Google: Shared Drive vs Shared Folders

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS RESOURCE GUIDE?

Google Shared Drive and Google Shared Folders both serve as collaborative tools within Google Workspace, allowing users to share and collaborate on files and folders. While ownership is the key distinction between the two, there are other important differences as well. This resource guide is intended to provide information when it comes to the use of Google Shared Drives and Google Shared Folders.

• Section 1: Ownership
• Section 2: Permission Levels
• Section 3: Data Retention

Google Shared Drive

• Files and folders within a Shared Drive are owned by the organization rather than specific users. This ensures that data remains accessible even if an individual user leaves the organization.

Google Shared Folders

• In contrast, ownership of files and folders within a Shared Folder is typically assigned to the creator of the folder.

Google Shared Drive

• Shared Drives offer more granular control over permissions compared to Shared Folders. Users with Manager Roles can assign different roles to other users, such as Manager, Content Manager, Contributor, and Viewer, each with varying levels of access and capabilities. Managers have the highest level of control, including the ability to add or remove members and change permissions. With that being said, there are a few limitations in regards to permissions within a Shared Drive.
• Child Folders (subfolders) cannot have more restricted permissions than the parent folder.
• When a child folder is moved to a shared drive, the permissions inherited from its parent folder will not be copied over.
• When a parent folder is moved to a shared drive, the child folder will still inherit the permissions from its parent folder.

Google Shared Folders

• Google Shared Folders have simple permission structures. Users can be granted either edit or view access to the contents of the folder. The owners and editors of the folder have the ability to manage access permissions.
• Unlike a Shared Drive, you do have the ability to make child folders more restrictive than the parent folder.

• Files and folders that are moved into a Shared Folder will inherit its sharing permissions.
• Any changes made to the permissions on the Shared Folder will be applied to the files and child folders (subfolders) inside.

Google Shared Drive

• Since ownership of the files resides with the organization rather than individual users, files will remain accessible to other members of the Shared Drive even if the user who created or uploaded the files leaves the district. This ensures continuity of access to important organizational data and prevents loss of critical files due to user turnover.

Google Shared Folders

• Files within a Shared Folder may become inaccessible if the user who created the folder or files leaves the district. 

This document was created for Irvine Unified School District by the Information Technology Department.

If you have any questions, submit a new ticket or email us at helpdesk@iusd.org. 

Last Updated 4/12/24 [EP]