Team Drives access levels

This feature is available with G Suite Enterprise, Enterprise for Education, Drive Enterprise, Business, Education, and Nonprofits edition. Compare editions

Users with G Suite Basic cannot create or access Team Drives unless they are invited by a member  
of an external organization that has Team Drives. 

User access levels

To manage Team Drives and their contents, users must have the appropriate access levels.

Note: G Suite Basic edition users can only view files in Team Drives in their own organizations, unless those files have been shared with them directly. Learn more about G Suite Basic edition user privileges.
Task Manager

Content manager*

 Contributor** Commenter Viewer
View Team Drives and files ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Comment on files in Team Drives ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✘
Make, approve, and reject edits in files ✔ ✔ ✔ ✘ ✘
Create and upload files and create folders in Team Drives ✔ ✔ ✔ ✘ ✘
Add people to specific files in Team Drives ✔ ✔ ✔ ✘ ✘
Move files and folders within a Team Drive ✔ ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘
Move files from one Team Drive to another Team Drive ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘
Move Team Drive files into the trash ✔ ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘
Permanently delete files in the trash ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘
Restore files from trash (up to 30 days) ✔ ✔ ✔ ✘ ✘
Add or remove people to or from Team Drives ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘
Modify Team Drive settings ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘
Delete a Team Drive ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘

 

* Default role for new members.

** Contributor access provides read-only access to files in Drive File Stream. Assign the Content manager access level for users who need to edit Drive File Stream files. 

Requests for access to files in Team Drives—Requests for access to Team Drive files go only to the file creator. If the file creator is no longer a member of a Team Drive, the request will be sent to Full access members.

G Suite Basic edition user privileges

Team Drive privileges for G Suite Basic edition users depend on whether the Team Drive is located inside or outside their organization.

Access to Team Drives inside an organization

G Suite Basic users can only view the Team Drive files that are located in their own organization's Team Drives, unless those files have been shared with them directly. For example, a G Suite Basic user at solarmora.com can only view files on Team Drives from solarmora.com.

Access to Team Drives outside an organization

G Suite Basic users who are outside an organization are allowed to manage Team Drives in that organization if they have the appropriate access levels. For example, a G Suite Basic user at solarmora.com with Manager access can manage Team Drives from altostrat.com.
Note: Depending on your organization's sharing permissions, you can share files directly with G Suite Basic edition users to let them view, comment on, or edit files. Learn how to control sharing of Team Drives content.

G Suite administrator privileges

To manage Team Drives for your organization, you must be a G Suite administrator with the Drive and Docs privilege. 

This privilege lets you:

  • Turn Team Drive creation on or off for your organization. Learn more
  • View and manage the Team Drives in your organization. Learn more
  • Add and remove the people who can access a particular Team Drive. Learn more
  • Control sharing of Team Drives content. Learn more
  • Migrate content to a Team Drive. Learn more
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