Sharing a directory across subsidiaries
What it is for
A group has several subsidiaries, each with its own Entra ID tenant or Google Workspace domain, all connected in the same RingSync organization. Sharing lets one subsidiary's people also receive another's contacts on their phones. A typical setup: headquarters visible to every subsidiary, and each subsidiary visible to headquarters.
Prerequisites
- At least two directories connected in the same RingSync organization. The number of directories depends on the plan: see Pricing.
- An owner or admin role in the organization.
The rules
| Rule | Details |
|---|---|
| Never outside the organization | A directory can be shared only with directories of its own organization. RingSync enforces this on its servers. |
| One-way | Sharing A with B does not share B with A. |
| Chosen recipients | None by default. To share with all, tick every directory. |
| Who receives it | Anyone with an active seat on a recipient directory. |
| What is shared | Exactly what the source directory's own users receive: same scope, same groups and exclusions, same field rules (guests left out). |
| Read-only | The shared directory is a read-only copy, like any synced directory. |
| Seats | Receiving a shared directory uses no seat. |
| Contact limit | Shared contacts count toward the organization's synced contacts limit, once per person. |
Setting up a share
- Open the source directory, the one whose contacts you want to share, from the Directories switcher.
- Settings → Share this directory.
- Tick the directories that should receive it.
- Click Save. Message: "Sharing saved. Phones will be up to date at their next sync."
In a recipient directory's settings, the line "This directory also receives: …" lists the directories it receives.
For the headquarters and subsidiaries case: on the headquarters directory, tick every subsidiary; then, on each subsidiary, tick headquarters.
What people see
- The shared directory appears in the app as one more directory, under its own name, with no "shared" label. On iPhone, it forms its own contact group.
- The shared directory's settings apply: its sync frequency, and the option to turn off automatic sync only if Allow user-side deactivation is on for that directory.
- From their first sign-in, people see the directories shared with them.
- If the person also holds a seat on the source directory, their own seat applies.
- Someone who is in two synced directories appears twice on the phone, once per directory.
In the dashboard
Shared access is not a seat of the source directory. It counts neither in that directory's People authorized nor in its Signed in to the app, and its sync failures do not show in its To fix list.
Stopping a share
- Source directory's Settings → Share this directory.
- Untick the recipient directory, then click Save.
- Confirm with Stop sharing in the "Stop sharing?" dialog.
Access is removed immediately, and the phones concerned purge the shared directory's contacts.
Shared access is also removed when:
- the source or the recipient directory is deleted;
- the person loses their last seat on a recipient directory. RingSync detects it within 15 minutes.
As with any access removal, the purge happens right away if the app is in the foreground, otherwise the next time the app is opened or syncs. See Security and data.
Traceability
Every change of recipients is logged in Account → Activity as "Directory sharing changed", with the before and after lists.