Google Drive is one of the most used cloud services worldwide, because it offers many features for free. One of them is the possibility of sharing files with third parties. The problem is that, if you work regularly with this tool, there may come a time when you don't know who has access to files in Google Drive.
So that you can better improve your files and control privacy, we are going to explain how you can know who are the people to whom you have given access to certain documents or files.
All the advantages of sharing files through Google Drive
This Google tool is easy to use and very accessible, which is why it has millions of users. Sharing files through it gives us a series of advantages:
Access from anywhere
The files that we have uploaded to the cloud, regardless of whether we have shared them or not, will be available at any time and from any device with Internet access. In the era of remote work, this is especially interesting.
Real-time collaboration
One of the great advantages of giving other people access to files in Google Drive is that they can work on the same document at the same time. The rest will see the changes in real time, which speeds up the work a lot.
Version control
Drive keeps a history of all versions of your files. This allows you to make revisions and go back to a previous version if necessary.
This functionality is especially useful when working on the same document over time. For example, if you are preparing your business project, an important report, or if you are writing your final degree project.
Ease of use
As we said before, one of the great advantages of this tool is that it has a simple and intuitive operation. It will be easy for you to know how create folders and distribute the different access permissions, even if you've never used Google Drive before.
Ample storage capacity
Google Drive offers 15 GB of free storage, which is more than enough to store and share hundreds of files. However, if you need more space, You can opt for a paid subscription.
Integration with other Google applications
Drive integrates with other Google applications such as Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Slides. In this way, exchanging files between applications becomes very simple, and This increases productivity.
Security and privacy
Google Drive offers advanced security measures in essential areas such as data encryption in transit and at rest, which helps protect the confidentiality of the files you have in your cloud, even if you share them with other people.
Also, at all times you can control who has access to files and change permissions (or remove them) when you consider it necessary.
Ease of sharing
You can share files in different ways, but one of the simplest is to generate a link that you can send by email or message.
Who has access to files in Google Drive?
Google Drive has so many advantages that you have surely used it on occasion to share files with other people. If so, and you want to know who can see your files, do the following.
Access the document for which you are interested in knowing who you have shared it with and click on "Share". You will see this option in the upper right corner of your device.
When you click on it, it appears a pop-up window that tells you which people have access to that file and what permissions they have to work on it.
Search shared documents in Google Drive
If you have been using this tool for a long time, you may have lost track of some documents that you once shared with other people. If you now need to recover that information, you can access it.
Go to WhoHasAccess and click on “Scan my Google Drive now.” Grant the permissions that the tool requests, and let it do its job. At the end of the scan it will provide you with a list of your shared documents. In it you will see both the name and email of the people with whom, at the time, you shared each file.
Manage access permissions to your shared documents
Share documents via Google Drive It is very useful on an academic and professional level. However, it is not always convenient for everyone who may have access to be able to edit and change the content.
To have greater control over your files, Drive gives you the opportunity to set different access permissions. The roles you can assign are:
- Reader. That person can only read the text, but not make changes to its content.
- Commentator. The user can leave comments, but cannot interact directly with the text.
- Editor. If you assign this role to another person, they will have the same editing functions on the document that you have as its creator.
You can quickly change the permissions you've granted. Enter the document that interests you and click on the “Share” option. A list will appear with the people who have access to the file and the role previously assigned. By clicking on it, a new pop-up window appears that allows you to make changes.
Thus, someone with the role of editor can become a simple reader, and vice versa. From this window you can also cancel any access permissions you have granted.
If what you need is to block a certain user, you can do that too. Follow these steps:
- Sign in to Google Drive.
- Click on the tab “Shared with me” that appears on the left side of the screen.
- Right-click on a file for the user you are interested in and press "To block" in the drop-down menu.
- Confirm your action by clicking again "To block".
With this action, the blocked user will no longer have access to any document that you have shared between the two of you.
As you have seen, knowing who has access to files in Google Drive is not complicated. We recommend that you review and make decisions about whether or not you are interested in continuing to share your files with certain people.