Overview
Google Drive provides two locations for storing and collaborating on data: My Drive and shared drives. Files and folders in My Drive are owned by an individual U-M Google account, whereas files/folders in shared drivesare owned by a group or team. Refer below for a table that outlines the key differences between U-M Googleshared drives and My Drive. Also, refer to Shared Drives in U-M Googlefor more information on shared drives and how to create them.
Comparison Table
| My Drive | Shared Drives | |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns files and folders? | The individual who created the file or folder | The team/group |
Can I restore files and folders? | Yes, if you created the file or folder | Yes, if you have the role of Manager, Content Manager, or Contributor in the shared drive |
| Can I move files and folders? | Yes | Within shared drives:Yes, if you have theManagerorContent Managerrole in the shared drive. From My Drive to shared drives:
From shared drive to shared drive: Yes, if you have theManagerrole in both shared drives. |
| How long do deleted files stay in the trash? | Files in the My Drive trash folder are permanently deleted after 30 days. | Each shared drive has its own trash. Only members with the role of Manager or Content Manager can delete files. After 30 days, all files/folders in the trash are permanently deleted. Members with the role of Manager, Content Manager, or Contributor can restore shared drive content from the trash. |
| Sharing | Depending on their access to individual files, different people might see different files in a folder. It is also possible to share at the folder level inside My Drive. | All team members (at the shared drive level) see the same set of files/folders. It is possible to share at the file and subfolder levels with someone not in your shared drive for more granular permissions. |
| Inherited permissions | Permissions at the folder level are passed down to files created in the folder. However, this does not apply to ownership. Files within a folder can have different owners than the owner of the folder in which they reside. | Permissions set on a specific file or folder in My Drive will be retained when moved to a shared drive. However, inherited permissions from a parent folder will not be retained when moved. Example: If Person Ais not a member of the shared drive, but they are an Editor on a file moved to the shared drive, Person Awill maintain access to the file after it moves to the drive. |
| Attaching a Google file to a Google Calendar invite | Navigate to any My Drive file from within a calendar invite using theAdd attachment(paperclip) icon. | Navigate to any shared drive from within a calendar invite using theAdd attachment(paperclip) icon. |
| Mobile device support | Yes | Yes |
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Last Updated:
Tuesday, May 2, 2023
