Shared drives are special folders in Google Drive that you can use to store, search, and access files with a team. Shared drive files belong to the team instead of an individual. Even if members leave, the files stay in the shared drive so your team can keep sharing information and work anywhere, from any device.
Key features of shared drives
- Files and folders persist after someone leaves
Your organization owns the files in a shared drive, not an individual. When someone leaves and an admin deletes their account, files they added or created in shared drives remain.
- Flexible sharing
Access to files and folders in shared drives is granted in two ways: 1) adding a user or group as a member of the shared drive, and 2) members sharing files and folders with non-members.
- Easy, consistent sharing for members. All members of a shared drive see the same content. However, if you want to keep some sensitive information private, you can use limited-access folders in shared drives to control who can see the content inside a folder. With limited access, only people you directly add to the folder can open it and access its content. Other members of the shared drive can see the folder's name, but they can't open it unless they get access.
You can add a group as a member of a shared drive. Then when a user is added to the group, Google Groups automatically adds them to all the shared drives that include that group. Members are assigned access levels, which control what they can do with files and the shared drive. - Tailored sharing for non-members. If allowed, members of a shared drive can share individual files and folders with non-members. This option lets you share only what a non-member needs access to, without sharing everything in the shared drive.
- Easy, consistent sharing for members. All members of a shared drive see the same content. However, if you want to keep some sensitive information private, you can use limited-access folders in shared drives to control who can see the content inside a folder. With limited access, only people you directly add to the folder can open it and access its content. Other members of the shared drive can see the folder's name, but they can't open it unless they get access.
- External people can work in your shared drives (if allowed by your organization)
If your organization allows, you can add external people to a shared drive as long as they have an email address associated with a Google Account. Any content an external person contributes (for example, edits to, creating, or uploading a file) in a shared drive created by someone in your organization is transferred to and owned by your organization.
For people whose Google Workspace edition doesn't include shared drives, you can only add them with Viewer access. However, you might be able to give them comment or edit access to specific files in the shared drive, depending on folder permissions. See How sharing a folder in a shared drive works.
- Sync shared drives to your desktop
You can access your shared drives on your computer using Google Drive for desktop.
Compare shared drives with My Drive
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My Drive |
Shared drives |
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Who can add files? |
The person who owns My Drive. |
Any member with Contributor access or higher. |
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Who owns files and folders? |
The individual who created the file or folder. |
The team. |
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Can I move files and folders? |
Yes, you can move files and folders around in My Drive. |
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Can I sync files to my computer? |
Yes, using Google Drive for desktop. For details, see What can you do with Drive for desktop. |
Yes, using Google Drive for desktop. |
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How does sharing work? |
People might see different files in a folder, depending on their access to individual files. Folder owners control access only on shared folders in their My Drive. |
By default, all members of a shared drive see all of the files. Members with Manager access can use limited-access folders in shared drives to control who can see the content inside. |
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Can I change who has access to a folder? |
Yes, you can control access to specific files and folders that you own in My Drive. |
Yes, if you have Manager access to the folder or are a member with Content manager access and the Allow content managers to share folders permission, you can update a folder to limited access. |
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How long do files I delete stay in Trash? |
Files and folders in Trash are deleted forever after 30 days. You can also delete files in Trash by selecting Delete Forever. |
Each shared drive has its own Trash.
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Can I restore files? |
Yes, if you’re an owner of the file. |
Yes, if you have at least Contributor access. |