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Shared Drives in Google Drive make it easy for teams to work on files and folders together in one place. But figuring out who can see what, what they’re allowed to do, and how things change when files move can get confusing. This guide breaks it down into plain language.
What Access in a Shared Drive Means
Everyone who is a member of a shared drive has at least view access to everything inside it. Depending on their role, they may also be able to comment, edit, share, or manage settings.
Here's a quick breakdown of the roles:
| Role | What They Can Do |
|---|---|
| Manager | Can do everything, including editing, deleting, sharing, managing people, and restoring files. |
| Content Manager | Can add, edit, move, and share files and folders. |
| Contributor | Can create and edit files but cannot manage sharing or people. |
| Commenter | Can view and comment on files. |
| Viewer | Can view files only. |
Note: In some apps like Drive for Desktop, a Contributor may only have read access unless they’re also a Content Manager or Manager.
How Sharing and Permissions Are Controlled
Shared drive Managers and Google Workspace admins have extra control over how sharing works. They can:
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Limit who is allowed to share files or folders.
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Block sharing outside the organization if needed.
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Set restrictions that apply to the entire drive. If those restrictions are tighter than a file’s current sharing settings, the stricter rules will override the previous ones.
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Restrict access at the folder level, although you cannot give someone less access to a folder than they already have for the shared drive as a whole.
Sharing Files and Folders
If you’re a Manager, Content Manager, or Contributor, you can share individual files the same way you would from My Drive.
If you’re a Manager or Content Manager, you can also share folders. A few things to keep in mind:
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Managers or administrators may choose to block Content Managers from sharing folders.
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Shared folders appear under “Shared with me” for the people you invite.
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In Drive for Desktop or on ChromeOS, you’ll only see items you have Manager access to by default. For other items, you may need to create shortcuts.
Moving Files In and Out of Shared Drives
What happens when you move files depends on the direction:
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Moving into a shared drive: Files keep their existing sharing settings, but if the shared drive has stricter rules, those take effect immediately.
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Moving out of a shared drive: The shared drive’s restrictions no longer apply. Access could change, and some people may lose or gain permissions.
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If you created a file and then move it into a shared drive, you stay listed as the creator, but you no longer have “owner” status. Ownership belongs to the shared drive.
Removing Access
You can remove someone’s access to an individual file or folder, but if they are still a member of the shared drive, they will still have at least view access unless folder-level restrictions say otherwise.
If you remove someone from the shared drive entirely, they lose access to everything inside it, even if specific items were shared with them before.
