How it works in a data room
A user starts with the minimum rights needed for routine work. When they need something more, such as download rights for a folder or temporary administrator powers, they request it and an approver grants it for a set period, for example four hours or two days. When the window closes, the extra rights disappear without anyone having to remember to remove them. The same idea applies to the provider’s own staff: a support engineer who needs to look at a customer issue receives time-limited access that the customer can see and, in some cases, must approve.
Why it matters in a deal
Permanent broad access accumulates over a long process. People change roles, advisers leave the deal, yet their rights stay in place. Just-in-time grants shrink that exposure and support the principle of least privilege. They are particularly useful for download rights on sensitive folders, which sellers often want to allow briefly for a specific review and then switch off again.
Example
A buyer’s tax adviser needs to download five years of tax filings to run them through internal models. The seller grants download rights on that folder for 48 hours. After the window, the adviser is back to view-only access, and the audit trail shows exactly what was downloaded during the grant.