Finally! Android users can now open shared Microsoft Office files without having to sign in

• Android phone owners can now quickly view Office files in a hassle-free way
• Previously, if you were sent an Office file, you had to sign in to your Microsoft account even to have a swift glance at it
• No login is required now, as has been the case with iOS for a while

Microsoft has just brought the anonymous file sharing ability that was already in iOS to Android users, so those phone owners can view an Office file that’s been sent to them without being forced to log in to their Microsoft account.

Currently, if you get sent a link to a Word file (or other Microsoft Office format such as Excel), when you access it on an Android smartphone, you’ll have to sign in to your Microsoft account before you can view it.

However, as Android Authority reports, Microsoft has now done away with that requirement, so you can simply click and view the Office file on your phone. But if you want to do anything else – like editing a Word document you’ve received, or popping in a comment – then you’ll still need to sign in, as those changes need to be attributed to you. (You will see a prompt informing you of this, by the way).

You’ll need an up-to-date version of Office on your mobile for this to work, though, with Microsoft noting in the blog post introducing the change that version 16.0.18827.20066 or later is required.

As Android Authority observes, the ability to click a link and open an Office file in this way, without being signed in, has been available on iPhone for a few months now.

Analysis: About time for Android

It took some time to provide this functionality for Android, then, which is a bit odd, seeing as you’d think that’d be a priority for Microsoft (with that mobile OS representing the majority of smartphones). Still, it’s good to see the feature debut, even if Android users have had to wait a while for this trick to be drafted across.

Obviously, it’s quite inconvenient to click a link on a file you’ve been sent and then be prompted to sign in, if all you want to do, perhaps, is have a quick glance at the document that’s been sent.

I should note that the sender of the file still needs to be logged in with their Microsoft account to share a file, of course, it’s only the recipient that can view the file (and only view it) anonymously, with no sign-in needed.

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