How to share a NotebookLM notebook
A notebook becomes far more useful the moment more than one person can query it. Here is what Viewer and Editor roles actually allow, how public links work, and what stays private even in a shared notebook.
Click Share at the top of an open notebook, add people by email, and set them as Viewer (can chat and play Studio outputs, cannot edit) or Editor (can add or remove sources and share further). Turn on "Anyone with the link" to make the notebook publicly accessible without inviting individual emails.
Viewer vs Editor
- Viewer can read sources, chat with the notebook, and play or generate Studio outputs like Audio Overviews. They cannot add, remove or edit sources or notes.
- Editor can do everything a Viewer can, plus manage sources, notes and further sharing. Treat Editor access the way you would treat write access to a shared document; only extend it to people actually curating the material.
- On personal Google accounts, a notebook supports up to 50 collaborators total, with no Google Groups support. Workspace accounts have their own admin-controlled sharing rules.
Public links
Turning on "Anyone with the link" makes the notebook reachable without an invite, useful for publishing a curated research notebook, a course companion, or a reference notebook for a wider audience than you want to individually add. Public viewers can chat with the sources and play generated outputs, but cannot edit anything. There is also a Chat View link variant that hides the underlying sources and Studio outputs entirely, showing only the chat interface; note that Google itself cautions that determined viewers may still find ways to reach the hidden material, so do not treat it as a hard security boundary for sensitive content.
What stays private
Chat history is private to each individual, even inside a shared notebook. Your questions and a collaborator's questions do not appear in each other's history, and each person's chat settings and custom instructions are personal too. Shared state is limited to the sources, notes and generated Studio outputs.
Usage analytics
Paid plans show basic usage analytics on shared notebooks, active users and query counts per day, once at least four other people have interacted with the notebook in the past week. For a teaching notebook or an internal team reference, this doubles as a live signal of what people are actually confused about: whatever gets asked most is whatever needs a better source.
Before you share something sensitive
- Confirm you are sharing at the intended access level; double-check Viewer vs Editor before sending the link, since the difference is easy to misclick.
- For confidential material (legal, medical, proprietary business documents), prefer a Workspace or Enterprise account over a personal one, and keep sharing to named individuals rather than a public link.
- Revoke access by removing someone from the share list; for a public link, disabling public access breaks the link immediately for anyone who has not already saved a copy of what they viewed.
If a notebook is about to go to a large or public audience, export a backup first. Sharing is not a substitute for having your own copy.
FAQ
Can I share a NotebookLM notebook publicly?
Yes. Enable 'Anyone with the link' in the Share dialog. Public viewers can chat and play generated outputs but cannot edit sources.
What can a Viewer do versus an Editor?
A Viewer can chat with the notebook and use Studio outputs but cannot change sources. An Editor can also add, remove and edit sources, and share the notebook further.
Is chat history shared between collaborators?
No. Each person's chat history and chat settings are private to them, even within a shared notebook. Only sources, notes and generated outputs are shared.
Exportez votre NotebookLM en un clic
Extension Chrome gratuite. PDF, Word et Markdown. Généré sur votre machine — rien n'est envoyé en ligne.