Share folders in Google Drive

               

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Here’s what people can do with folders after you share it with them:

• Can organize, add, & edit: If they're signed into a Google account, people can open, edit, delete, or move any files within the folder. People can also add files to the folder.
• Can view only: People can see the folder and they can open all files within the folder.

More about folder sharing:

• When you share or change permissions on a folder, the files and subfolders inside are updated with the new sharing permissions. This ensures permission management is simple and access is consistent.
• Permissions from a parent folder are inherited by all the files and folders within it. Files added to a folder later will also inherit these permissions.
• If a file or subfolder needs more restrictive permissions than its parent folder, you should create a limited access folder. Learn how to limit access to folders.

How to share folders

Share with specific people

Like files, you can choose to only share with specific people that have a Google Account. If you have a work or school account, you can also share files or folders with a group. Learn how to create a group in Google Groups.

1. On your Android device, open the Google Drive app.
2. Select the folder you want to share.
3. Select Share .
4. Enter the email address you want to share with.
5. To decide what role people will have with your folder, select Viewer, Commenter, or Editor.
6. If you use an eligible work or school account, tap on the user's role to add an expiration date.
   • Tip: Expiration dates for folders are only available for Viewer roles.
7. Choose to notify people.
   • If you want to notify people that you shared an item with them, check the box next to "Notify people." If you notify people, each email address you enter is included in the email. If you don't want to notify people, uncheck the box.
8. Tap Send .

Tips:

• When you update permissions for an item in My Drive, you may be prompted to manage permissions for the folder it's in. This happens if you try to give someone less access to the item than they inherit from the parent folder.
• This ensures consistent access across the entire folder.

Share with a group of specific people

Share with a Google Group

You can share folders with Google Groups instead of specific people. When you:

• Add a member to a group: That person gains permission to access the files and folders the group has.
• Remove a member from a group: That person loses permission to access the files and folders that the group has.

To share a folder with your Google Group:

1. Create a Google Group.
2. Add members to your group.
3. Share the folder with your group.

Tip: Before a folder appears in the “Shared with me” folder, you must open that folder from an invitation or a link.

Allow general access to the folder

Decide if your folder will be generally available, or restricted to only the people with access. If you allow access to anyone with the link, anyone can open the folder.

1. On your Android device, open the Google Driveapp.
2. Next to the folder's name, tap More .
3. Tap Manage access.
4. Under "General access," tap Change.
5. Choose who can access the file.
6. Decide what access level people will have with your folder by selecting an option.
7. Select whether or not people can find the folder in search results.
8. Tap Back.

Reduce or remove folder permissions

When you reduce or remove someone's permission to a folder, that change applies to all files and subfolders inside it.

However, if someone was given greater access to a specific file within that folder (for example, they are an Editor on a file inside a folder where they are only a Viewer), they will keep their higher level of access for that specific file.

If a file or subfolder needs more restrictive permissions than its parent folder, you should create a limited access folder. Learn how to limit access to folders and tips to unshare your Drive files.

Reduce permissions for a specific file in a shared folder

When you share a folder, every file inside is shared with the same level of access (for example, Viewer or Editor). You can’t give someone less access to a specific file than they have to the folder it's in.

If you try to reduce or remove a person’s access to a single file, you will be prompted to change the permissions for the entire parent folder instead.

Tip: If you need to restrict access to just one file, you can move it to a new, dedicated folder with limited access. You can also create a shortcut to the file in its original location so others can still find it. Learn how to limit access to files and folders in Google Drive.

Change sharing permissions of shared folders

Edit, comment, or view shared files

When you share a folder, the files and subfolders inside will have the same status as the folder you share:

• Editor: People can open, edit, delete, or move any files within the folder. People can also add files to the folder.
• Commenter: People can make comments and suggestions for files in the folder, but can’t change or share items in the folder with others.
• Viewer: People can see the folder and they can open all files within the folder.

If you want to change how specific files are shared, you can do so after you’ve shared the folder.

Add an expiration date

Transfer ownership

To make someone else the owner of a folder, go to drive.google.com on a computer.

Files deleted from shared folders

When someone deletes a file from a shared folder, everyone except the owner of the file will lose access.

Related resources

• Share files from Google Drive
• Stop or change how a file is shared
• Transfer file ownership
• Find files shared with you