We use Google Drive to store a lot of data like documents, images, spreadsheets, etc. Often we need to share files with other people, be it friends or colleagues. This is where the security risk comes in, what if someone downloads the document and misuses it. What if it is sensitive data that you are sharing which is just meant to be read and not saved or copied. How would you ensure that the people you are sharing the document with will not download a copy of this file. Well Google has taken care of this aspect as well in a very easy and efficient way.
Now when you are sharing a file with people you can disable download, copy and print options for that file. This makes it easier to share confidential documents.
Let’s look at how we disable download of files shared from Google Drive:
Step 1: Go to your Google Drive and open the document that you need to share with people.
Step 2: Once the document is open, go to the share option. The share option will bring up a window like the one shown in the below screenshot.
Step 3: On this window there is a Advanced button on the bottom right hand side, click on this advanced button.
Step 4: This will bring up another window like shown in the below screenshot.
Step 5: Here at the bottom you will see an option for disabling download, print and copy option for viewers and commenters. Select this option and click on save changes.
Step 6: Now go ahead and enter email of the people you want to share this document with. And click on send to share this document.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that the people you are sharing this file with should only have permissions to view or comment on this file. If you have given someone permission to edit the file then they can also download or copy this file. So make sure the permissions you set are either viewer or commentator.
Another thing to remember is that these restrictions are only available for individual files and not for folders. When sharing folders you can only limit people from changing access and adding new people.
That is it, now you can be worry free about the security of your confidential data. The file you shared can not be misused in any way. You can share your documents in a easy and secure way from your Google Drive.
You can also check out how to password protect files and folders in Google Drive.
