Google Drive

Last updated: March 24, 2023
Please note: UW Google is undergoing several major changes. For more details and regular updates, see UW Google Changes Project.

UW Google Drive lets you create, store, share, and collaborate on documents, spreadsheets and presentations online. UW Google Drive is one of the core UW Google apps.

UW Google Drive is FERPA-compatible, but is not HIPAA-compatible and should not be used for Protected Health Information (PHI).

Using UW Google Drive

File and Folder Ownership in UW Google Drive

File and folder ownership is an important concept in UW Google Drive. The owner of a file or folder has full control over permissions and can delete it. By default, you are the owner of:

  • Files and folders that you upload into UW Google Drive
  • Folders that you create in UW Google Drive
  • Files that you create in Docs, Sheets, or Slides

When an individual separates from the UW and their UW Google account expires, all files owned by that account are deleted, including files that were moved to other locations after creation. This feature can result in files unexpectedly disappearing from folders. Unfortunately, our ability to restore a fully expired account is very limited and often it is impossible to recover any files deleted in this way.

For more information on UW Google Drive and File Ownership, click here.

Sharing Data with Other Users

Files in UW Google Drive can be shared with any Google users, even those with personal Google accounts or other Google accounts. You can find extensive information on how to share using UW Google Drive at the Google Drive Help Center.

Use Groups to Make Sharing Easy

The UW Groups platform is used extensively for UW Google sharing. For information on using UW Groups to manage your UW Google Drive, see the UW Google Group Sharing page.

Policies

For more information on account expiration and other policy related issues, see the following pages: