How to block someone on Google Drive

We can finally block people on Google Drive. You read it right. I was so relieved to see this announcement from Google on my Drive page. Google has rolled out a new feature wherein we can block people on Google Drive and they won’t be able to share any unwanted files on our Drive anymore.

Google Drive is one of the most commonly used file storage and synchronization services. It has been one of the favorite services of users to store their files in the cloud and synchronize them across all their devices. Earlier this month, Google has also launched Google Drive for Desktop, a new file syncing service that allows you to Sync Content across all Devices.

While it has been our favorite, the only flaw was that anyone who has your address can share a drive file with you. All files and documents shared with you will be reflected in your Drive collection, whether you want them or not. Until now, there was no way to turn off this random file sharing, nor was there an option to approve or block any user. Thankfully, Google has now addressed the issue and rolled out a new feature, allowing us to block random people and prevent them from sharing unwanted files with us.

How to block people on Google Drive

You can block random Drive users from your desktop only via a web browser, this feature is not yet available for Android or iOS apps. To block people on Google Drive-

Open Google Drive in your browser.
Go to the “Shared with me” tab
You will see all the files shared with you in the right panel.
Go to the shared file from a user you want to block.
Right-click and select ‘Block [username]‘

How to unblock someone from Google Drive

If you have blocked someone by mistake and now want to unblock them, you can easily do that in just a few clicks.

Go to drive.google.com.
At the top right corner of your screen, click your profile picture and go to Manage your Google Account.
Click People & sharing, scroll down, and go to Blocked.
Open the list and you can see all the blocked users there.
Go to the username you want to unblock and click on the X button.

What will blocking someone on Drive do?

If you are wondering what will happen if you block someone on Google Drive, here’s what Google has to say about it. When you block someone-

They cannot share any files with you and neither can you.
You must first unblock them to share any files with them.
They won’t have access to your files, and you won’t have access to theirs.
When you block or unblock someone on Google Drive, it may take some time for the change to take effect.

So, if you have been receiving random Drive files from unknown users, you now have the option to remove them. Block such users immediately.