherit their parent folder's setting unless you change it explicitly.

Use cases for staged document releases

• Phase-based M&A due diligence: keep advanced financial models hidden until interested buyers sign an additional NDA, then flip them to visible.
• Investor tiers: show top-line metrics to all investors but restrict customer contracts to the lead investor's group.
• Compliance reviews: upload draft policies as hidden, share with internal reviewers only, then flip to all visitors after sign-off.
• Vendor onboarding: drop sensitive technical specs into a hidden folder until a partner signs the agreement.

Configure upload visibility

How visibility interacts with groups and permissions

Upload visibility sets the default for new documents. After upload, you can always override the default at the document level using granular file permissions.

When you pick Specific groups:

• The visibility rule applies to the visitor groups you select
• New uploads are automatically added to each group's allowed files
• Groups not on the list cannot see the new uploads until you grant access

When you pick Hidden by default:

• New uploads are invisible to every visitor, including admin viewers who don't have explicit access
• You stay in control of when each document goes live
• This is the safest option for active deal rooms with frequent updates

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Granular file permissions
• Groups and granular permissions in data rooms
• How to add documents to your data room
• Audit logs

Need help? Contact support@papermark.com or use the in-app chat.