If your space devoted to files 'shared with you' looks like a big mess, it may be because you have been the victim of it. The idea is simple: if someone knows your email address, that person can literally fill your Drive with files and folders of all kinds. Except that some users have repeatedly complained about spam issues. If you use it in your professional life, you will certainly agree: Google Drive is a tool that knows how to be practical and which is difficult to criticize badly. The update should take another ten days before being deployed everywhere. In the interim, users who are experiencing similar issues can remove themselves from the folder, and the folder should not reappear in either “My Drive” or “Shared with Me” unless they revisit it.Google updates its file sharing tool by giving the possibility to block a user who is a little too intrusive on Drive. In light of this issue, we are evaluating changes to our spam, abuse, and blocking features that will prevent this kind of activity from taking place on Drive. Unfortunately, this was not the case for this user and we sincerely apologize for her experience. How the company plans on doing that, however, is still largely unclear.įor the vast majority of users, the default sharing permissions in Drive work as intended. A spokesperson confirmed that making changes to how Google Drive handles sharing, specifically in avoiding spam, is a priority. Making matters worse, there’s really nothing you can do to fix this at the moment. One user which How-To Geek sources notes that a folder their ex controls is still showing in their account. Odds are, it’s not an issue you’ve had much trouble with, but it can be frustrating if it comes up. The “remove” button only hides it from view with the file in question still surfacing in search and other areas. Sharing a file with someone else doesn’t require their permission, and they can’t fully remove all traces of that shared file or folder. The issue, essentially, is that anyone can share any files with you so long as they have your email address, and you can’t fully remove them from your account.

Noted by How-To Geek, Google Drive’s sharing system has had a problem for quite some time that makes it susceptible to spam. However, there’s been a spam issue hiding in plain sight, and now the company intends to fix complaints with Google Drive in this area. Google Drive is an excellent platform not just for storage, but sharing and collaborating on files.

How to prevent google drive spam