SOC 2 Sharing: A Practical, Secure Workflow
This guide covers a practical workflow for sharing SOC 2 reports with prospects, including access controls, NDA gating, watermarking, and audit logging.
The problem with emailing SOC 2 reports
No control after sending
Once you email a PDF, you have no idea who it gets forwarded to or how many times it's shared.
No NDA enforcement
Manually tracking NDA signatures for every prospect doesn't scale.
No approval workflow
Anyone on the team can send documents without oversight or consistency.
No audit trail
Hard to track who downloaded what, when, and how many times.
Cloud drives like Google Drive or Dropbox solve some of this, but they're not designed for controlled, professional document sharing during sales cycles.
A better workflow for sharing security documents
Here's what a professional SOC 2 sharing process looks like:
Prospect requests access
They visit your trust portal and submit a request with their name, email, and company.
NDA accepted (optional)
If you require it, the prospect must agree to your NDA before submitting their request.
Your team reviews the request
You get notified, review who's asking, and approve or reject with one click.
Secure share link is created
The prospect receives a time-limited link with download limits. No permanent access.
PDFs are watermarked
Downloaded documents include the requester's name and email, deterring unauthorized sharing.
Every download is tracked
Full audit log with timestamps and IP addresses for compliance and visibility.
How Simple Trust Portal helps
Built specifically for sharing SOC 2 reports, pentest results, and compliance documents.
Access request approvals
Review every request before granting access. See who's asking and why.
Optional NDA gating
Require prospects to accept your NDA before they can request documents.
PDF watermarking
Automatically watermark private documents with the requester's information.
Expiring share links
Links expire after 30 days and have download limits. No permanent access.
Complete audit logs
Track access requests, approvals, and downloads with timestamps.
Public trust portal
Give prospects a professional page to view your security posture and request documents.
Is Simple Trust Portal right for you?
Good fit if you...
- • Are an early-stage B2B SaaS company
- • Have your first SOC 2 report and need to share it
- • Want a professional sharing process without enterprise overhead
- • Need NDA tracking and download visibility
- • Want to stop manually emailing PDFs
Not a fit if you need...
- • Compliance automation (evidence collection, continuous monitoring)
- • Vendor risk management workflows
- • Security questionnaire automation
- • A full GRC platform
For these needs, consider platforms like Vanta, Drata, or SafeBase.
Frequently asked questions
Can I share non-PDF documents?
Yes. You can upload and share PDFs, Word documents, Excel files, images, and more. Watermarking is only applied to PDF files; other formats are shared as-is.
Do public documents get watermarked?
No. Only private documents (those requiring access approval) are watermarked. Documents marked as publicly downloadable are served without watermarks.
How long do share links last?
Share links are valid for 30 days and allow up to 25 downloads per document. After that, the prospect would need to request access again.
Can I require an NDA before sharing?
Yes. You can enable NDA gating and provide your own NDA text. Prospects must accept it before submitting an access request.
Can I approve access to only some documents?
Yes. When reviewing a request, you can approve access to specific documents rather than everything they requested.
Can I see who downloaded my documents?
Yes. The dashboard shows download history for each approved request, including timestamps and IP addresses. You can also export audit logs.
Ready to share your SOC 2 report professionally?
Set up your trust portal in minutes. Upload your documents, configure your settings, and start sharing securely.
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