Use Drive for desktop with Google endpoint management

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As an administrator, when you deploy Google Drive for desktop for your organization, you can review information about devices that use Drive for desktop and the Drive for desktop installation. You can also restrict Drive for desktop to only company-owned devices.

Note: Drive for desktop does not prevent data theft. Users can copy data from Drive for desktop to non-secured areas like another hard drive partition.

Find information about Drive for desktop on a device

You can get Drive for desktop information, such as the version number, last sync date, or the amount of offline data on a device, in the Google Admin console devices list.

1. Sign in to your Google Admin console.

   Sign in using your administrator account (does not end in @gmail.com).

2. Go to Menu  DevicesOverview.
3. Click Endpoints.
4. To view only devices that have Drive for desktop:
   1. At the top of the device list, click Add a filter.
   2. Select Management TypeDrive for desktopApply.
5. To view Drive for desktop details for a device, click the device and find the Drive for desktop section. For a description of all available device information, see View laptop and desktop device details.

Restrict Drive for desktop to company owned devices

Requirements: Devices must be entered in your company owned device inventory. If the serial number in the inventory doesn't match the device's, or the device isn't in the inventory, the device is blocked from using Drive for desktop.

Before you begin: To apply the setting for certain users, put their accounts in an organizational unit.

1. Sign in to your Google Admin console.

   Sign in using your administrator account (does not end in @gmail.com).

2. In the Admin console, go to Menu  AppsGoogle WorkspaceDrive and Docs.
3. Click Features and ApplicationsGoogle Drive for desktop.
4. To apply the setting to everyone, leave the top organizational unit selected. Otherwise, select a child organizational unit.
5. Check Only allow Google Drive for desktop on authorized devices.
6. Click Save. If you configured a child organizational unit, you might be able to Inherit or Override a parent organizational unit's settings.

If personal (not company-owned) devices already have Drive for desktop, devices lose access after they're restarted or Drive for desktop checks the device's compliance (a maximum of 3 hours), whichever comes first.

Troubleshooting

“Your administrator has restricted Google Drive access to authorized devices.”

If your users see this error message when they try to use Drive for desktop:

• Open the devices list and ensure the device is listed (it hasn't been deleted).
• Confirm that the device's serial number matches the one entered in the company-owned device inventory. 

Related topics

• Deploy Google Drive for desktop
• Configure Drive for desktop
• Drive firewall and proxy settings
• Drive for desktop release notes