App details
Latest (see Google Play)
October 14, 2026
Google LLC
Tools
Android
Free (paid storage plans available)
com.google.android.apps.docs
Report a Problem
About Google Drive
Google Drive keeps your documents, PDFs and photos in your Google account so that you can open them on any device. It also lets you share a file or folder with a link, and several people can work on the same document at once.
Worth knowing
- Free storage is shared across Drive, Gmail and Google Photos. When it fills up, you may need to clean up or buy more space.
- When you share a link, choose carefully between "Restricted" and "Anyone with the link". Anyone who gets a public link can open the file.
- The app has a scan option that turns photos of paper into a PDF, handy for assignments and bills.
- You can mark files as available offline before you travel.
Staying safe
Do not store scans of ID documents in a shared folder, and secure the account with two-step verification (see our account security guide). Students will also like our list of free study tools.
Our take
Drive is useful once you organise it: folders by year or subject and file names that start with the date. Its biggest risks are sharing and storage. A link set to 'Anyone with the link' can be opened by anyone who finds it, and the free space is shared with Gmail and Photos.
An everyday example
A student scans a handwritten assignment using the scan option, names the file with the date first and shares it with the teacher using the restricted setting rather than a public link.
Alternatives and related reading
Scan paper documents into PDFs and open them with Acrobat Reader. Keep a simple backup routine and back up with Google Photos.
Common questions
How do I share a file privately?
Use the Restricted setting and add the specific people.
Why is my storage full?
Drive, Gmail and Photos share the same free space; check each and clean up the largest items.
Other Apps in This Category
Apps to explore
