How to Add Google Drive to Finder

When it comes to Mac users, Apple offers them several unique utilities. Such as iCloud storage service that allows users to store their files securely in the cloud. However, due to its limitation of only five gigabytes of free storage, the audience rather considered looking somewhere else. Here, let us check out, how to add google drive to finder.

Instead of paying additional money for just file storage, you can switch your cloud storage with Google Drive. It also offers numerous handy tools along with free of cost storage for nearly all types of files available.

As Google is the primary authority for Android smartphones, Apple cannot just let them get away with their position, that too on their own ecosystem. It requires you to install applications on your Mac, downloaded externally from Google Mirrors to use Drive.

This guide will walk you through the process of installing Google Drive on your Mac device and allow it to appear as a folder in the Finder app of your operating system. Before we begin, make sure you already have a Google Account (Duh!)

How to Add Google Drive to Finder

Let us check out, how to add google drive to finder.

1. Install Google’s Backup and Sync Application on Mac

If you want to avail the benefits of Google Drive in your Mac, you first need to download and install Google’s Backup and Sync Software. Here are the necessary steps that you need to follow for downloading and installing this application:

• First of all, open a browser application on your Mac, and head over to this address – https://www.google.com/drive/download/. 
• When you access this website, you’ll see a download button highlighted with blue color under the “Personal Plan” section.

• Click on the download button and agree to the terms and conditions to start downloading the software on your Mac. While downloading, ensure that the extension of the file is .DMG, otherwise you won’t be able to open it on your Mac.

• Open the downloaded file in the DMG installer and then you’ll see the “Backup and Sync from Google” icon. You need to drag this icon into the applications folder located right next to it. After doing this, you just need to wait for a while until the application is installed successfully on your Mac.

• Once it is installed, you can either open it directly from the launchpad or by manually searching for it on the spotlight search feature of your Mac. 
• Alternatively, you can also access the search function using CMD + Spacebar or click on the search icon located at the top right corner

Based on the version of Mac you’re using; you may receive a warning when you try to launch the application for the first time. To make the warning disappear from your desktop, you just need to click on the open button located at the bottom left side of the popup.

Read: How to get unlimited Google Drive storage

2. Configure the Application

For the application to work as intended, it requires access permissions for your files that’ll allow it to back up the contents of your Desktop folder.

In case you don’t want this to happen, simply click on the “Don’t Allow” option and silently hide in your closet. Here’s the post-installation process:

• One by one, the backup and sync application from Google will ask you to grant permissions for backing up various folders available on your Mac. Click on the ok button to authorize the specified folder to be accessed by the application
• The application may also ask for permission to backup your photos. It will automatically scan your system for pictures and make a backup for them in your Google Drive account

If you manage to give the appropriate permissions to the application, it will launch successfully with a user-friendly and easy-to-use interface. Now you need to make some tweaks in the application to be able to add it in finder.

Read: How To Create A Google Drive Account For A Group

3. Configure Your Google Account on the Application

After you’ve successfully launched the Backup and Sync application on your Mac, you need to click on the “Get Started” button on the main interface.

Now, you’ll be redirected to an authorization interface in which you need to enter your credentials. For example, your phone number and password.

• Once you have successfully logged in with your Google account in the application, you need to select the desired folders that you want to backup and synchronize with Google Drive.

• If you’re doing this for the first time, a dialog box will appear with some information related to this feature. All you need to do is click on the “Got It” button. Now, select all the folders that you want to back-ups such as Documents and Photo Library.

• After selecting the required folders, you’ll also need to choose the desired quality of your videos and photos. There are three options to choose from – high quality, low quality, and original quality, each with its own compression rules.

When you’re done managing the backup settings, you just need to click on the Next button. Followed by the start button that will allow you to backup your Mac contents on your Google Drive account. Now let’s know how to access your files through Drive on Mac.

Read: Advantages and disadvantages of Google Drive

4. Accessing Google Drive on Mac’s Finder

Once you’ve successfully configured the backup and sync application, you’ll find a configuration tool accessible through the menu bar of your Mac.

This will also give you insights related to any current syncing files in your account. Here’s how to access it through Finder:

• A dedicated folder for Drive will be available in Finder like any other storage volume available in your system. It can be found under the favorite section on the left-hand menu. And can be launched by searching for it in the spotlight as well
• With this folder, you can edit, delete, and add files as per your preferences

And that’s it! You’ve successfully installed Google Drive in your Mac and added it to the Finder for easier access.

You may like the following Google drive articles:

• How to Upload Large Files to Google Drive
• How To Password Protect Google Drive Folder
• How to transfer ownership of Google Drive Files
• How to Upload iMovie to Google Drive
• Google Drive vs Dropbox – A Head To Head Comparison
• Error Creating Copy Google Drive – How To Fix
• How to Free Up Google Drive Space
• Google Drive Download without Zipping Files
• How to add Google Drive to File Explorer

Final Verdict

Throughout the setup process, the options that you choose for the synchronization will now be automatically added to your Google Drive Storage. Whether you’ve manually added them inside the folder or not. We checked here, how to add google drive to finder, add google drive to finder in mac and add google drive to mac finder sidebar.