Share folders in Google Drive

Note: If you share or unshare folders with a lot of files or subfolders, it might take time before all permissions change. If you change a lot of edit or view permissions at once, it might take time before you see the changes.

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

  • Can organize, add, & edit: 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.

How to share folders

Specific people

Like files, you can choose to share with only specific people.You can share with people that have a Google Account.

  1. On your iPhone or iPad, open the Google Driveapp.
  2. Next to the folder's name, tap More More.
  3. Tap Add people Add people.
  4. Type the email address or Google Group you want to share with.
  5. To choose whether a person can view, comment, or edit the file, tap the Down arrow Down Arrow.
    • If you don’t want to notify people, tap More Moreand then Skip sending notifications.
  6. Tap Send Send. An email is sent to people you shared with.
Anyone with the link

To share something with more than one person without entering individual email addresses, you can create a link that allows anyone to open it.

  1. On your iPhone or iPad, open the Google Driveapp.
  2. Next to the folder's name, tap More More.
  3. Tap Link sharing Link. Link sharing will be turned on and the link will be automatically copied.
  4. Paste the link in an email or any place you want to share it.

Learn more about different link sharing settings.

A group of specific people

Share with a Google Group

You can share files and folders with Google Groups instead of individual people. When you add to or remove members from the group, they will gain or lose permission to the files and folders that the group can see or use.

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

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:

  • Can organize, add, & edit: 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.

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

Transfer ownership

To transfer ownership 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 articles

Was this article helpful?
How can we improve it?