What is Google Drive?
Google Drive’s major goal is to reduce the load on your hard drive, just like many other cloud services. In order to free up space on your computer, cloud storage works by uploading your files to its own remote servers, or the “cloud.” As a result, your devices will have more space available for important operations like downloading and installing large games and applications.
However, there are many more advantages to cloud storage compared to traditional storage. When your files are stored in the cloud, you may access them from any location using any internet-connected device. Additionally, sharing them with others creates new opportunities for online cooperation (see our article on the benefits of online storage).
Your Google account already includes Google Drive. With 15GB of free storage just for signing up, their free plan ranks very well on our ranking of the best free cloud storage.
However, Google uses Drive to store your Google Workspace documents, Gmail attachments, and Google Photos, which can consume a significant amount of space (see our tutorial on how to remove Google Photos duplicates if you find you have uploaded several versions). Additionally, we provide instructions for transferring files from Google Drive to Google Photos.
You might want to upgrade to a premium plan as a result. Fortunately, Drive has reasonable costs and can probably meet all of your demands. For just $1.99 a month, you can acquire the 100GB plan if you only need a minor update. If that’s still not enough, its 2TB package is only $9.99 per month.
Drive is unfortunately not an exception to the criticism that Google has received for its dubious privacy practices. Google grants itself the right to inspect any Drive file it chooses.
Additionally, since there is no zero-knowledge encryption, Google has access to all of your files’ encryption keys and can see them anytime it pleases. To learn more, see our article on the security of Google Drive.
Also Read: What is Duolingo? How does Duolingo work?
Fortunately, if you care about privacy a lot, there are techniques to encrypt your data. Before uploading your files to the cloud, encrypt them using a service like Cryptomator to make sure no one can scan or access them without your consent.
How Does Google Drive Work?
The basic use of Google Drive is to sync and store files on your computer. You can upload files and edit them online using the Drive website. The Drive folder on your computer can also be used to continuously sync essential files to the cloud, ensuring that they are updated as you work on them, if you install its desktop client.
Drive has added the option to sync any folder on your computer to the Google Drive servers, expanding its syncing features. As a result, Drive can also serve as a backup service. However, it doesn’t exactly have all the features of a specialized backup service, so if you require one, look at our list of the top online backup services.
Google Drive does more than just let you save files, though. It functions as a type of central location for all of your Google activity. Drive is compatible with every program in Google’s ecosystem, including the Google Workspace suite of productivity tools. It can therefore be used to create Google Docs documents, Google Forms questionnaires, Google Sheets spreadsheets, or Google Slides presentations.
As a result of its numerous configurable sharing options, it is also among the best cloud services for sharing. You can specify permissions for each recipient when sharing files on Google Drive. You can work with up to 100 people on any Google Workspace document by allowing other users to edit Google Docs files alongside you.
This means that using Google Drive may be the ideal option for you if your job requires a lot of online collaboration, especially if you frequently work on Google Docs files.
How to Use Google Drive?
If you don’t already have a Google account, you must sign up for one before using Google Drive. You can utilize Google Drive and other Google services, including Gmail and Google Docs, by creating an account. You can read our instructions on how to modify your default Google account if you currently have one but would want a new one.
Go to the Google homepage and click the “sign in” button in the top-right corner to do this. After that, click “create account” and input your desired username and password. You’ll also be required to input certain private data, including your name and birthdate. Next, select your chosen privacy settings and confirm that you understand its privacy policy.
There are various methods for getting to Drive. Most likely, you’ll first run across each other on the Google Drive website. You can then download the desktop software, called “Backup and Sync from Google.” You can also download its mobile app to backup your phone and keep your images current.
