Google drive is the most used feature of Google contemporarily due to its extensive use in workplaces and educational institutions. Which has peaked due to the COVID pandemic. It has multiple tools, such as Google docs (like Ms-word), Google Slides (Like PowerPoint), Google Sheets (Like Excel) and google forms. 

 Google claims, “When you use our services, you’re trusting us with your information. We understand this is a big responsibility and work hard to protect your information and put you in control.”

WHAT IS GOOGLE DRIVE?

Google Drive is a feature of Google, which allows the user to upload, submit, store, send and receive content. Users can share the content from google drive. The user can also provide control to other users, to edit, comment or view the content (through settings).

Does the content in Google drive enjoy Privacy?

The Google Terms of Service mentions that the user’s content remains private and only he can control it. Google also claims that:

• They have no ownership over any content, be it text, data, information and files that the user uploads, shares or stores in his drive account.
• They have a limited purpose license to operate and improve the google drive services.
• The owner of the content is the one who controls the content and its use.
• Google Drive allows users to collaborate on the content of the other google drive users.
• They do not use user’s content for marketing or promotional campaigns.

How does the user control his data?

Files in the drive are private until the user decides to share them. The data does not remain private when:

If the user gives control of his content:

When the user decides to share the control of his content, he can do so through sharing settings.

If the user places his content in someone else’s drive or drives shared by others (Like Google Spreadsheet or sharing links of the content):

When the user places his files in folders and drives shared by others. Those users will inherit the sharing settings and may inherit the ownership settings of the folder or drive they are in.

GOOGLE DRIVE ADHERE TO GOOGLE PRIVACY POLICIES

Google mentions that they collect the content, the users create, upload or receive from other users who use their services. For instance: Emails the user send and receive, photos and videos the user save, the spreadsheets user creates.

Information users unknowingly share with google while using their service of google drive?

These are the information the service provider can access and collect while the user is using the service of google drive:

The information google collect:

• Browser type.
• Device type and settings.
• Operating system,
• Mobile networks, the carrier name and phone number.
• IP Address, Activity of system and the date and time.

Information about user’s activity while using the service: People with whom the user is communicating or sharing content.

Information that user provides: The content he creates, upload, or receive from others. This includes photos, videos, documents and spreadsheets user creates.

 Can google retain such information?

 “We retain the data we collect for different periods of time depending on what it is, how we use it, and how you configure your settings”.

                                                                                                                                               -Google

• Google retains the information until the user removes it completely from their platform. For instance: Personal information, My activity, content like photos and documents, Google account.
• While Enabling safe and complete deletion: When a user deletes data, google follows a deletion process to make sure that the data is safely and completely removed from their servers or retained only in anonyms form. Which causes a gap between when a user deletes something and when copies are deleted from their active and backup systems.

When does Google collect such information?

While the user uses any google service, their device contacts google servers. For instance: App download from play store.  Which eventually provides information about the device and connection to their services. The information includes device type, carrier name, crash reports, the apps installed in the device.

IS THE USER’S DATA AND INFORMATION SECURE AND PROTECTED IN THE GOOGLE DRIVE?

Google claims to protect users’ data and information from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. By:

• Use of encryption to protect data privacy while in transit.
• Reviewing storage to prevent unauthorized access.
• Restricting Google employees, contractors, and agents, from accessing such information.

USER’S  PERMIT GOOGLE TO USE THEIR CONTENT?

Whatever content a user uploads or provides to google drive, is his. He can retain Intellectual property rights over the content.

So, the data is protected but not from the service provider because the user himself provides him with the intellectual property rights of his content. Which is valid worldwide.

This licence allows google to:

• Host, reproduce, distribute, communicate and use users content. For instance: to save users content on their systems and make it accessible from anywhere.
• Publish, publicly perform or display the content, if the user has made it visible to others.

When does this occur?

It occurs while the content is sent, received and stored.

What is the life of such a license?

As long as users content is protected by intellectual property rights (it is his own). If the content is removed from the services provided by Google, the license expires as well.

Unless:

• Such content has been shared with others before removing it.
• If such content is made available through other companies services.

By uploading any file into google drive user by default give permission to google, to scrutinize the uploaded data. Google claims that it will not retain ownership of the uploaded data. This indicates that they have access to users’ data and the data does not enjoy complete privacy.

REFERENCES

1. Privacy and Terms, GOOGLE (Oct. 09, 2020, 11:00 AM), https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en&gl=uk#infocollect.
2. Share files from google drive, GOOGLE DRIVE HELP, (Oct. 09, 2020, 12:00 PM), https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2494822?visit_id=637378698040451789-365009812&rd=1.
3. Privacy policy, GOOGLE (Oct. 09, 2020, 01:00 PM), https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en#infosharing.
4. Is google drive secure, GOOGLE DRIVE HELP, (Oct. 09, 2020, 02:00 PM), https://support.google.com/drive/answer/141702?hl=en&ref_topic=2428743.