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Google Drive Permissions Auditor

by Drive Explorer

Audit Google Drive Share Permissions & Access Matrix

Find out who has access to your Google Drive files. Scan personal and Shared Drives to detect external links, view permissions, and bulk manage access in Google Sheets™.

💡 Tip: Scan any folder or Shared Drive to inspect Owners, Editors, Viewers, and Public link states across all nested subfolders.

1,000,000+ Workspace Installs

4.6★ (500+ Verified Reviews)

Client-Side Privacy (Zero Data Stored)

Hierarchy & Roles

Understanding Google Drive Share Permissions & Access Roles

Google Drive file permissions govern who can view, comment, edit, or delete sensitive content. Understanding each permission level is essential for auditing and maintaining least-privilege security.

Owner

Full Authority

Owns the file and consumes personal Drive storage quota. Only the owner can permanently delete files or transfer file ownership to another user in the domain.

  • Deletes files permanently
  • Transfers ownership to others
  • Controls access rights and link sharing
  • Counts against personal storage quota

Editor / Content Manager

Write Access

Can edit file content, create new files, share with additional collaborators (unless restricted by the owner), and move or trash files within folders.

  • Edits documents, sheets, and slides
  • Invites collaborators & changes permissions
  • Deletes and organizes files in folders
  • Moves files between accessible directories

Commenter

Review Access

Can view contents and submit suggested edits or comments. Commenters cannot alter document content directly or re-share files.

  • Leaves inline comments & suggested edits
  • Replies to existing feedback threads
  • Cannot change sharing settings
  • Cannot edit cell or text values directly

Viewer

Read-Only

Strict read-only access. Viewers can open, inspect, and read files. Copying, printing, or downloading can be restricted by the owner.

  • Reads file content and metadata
  • Cannot comment, suggest, or edit
  • Cannot re-share or view internal editor notes
  • Download/print controls can be enforced

General Access: Restricted vs Link

Link Scope

Determines whether people need explicit email invitations ("Restricted") or if anyone with the link (or anyone in your Workspace domain) can gain access.

  • Restricted: Only added accounts can open
  • Anyone with the link: Public searchless access
  • Domain-wide: Accessible to all company accounts
  • Biggest source of accidental data exposure

Limited Access (Inheritance Broken)

Restricted Subfolder

In Google Drive, subfolders normally inherit parent permissions. "Limited Access" disables inheritance so only specified members can access the nested folder.

  • Stops downward permission inheritance
  • Hides confidential subfolders from team members
  • Reported as Limited Access: Yes in Drive Explorer
  • Crucial for executive/HR subfolder security

My Drive vs. Google Shared Drive Permissions

While My Drive files are owned by individual accounts (and count toward personal storage), files in Google Workspace Shared Drives belong to the entire organization. Shared Drives introduce specialized roles like Manager (full access including member management), Content Manager (default editor role), and Contributor (can edit and add files, but cannot delete or move folders). Auditing Google Shared Drive permissions ensures that contractors or former teammates do not retain persistent access to company assets.

Security & Compliance

Why You Need a Google Drive Permissions Audit

Google Drive makes sharing effortless — which also makes unauthorized access accumulation inevitable over months and years of collaborative work.

Dormant Ex-Employee & Contractor Shares

When contractors, interns, or employees depart, individual file shares created outside Shared Drives often remain live, leaving proprietary documents accessible to personal Gmail accounts.

Accidental "Anyone With the Link" Exposure

Colleagues frequently switch permissions to "Anyone with the link can view/edit" to bypass login barriers. These links can be forwarded, scraped, or leaked indefinitely.

Compliance Audits (SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA)

Auditors require regular quarterly access reviews demonstrating that sensitive customer data, employee records, and financials are restricted strictly to authorized stakeholders.

Nested Permission Drift & Orphaned Folders

Files moved into shared folders often retain previous direct shares or augmented permissions that aren’t visible from parent directory inspection.

Native Google Drive vs. Automated Permissions Matrix

Why manual file inspection fails for growing workspaces and enterprises.

Native Google Drive UI

  • No permissions report: You must open the “Share” modal on every file one by one.
  • Hidden external shares: No filter to highlight personal @gmail accounts or external vendors.
  • Invisible nested access: Moving folders doesn't show you who retains direct file access.
  • Cannot audit in bulk: Inspecting 500 files takes over 3 hours of tedious clicking.

Drive Explorer Permissions Auditor

  • Master access matrix: Automatically exports Owner, Viewers, Commenters, and Editors into columns.
  • Instantly spot public links: Identifies files with “Anyone with the link” status across all folders.
  • Detects Limited Access: Flags subfolders where permission inheritance has been explicitly severed.
  • Filterable Google Sheets export: Use standard Sheets filters to isolate unauthorized domains in seconds.
Step-by-Step Tutorial

How to Change & Audit Sharing Permissions on Google Drive

Follow these three simple steps to extract a complete access report and verify exactly who has view, edit, or public access to your files.

01

Select Folders or Shared Drives

Click the "Select Google Drive Folders" button above. Choose any personal folder, Shared Drive, or client directory. Drive Explorer securely connects through Google official OAuth dialog in your browser.

Tip: Selecting a root folder will recursively scan all nested subfolders and files.

02

Export the Sharing Permissions Matrix

Check "Export file details to a Google Sheet™" and provide a sheet URL (or view results in-browser). Drive Explorer iterates through files and populates columns for Owner, Viewers, Commenters, Editors, and Share Status.

All processing occurs locally in your browser — zero files or metadata are uploaded to external servers.

03

Filter External Accounts & Update Access

In your Google Sheet, use Data → Create a filter. Search for external domains (e.g. personal @gmail.com accounts or former contractors), identify files marked "Anyone with the link", and update permissions.

Use the Drive Explorer Add-on (Extensions → Drive Explorer → Share) to share or update access directly from Sheets.

DIY Automation

Audit Permissions via Google Apps Script

Prefer to write your own custom script? Use this Google Apps Script template to iterate through a folder and print sharing permissions directly into Google Sheets.

auditFolderPermissions.gs

/**
 * Google Apps Script: Audit Google Drive File Permissions
 * Logs file owners, viewers, editors, and public sharing status to the active sheet.
 */
function auditFolderPermissions() {
  const folderId = "YOUR_FOLDER_ID_HERE"; // Replace with your target folder ID
  const folder = DriveApp.getFolderById(folderId);
  const sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getActiveSheet();
  
  // Append audit header row
  sheet.appendRow([
    "File Name",
    "File ID",
    "Owner",
    "Sharing Access",
    "Sharing Permission",
    "Editors",
    "Viewers",
    "File URL"
  ]);
  
  auditFolderRecursive(folder, sheet);
}

function auditFolderRecursive(folder, sheet) {
  const files = folder.getFiles();
  
  while (files.hasNext()) {
    const file = files.next();
    try {
      const owner = file.getOwner() ? file.getOwner().getEmail() : "Shared Drive Item";
      const access = file.getSharingAccess();
      const permission = file.getSharingPermission();
      
      const editors = file.getEditors().map(u => u.getEmail()).join(", ");
      const viewers = file.getViewers().map(u => u.getEmail()).join(", ");
      
      sheet.appendRow([
        file.getName(),
        file.getId(),
        owner,
        access.toString(),
        permission.toString(),
        editors || "None",
        viewers || "None",
        file.getUrl()
      ]);
    } catch (err) {
      Logger.log("Error reading file: " + file.getName() + " - " + err.message);
    }
  }
  
  // Recursively audit subfolders
  const subfolders = folder.getFolders();
  while (subfolders.hasNext()) {
    auditFolderRecursive(subfolders.next(), sheet);
  }
}

Important Technical Limitations of Google Apps Script:

6-Minute Execution Limit: Google Apps Script enforces a hard 6-minute maximum runtime per execution. If your folder contains more than ~300 files, the script will time out before completing.

DriveApp Rate Limits: Calling file.getViewers() and file.getEditors() makes multiple synchronous API requests per file, easily triggering Exceeded maximum execution time or Drive quota errors on mid-sized drives.

Drive Explorer Alternative: Drive Explorer bypasses Apps Script execution limits by processing batches directly through official Google Drive REST APIs in your browser with automated pagination.

Is it safe to use with Shared Drives and Work Accounts?

Drive Explorer is fully compatible with Google Workspace Shared Drives. All file metadata processing happens strictly in your browser and never touches third-party servers.

Google Verified

Drive Explorer undergoes recurring security audits by Google to maintain access to Drive APIs. We meet Google's strict security and privacy standards.

No Server Storage

Your file data never touches our servers. We don't collect, store, or transmit any of your Google Drive files or folder information.

Frontend Processing

All operations happen entirely in your browser. Your data stays on your device and is never sent to any external server.

Enterprise Google Drive Management

Automate Drive Auditing with Drive Explorer

Need scheduled access audits, continuous compliance monitoring, or bulk sharing management? Drive Explorer runs directly inside Google Sheets™ and connects to Google Workspace for instant permissions visibility and reporting.

Google Drive Permissions & Audit FAQs

Answers to common questions about Google Drive share permissions, access audits, and security.

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