Google Drive is online storage service, Google Drive is the most popular cloud storage service in the world. Today, almost all of us have a Google account. In that case, knowingly or unknowingly, we have been using Google Drive. If you are wondering what Google Drive is, you will find the answers to your questions in this post.

Even if you are not already familiar with cloud storage services, learning about Google Drive can be quite helpful.  In this post we will know:

  • What is Google Drive
  • Free and paid plan from Google Drive
  • What kind of files can be kept in Google Drive
  • Rules for uploading files to Drive
  • Rules for downloading files from Drive
  • Rules for arranging files on the drive R
  • Rules for deleting files on the drive
  • Rules for sharing files from Drive

What is Google Drive?

Google Drive is a cloud storage solution, we already know this information. Google Drive is used to store media and documents online. These files are stored on Google's servers and can be accessed from any device via the Internet.

To use Google Drive, you must have a Google Account (in general, a Gmail address).  If you have this Google account, ie Gmail address, then you can use the services of YouTube, Gmail, Photos, Play Store etc. in addition to Drive using the same account.

Drive can be accessed from any browser by accessing the drive.google.com website or through the drive computer software.  The service can also be used from the Drive app on Android and iOS powered devices.

Is Google Drive free?  How much does Google Drive cost?

What is Google Drive

You may ask, is Google Drive free?  The answer is, 15 GB of Google Drive storage is available for free with a Google account.  This storage is used collectively for Drive, Gmail and Photos.  If this free 15 GB is not enough for you, you can buy a monthly or annual subscription to Google One.

There is also the option to purchase only Google Drive storage separately. For 100 GB Google Drive storage, you have to pay 2 US dollars per month. A 200 GB storage plan can be purchased for 3 US dollars per month. 2 TB drive storage is also available for 10 US dollars per month. Google Drive's storage can be easily purchased using a credit card.


Supported file formats

Google Drive supports almost all conventional file formats. However, there is a limit to the size of some files. For example, up to 1.02 million characters can be uploaded to Google Drive, which can be opened with Google Docs. The file size of this document can be up to 50 MB.

In the case of spreadsheets, Google Drive supports up to a maximum of 5 million sales.  Spreadsheets can be opened with Google Sheets after uploading to Drive.  Once you upload the presentation, you can view and even edit it with Google Slides.  The size of the presentation can be a maximum of 100 MB.

Google Drive supports any type of single file size up to 5TB other than the mentioned file formats.  Almost all types of files can be uploaded and saved in Google Drive.

Rules for uploading files


Files can be uploaded to Drive from any computer or mobile using a browser or app. Log in to drive.google.com to upload files to Google Drive from a computer browser.

After that, if any file is dragged to Google Drive page and released, the process of uploading that file to Drive will start.  You can also upload a folder to Google Drive by clicking on the NEW button below the Google Drive logo, by clicking on File Upload, or by clicking on Folder Upload.


It is very easy to upload files to the drive from mobile.  You can upload any type of file to the drive by entering the Google Drive app, clicking on the plus (+) icon and selecting Upload.  Below are two screenshots in the same picture along with Google Drive's mobile app.


Rules for downloading files


Downloading files from Google Drive is also quite easy.  To download any file or folder from your computer's browser, right-click on that file or folder and click Download.

Files in the drive can be downloaded from mobile in almost the same way.  However, the folder cannot be downloaded from the mobile app.  To download any file, tap on the three-dot menu and tap on Download.  You can also download by selecting multiple files at once.  The following screenshots show the rules for downloading files from Google Drive.  Two screenshots have been placed side by side.


File sorting rules


Google Drive has the same benefits as the way we organize files into folders on mobile or computer.  In other words, Google Drive can be compared to the file manager in many mobiles or computers.

To create a drive folder from the computer, click on the NEW button and then click on Folder.  To create a folder from the mobile app, tap the plus (+) button and select the folder.

To move a file to a folder, you just have to drag and drop it in the browser.  To move a file to a folder on mobile, you have to select Move from the three-dot menu.

Rules for deleting files


Unnecessary files may run out of Google Drive storage.  So from time to time you may need to delete the files in Google Drive.

To delete any file or folder from Google Drive, right click on the file or folder from the browser and click Remove.  Similarly, by accessing the app from the mobile, you can delete the files in the drive by tapping Remove from the three-dot menu.

Note that after deleting any file by clicking Remove, the file will not be deleted from the drive immediately. The deleted file is stored in the Bin / Trash folder of the drive.

Deleted files can be viewed from the computer by clicking on the Bin option on the left. You can also recover them if you want. Files in the bin or trash are automatically deleted permanently after 30 days. Click on Empty Bin to permanently delete all deleted files from Trash / Bin. You can also delete any specific file by right-clicking on Delete Forever.

On the other hand, from the mobile, you can delete the file by entering Trash by tapping on the hamburger menu on the top left.  To delete a file, click Delete Forever from the three dot menu of that file.  You can also remove multiple files at once by selecting multiple files and tapping Delete Forever from the options.

File sharing rules


A great feature of Drive is the convenience of file sharing with others.  Any file or folder can be shared with anyone via a link from Drive.

To share any file or folder from the browser on the computer, right click on that file or folder and click on Get Link.  Then you will get the link to share the file.  You can share that file with others by sending that link.

Note that any file is shared in Restricted mode by default.  In this case, whenever someone clicks on that link, you will receive a mail to approve that person's access to that file. The person will see the file after you approve.

However, after you click on Get Link and click on the drop down next to Restricted and select the Anyone with the link option, anyone who enters that link will be able to see the file immediately.  You do not have to approve this method to grant access to anyone every time.

Next to the sharing settings you will find another separate option, in the drop down you will find three options in Viewer, Commenter, Editor.  If you select Viewer from here, anyone can see and download the file by entering the link.  If you select Editor again, anyone can edit the file by entering the link.

To share any drive file or folder from mobile, tap on that file or drive three dot menu and select Share.  Then you can only send files or folders to that person by providing the email address of a certain person.  You can also see more options by clicking on Who has access below.

Then you will see almost the same settings as the computer.  File share settings can be changed by tapping Change.  You can also find the link to the file or folder share by clicking on the icon on the opposite side of the Link Settings text.

Do you often use Google Drive?  Let us know your experience in the comments!