To access a shared Google Drive, sign in to drive.google.com and click Shared drives in the left sidebar. Every shared drive you’ve been added to appears there, and you can open, upload and edit files based on your permission level. On a phone, open the Google Drive app and tap the Shared drives tab (on some versions, under the menu or the folder icon at the bottom). If you’re looking for individual files someone shared with you, check Shared with me instead.
Shared drives are available with Google Workspace accounts from work or school. Below is how to find them on each device, how to add them to File Explorer or Finder, and what to do if a shared drive isn’t showing up.
| Shared drives | Shared with me | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Team spaces owned by the organization | Individual files and folders others shared with you |
| Who owns the files | The organization | The person who shared them |
| Available on | Google Workspace accounts | All Google accounts, including personal |
| Where to find it | Shared drives in the sidebar | Shared with me in the sidebar |
- Go to drive.google.com and sign in with your work or school account.
- Click Shared drives in the left sidebar.
- Double-click a shared drive to open it.
If you’re signed in with several Google accounts, click your profile picture at the top right and switch to the account that was added to the shared drive.
- Open the Google Drive app.
- Make sure you’re signed in to the right account by tapping your profile picture.
- Tap Files at the bottom, then Shared drives at the top (the layout varies a little by version).
- Tap a shared drive to open it.
- Install Google Drive for desktop and sign in with your work or school account.
- Open File Explorer on Windows or Finder on a Mac.
- Open the Google Drive drive, then the Shared drives folder.
Files stream from the cloud by default. Right-click a file or folder and choose to make it available offline if you need it without internet.
What you can do depends on your role
| Role | Can do |
|---|---|
| Viewer | View and download files |
| Commenter | View files and add comments |
| Contributor | Add and edit files |
| Content manager | Add, edit, move and delete files |
| Manager | Everything, including managing members and settings |
- Wrong account: Switch to the account that was invited. Shared drives don’t appear in personal Gmail accounts.
- Not added yet: Ask a manager of the shared drive to add you as a member.
- Hidden: In Shared drives, click Hidden shared drives near the top to see drives you’ve hidden, and unhide them.
- Organization restrictions: Your admin may limit access from outside the organization or from certain devices.
- Desktop app not syncing: Quit and reopen Drive for desktop, or sign out and back in.
If you open a link and see You need access, click Request access, add a message, and send it. A manager of the shared drive gets the request and can add you.
Related: transfer ownership of a Google Drive folder.
Related: find a file path in Google Drive.
Frequently asked questions
Can I create a shared drive with a personal Google account?
No. Shared drives are part of Google Workspace. With a personal account, share folders from My Drive instead.
Do shared drive files use my storage?
No. Files in a shared drive count toward the organization’s storage, not your personal quota.
Can people outside my organization access a shared drive?
Only if your admin allows it and a manager adds them.
Kermit Matthews is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with more than a decade of experience writing technology guides. He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Computer Science and has spent much of his professional career in IT management.
He specializes in writing content about iPhones, Android devices, Microsoft Office, and many other popular applications and devices.