[Updated] Google Drive Has a Serious Spam Problem, But Google Says a Fix is Coming

Google Drive has a pretty bad spam problem, and it seems Google doesn’t care. Spammers can share files that automatically appear in your Drive, and there’s no way to stop it.

Update 1/4/19 10:10 AM CTS: Google got back to us with a statement saying that changes are coming to Drive’s sharing features and they’re “making it a priority.” Here’s the statement in full:

“For the vast majority of users, the default sharing permissions in Drive work as intended. Unfortunately, this was not the case for this user and we sincerely apologize for her experience. In light of this issue, we are evaluating changes to our spam, abuse, and blocking features that will prevent this kind of activity from taking place on Drive. In the interim, users who are experiencing similar issues can remove themselves from the folder, and the folder should not reappear in either “My Drive” or “Shared with Me” unless they revisit it.” — Google Spokesperson

Here’s What’s Happening

Google Drive’s sharing system is the problem. Since it doesn’t offer any sharing acceptance, all files and folders shared with your account are automatically available to you in Drive—they just show up. To make matters worse, if you only have “View” permission, you can’t remove yourself from the share. It’s a mess. And to make matters even worse, this is far from a new problem, but Google still hasn’t done anything to fix it.

Here’s the scenario: a spammer (or anyone else) shares a file or folder with you. This file or folder immediately shows up in the “Quick Access” area of your Drive, as well as in the “Shared with you” section. You can’t stop this from happening—you don’t have to accept the share; it shows up whether you want it or not. The good news is that the files aren’t automatically added to your Drive, and are thus not downloaded or synced automatically to your devices.

Now, you can right-click on the item and choose “Remove” to prevent it from showing up in the “Shared with me” section, but it will continue to show up in the Quick Access area and search results. If you accidentally open the file or folder, it will be added back into your Drive on the web.

Why Is This an Issue?

There are a few scenarios in which this is a pretty big issue. The first, as mentioned earlier, is for spam. Users can (and will) get bombarded with crap they don’t want—all the time.

The second issue may be even more common: when you don’t want to be part of a shared file/folder any longer. Since there’s no way to remove yourself from the share, you’re stuck with it. This can be especially troubling if the shared file or folder is from an ex with whom you no longer have or want contact.

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