How to Stop Receiving Shared Files on Google Drive

Are you fed up receiving spam files from other Google Drive users and now completely want to stop receiving shared files? If yes, you have stumbled upon the right webpage. In this article, we will discuss this problem thoroughly and let you know how you can protect yourself from this.

So, without any further ado, let’s get started –

How to Stop Receiving Shared Files on Google Drive

Google Drive is, without a doubt, one of the best cloud storage services out there. It offers dozens of amazing features that make the backup, sync, and online file storing process quite easier.

In addition to that, the file-sharing feature of Google Drive is quite robust, and it makes it very easy to share files and folders with other people.

While the file-sharing feature of Google Drive seems quite helpful, it has some annoying drawbacks. One of the biggest shortcomings of this file-sharing feature, in my opinion, is that the receiver doesn’t get any control over what files someone can share with them.

Basically, anybody who has your Gmail address can share files with you without your permission. The sad part of the story is that Google doesn’t even care about it. People have been complaining about this problem for a long time, yet Google hasn’t done anything to fix it.

So, does that mean you can do nothing about it? Well, that’s not true. Google Drive has introduced a few features that enable you to block the person who shares spam or unwanted files with you, and you can delete files manually.

Read How to Count Files in Google Drive Folder

Blocking someone on Google Drive will do these things –

• All the items owned by the blocked user will not be viewable or editable for you. Everything that the user shared with you will vanish from your Google Drive.
• Files and folders that you own cannot be shared with the blocked users. If you have shared some files or folders with them before, those files and folders will automatically get deleted from that user’s drive.
• You will not be able to block users within your domain from work or school account
• If you block a user on Google Drive, it will also block them on other Google apps and services such as Gmail, Google Maps, and more. The user will not be able to interact with you through any Google-owned product or services.

As you can see, even though there is a way to stop receiving shared files on Google Drive, it comes with many conditions.

However, if you still want to stop receiving files from a particular person, blocking them is the only way. Here is how you can block someone on Google Drive –

Read How to Print an Entire Folder in Google Drive

Steps to Block a Google Drive User

The process to block a Google Drive user is quite simple and easy. All you have to do is follow these simple steps –

• Go to drive.google.com.
• Click on the Shared with Me option from the left sidebar.

• You have to find the file that the user has shared with you and right-click on it.
• From the drop-down menu, click on the block xyz@gmail.com (It will be that person’s email account)

• A confirmation box will appear, asking you if you surely want to block that person. Simply click on the Block button to confirm it.

That’s it. This is how you can easily block someone on Google Drive. Once blocked, that Google Drive user will not be able to share any type of files with you.

Read How to Remove Google Drive Sharing Link

Steps to block a Google Drive user on a mobile device

You don’t always need to go to the Google Drive website to block a user. If you have a smartphone and Google Drive installed, you can block any person directly from your smartphone. All you have to do is follow these simple steps –

• Launch the Google Drive application on your smartphone.
• Now, tap on the Shared tab.
• Locate the file shared by the user you want to block and tap on the three-dot icon.
• It will show you a bunch of options. Tap on the block xyz@gmail.com option.
• A pop-up will appear to confirm your choice. You have to tap on the Block option to block this person.

That’s it. You have now successfully blocked that user on Google Drive.

Why is this an issue?

While these shared files don’t consume your Google Drive storage, they shouldn’t be an issue most of the time. However, there are a few scenarios where it can be a huge problem, especially the spam one.

If someone has your email address, they can bombard your Shared with me folder with files you don’t want. But sadly, since you don’t have any control, you can do nothing.

Read How to Print a Locked PDF in Google Drive

Is it possible to fix it?

Well, yeah, it can be fixed, and the most frustrating thing about this problem is that it can be fixed very easily. All Google Drive needs to do is introduce an acceptance function with a self-removal option. This function will let the Google Drive user decide whether they want to be a part of this file or folder or want to remove themselves.

It sounds a bit complicated, but other cloud storage platforms such as Dropbox already offer such functionalities. Every time someone shares a file with you in Dropbox, it will not be visible on your shared folder until you accept it.

Closing Comments

There you have it – a detailed guide on how to stop receiving shared files on Google Drive.

Google Drive is a great cloud storage service but with some drawbacks. I didn’t face any issue with spam on Google Drive, but I know people who have got their Shared with me folder bombarded with spam files by other users. The problem is that once it starts, there is no end to it.

Although Google Drive has introduced a few features, such as blocking a person, deleting files from the Shared with me folder, and more, they are not as efficient as they should be. It takes quite a lot of time to perform these actions. We hope that Google Drive will look into the matter and offer a better solution for it.

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