Google Drive is an incredibly useful cloud storage service that allows you to store, access, and share your files from anywhere. However, there may be situations where you need to transfer files from one Google Drive account to another without sharing the files. Perhaps you are changing jobs and need to move work documents to a personal account, or maybe you want to reorganize files between different Drive accounts you own.
Transferring files between Google Drive accounts is actually a straightforward process once you know the steps. In this article, we’ll walk through how to move files from one Google Drive to another while maintaining privacy and without needing to share anything.
Step 1: Download the Files to Your Computer
The first step is to download the files you want to transfer from the source Google Drive account to your computer. Here’s how:
- Go to drive.google.com and log into the source Google account that currently contains the files you want to move.
- Locate the files and folders you wish to transfer. You can select multiple files at once by holding the Ctrl or Command key and clicking on each file. To select all files in a folder, press Ctrl+A or Command+A.
- Right-click on the selected file(s) and choose Download from the menu. You can also click on the three dot menu icon and select Download from there.
- The file(s) will now be downloaded and saved to your computer, likely in your Downloads folder unless you chose another location.
Step 2: Upload the Files to the New Google Drive Account
Now that you have the files saved locally on your computer, the next step is to upload them to the destination Google Drive account. Follow these steps:
- Log out of the source Google account and log into the destination Google Drive account where you want to move the files.
- In Google Drive, navigate to the folder where you want to upload the files. You can also create a new folder by clicking the New button and selecting Folder.
- Drag and drop the downloaded file(s) from your computer into the Google Drive folder. Alternatively, you can click the New button, select File upload, and choose the files to upload from your computer.
- The files will now upload to the new Google Drive account. Depending on the size and number of files, this may take a few minutes. You’ll see an upload progress bar in the bottom right.
- Once the upload is complete, the files will now be available in the destination Google Drive account!
Step 3: Delete the Files from the Original Account (Optional)
After transferring the files to the new Google Drive account, you may want to delete them from the original source account for privacy or decluttering purposes. To do this:
- Log back into the original source Google Drive account.
- Locate the files and folders you just transferred that you now want to delete. Select them.
- Right-click and choose Remove from the menu, or select Remove from the three dot menu icon.
- Confirm the deletion by clicking Remove again in the pop-up box.
The files will now be deleted from the source Drive account. However, they will still be available in the destination account you transferred them to.
Conclusion
Transferring files between Google Drive accounts is a common need that is easy to do once you know the process. To recap, just download the files you want to move from the source Drive account to your computer. Then log into the destination Drive account and upload those files from your computer. Finally, delete the original files for privacy if needed.
By following these simple steps, you can seamlessly transfer Google Drive files from one account to another without having to share anything or compromise privacy. This allows you to keep your files organized across accounts and maintain control over sensitive information.
The beauty of cloud storage services like Google Drive is how accessible yet secure they make your data. With the transfer method outlined here, you get the best of both worlds – the flexibility to relocate files to different accounts and the peace of mind that your data remains private throughout the process.
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