Share with specific people
  1. Go to Google Drive.
  2. Select the folder you want to share.
  3. Select Share Add approver .
  4. Enter the email address or Google Group you want to share with. If you use a work or school account, you can share with suggested recipients.
    • Tip: To turn off suggested recipients, go to your Drive Settings Settings. Uncheck “Show suggested recipients in the sharing dialog.”
  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, click Add expirationto add an expiration date.
    • Tip: Expiration dates for folders are available for Viewer and Commenter roles in My Drive.
  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. Select Send or Share.


Allow general access to the folder

You can decide if your folder is generally available or restricted to only the people with access. If you allow access to anyone with the link, your folder won't restrict who can access it.  This means anyone who get the link can access the file, including if people forward it on.

  1. On your computer, go to Google Drive.
  2. Click the folder you want to share.
  3. Click Share Add approver .
  4. Under "General access," click the Down arrow .
  5. Choose who can access the folder.
    • Tip: If you use your Google account for work or school, you can choose to only share files and folders with a specific audience, like your department. When you hover over the group name, you can find a description of each audience.
  6. To decide what role people will have with your folder, select Viewer, Commenter, or Editor.

Change sharing permissions of shared folders


Edit, comment or view shared files:

When you share a folder, the files and subfolders inside are updated with the new sharing settings. Depending on how you shared the folder, the people you shared with will have access to the files inside:

  • 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.

After you share the folder, you can change how the files inside are shared.


Add and expiration date:

To add an expiration date to your folder:

  1. Next to the email field, click the drop-down to select the role.
  2. Click Add expiration.
  3. Add the date the person's or group’s access to the folder should expire.
    • Tip: To edit the expiration date, select Edit . To remove the expiration date, select Remove

Change the owner of a folder:

When you transfer ownership of a folder, the files inside keep their original owner. To change the owners of more than one folder:

  1. On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
  2. Select the folder that you want to change owners.
    • To select multiple folders, hold Shift and click the folders you want.
  3. At the top right, click Share Add approver .
  4. To the right of the person’s name, click the Down arrow Down arrow.
  5. Click Transfer ownership.
  6. Click Yes.

After you make someone else the owner of a folder, you can edit the folder until the new owner decides to change your access.