If an uninvited party discovers the document’s URL, they won’t be able to access it. On the other hand, the “Specific people” setting will make the document available only to the people with whom you decide to share it. The “Public on the web” setting makes the document completely public and available for indexing, which means it’ll appear in Google search and anyone with the document’s URL can access it. On both ends of the privacy spectrum are the “Public on the web” and the “Specific people” settings. Google offers three modes of document sharing, each with different privacy and access settings: Here’s what you need to know about preserving the privacy of your data when sharing Google Docs with colleagues and friends. Users and organizations often choose convenience over the protection of their information and use anonymous sharing, which makes their sensitive business information accessible to unintended parties.

However, one problem I’ve observed is how easily people ignore the privacy concerns surrounding Google Docs when sharing and collaborating on documents. And with good reason: It’s free, it’s easy to use, and it’s already available to every user who has a Google account (which includes more than one billion active Gmail users). Google’s productivity suite has become the defacto work platform for millions of people and organizations across the world. Out of the numerous companies I’ve worked with in the past years, most use Google Docs to submit and collaborate on draft articles and documents.

How to make google drive folder public