Table of Contents
Audience
- All faculty, students, staff, affiliates and alumni who use, and collaborate in, Google Drive,
Comparing Google Drive Options
Google Drive provides an excellent content storage and collaboration service, if used appropriately. To minimize risks and optimize sharing, it’s important to understand the differences among these Google Drive options.
|
My Drive |
Shared Drives |
Shared with me |
|
|
Best For |
Personal files |
Group files |
Not recommended |
|
Primary Ownership |
Individually owned by the person who created or uploaded the file |
Group-owned by the department or group |
Owned by others and subject to data loss if they leave the UC |
|
Storage Usage |
Counts toward your individual Google storage limit |
Counts against the Shared Drive's limit (not yours) |
Counts toward the original owner's storage limit |
|
Default Capacity |
50 GB for individual accounts 5 GB for Alumni 25 GB for SPAs You can request an increase up to 150 GB |
25 GB per Shared Drive You can request an increase of 150 GB, 500 GB, or 1 TB |
0 GB (counts toward owner’s quota) |
|
Data Lifecycle |
Files are deleted when the account owner leaves the UC (after grace period ends) |
Files persist even if the original creator leaves the UC |
Access can be rescinded at any time by the owner; files disappear when owner leaves |
|
Permissions |
Basic roles: Viewer, Commenter, and Editor |
Granular roles: Viewer, Commenter, Contributor, Content Manager, and Manager |
Limited to whatever the owner granted you: Viewer, Commenter, or Editor |
Watch the video linked below to view details on the benefits and differences of My Drive, Shared Drives and shared with me.
My Drive
My Drive is your personal Google Drive space, where you own files and folders and control who can access them.
- Files and folders in My Drive are private by default and visible only to you. Other users can only access items that you explicitly share with them.
- If you transfer ownership of a file to another person or move it to a Shared Drive, it will no longer appear in your My Drive. Similarly, if someone transfers ownership of a file to you, it will appear in your My Drive.
- Files stored in My Drive that you own count toward your Google Account Storage limit.
Any file that is shared with you, even in a folder you own, is at risk of deletion when the owner leaves UC Berkeley, unless it is stored in a Shared Drive. Files stored in Shared Drives remain accessible to the group and are not affected by individual account changes.
Shared Drives
Shared Drives are collaborative spaces in Google Drive designed for departments and groups. Unlike My Drive, where files are owned by individuals, files in a Shared Drive are owned by the group.
- When stored in Shared Drives, files remain accessible to the group and are not affected by individual account changes.
- Shared Drives offer detailed permission levels.
- Shared Drives are created with a default 25 GB. You can request an increase of 150 GB, 500 GB, or 1 TB
You can find Shared Drives you have access to in the left sidebar navigation within Google Drive. Learn how to Create and Manage Shared Drives.
Shared With Me
When files and folders owned by other people or organizations are shared directly with you, they appear in “Shared with me” in Google Drive. This section includes items shared specifically with you, as well as files shared with the UC Berkeley community or the public that you have opened.
Access to these files can be removed at any time by the owner or other users with editing permissions. While you cannot move shared files into your My Drive, you can create a shortcut in Google Drive to organize them within your folders. Keep in mind that if you lose access to the original file, the shortcut will no longer work.