TL;DR: Use Shared Drives instead of My Drive for better security and more organized files. Email support@feedwire.com for help.
Google offers two closely related file sharing systems, My Drive and Shared Drives. Unfortunately for everyone, files and folders inside My Drive can be shared, but that does not make them Shared Drives.
It is a much better security and intellectual property hygiene practice for businesses to eschew mass use of My Drive in favor of Shared Drives. We recommend this to protect the company and its principals, to make life easier for the users, and to firmly establish ownership of company intellectual property.
Here is Google's documentation on Shared Drives. Please read their documentation too. It's probably better than ours, but one never knows which spaghetti will stick.
Shared Drives best practices: https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9310156?hl=en
How to use shared drives: https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9310351?hl=en
What is the difference between My Drive and Shared Drives?
My Drive behaves like a user's desktop in-the-cloud, intended to give a single person access to their files form anywhere. Those files can be shared with other people, but it is ad-hoc sharing with few controls and chaotic counterintuitive ownership. Files and folders are owned by the users who create them, even if they create those files and folders inside of folders owned by other users.
Shared Drives behave like a file server in the cloud. The files and folders inside of the drive are owned by the drive. As roles within the company and membership of the drive change, the data will persist as the property of the Shared Drive (and by extension the company). This is very similar to how file servers in the office used to work, with the advantage of being usable from anywhere in the world with internet connectivity.
| Shared drives | My Drive | |
|---|---|---|
| What types of files can you add? | All file types except files from Google Maps | All file types |
| Who owns files and folders? | Your organization | The individual who created the file or folder |
| Can I move files and folders onto a drive? |
Users can only move files. Administrators can move files and folders. Learn more. |
Yes |
| Can I move files and folders within a drive? |
Yes, if you have Manager or Content Manager access. Note: Only Managers can move files and folders betweenshared drives. |
Yes |
| Can I sync files to my computer? |
With Drive for desktop: Yes With Backup and Sync: No |
Yes |
| How does sharing work? | All team members see the same file set. | Different users might see different files in a folder, depending on their access to individual files. |
| How long do deleted files stay in Trash? |
|
After 30 days, files and folders in Trash are deleted forever. |
| Can I restore files from the trash? | Yes, if you have Manager, Content manager, or Contributor access. | Yes, if you created it. |
Where can one find Shared Drives?
Here is a view of the google drive interface, indicating "My Drive" files in Red and "Shared Drives" in Green. Note the key icon on the "js-dest-test" drive. This indicates a drive shared from outside of my organization.
What does Google say?
Google maintains an extensive library of articles, how-tos and guides on Shared Drives. Please read their documentation. Really, they are subject matter experts.
Shared Drives best practices: https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9310156?hl=en
How to use shared drives: https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9310351?hl=en
How can one get help with Shared Drives?
If you need help with Shared Drives, My Drive, or any other IT issues, do not hesitate to email support@feedwire.com (or 911@feedwire.com if its an emergency). If your email is down or if you prefer a form, you can visit feedwire.com/help and fill out a request. Either way, we will get in touch presently. The Feedwire team has manager access to customer shared drives.