If you have that version or the newer 2.3.583.13 installed, you'll see that tapping on PDF links in any app (SMS, Chrome, Twitter, WhatsApp, etc.) will immediately open Drive's PDF viewer and start loading them there. “Disable options to download, print, and copy for commenters and viewers” is a neat addition, but it’s not a foolproof security or privacy feature.Turns out that a new feature crept up in Google Drive's 2.3.544.17 release on January 28. It’s a way to communicate that the file owner doesn’t want the contents to be shared broadly.

This feature is meant as a deterrent and a reminder. Google described the feature as “perfect for when the file you’re sharing contains sensitive information that you don’t want shared broadly or leaked.” That said, remember that you’re still sharing the file: If someone really wants, they can manually reproduce the content, or just screenshot each page. This is very much limited to the Google ecosystem: If you share the file via email, Google can’t help you.Ī notification at the top of the File and Edit menus will let the user know a given file has been limited: Being the file owner is a requirement (though if you really want, you could make a copy of the file, limit it, and then re-share it).įinally, this feature removes all entry points for downloading, printing, and copying in not just Google Drive, but also Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides on all platforms. This makes sense: If a file is shared with you, you can’t then go ahead and disable downloading, printing, and copying for it. Next, you can’t enable this feature if you don’t own the file.

First off, this is only available on Google Drive for the Web (though presumably it will arrive on other platforms sometime soon). There are some more restrictions you should be aware of.

On the flipside, developers can access this functionality through the Google Drive API. Note that you can’t choose to limit one or two of the three options: If you’re disabling downloading, you’re also disabling printing and copying. Check the “Disable options to download, print, and copy for commenters and viewers” box and click “Save changes.” To use the feature, open the sharing dialogue from any Google Drive file and click on Advanced in the lower right corner.

Can viewer on google drive download