If you want to prevent anyone from seeing what you upload to Google Drive, we are going to give you some useful tips. The objective is that you can host content with complete guarantees, without this posing a problem for privacy. Google’s own cloud configuration allows this to be done. In addition, you can encrypt the files and thus have an extra layer of protection to avoid problems.
You can also apply the same to other similar services, although we focus on Google Drive as it is the most used. Whenever you are going to upload files to the cloud, you can take into account what we are going to explain and thus reduce the risk of having problems.
Select permissions
The trick is as simple as sharing only with an email account. That is, instead of using the option that anyone with the URL can see what you upload to the cloud, you are going to configure it so that only a specific user can enter. This gives you greater privacy, since you will prevent others from seeing what you upload.
It’s easy to set up. When you upload a file to Google Drive, you will see, at the top right, a button that says Share. If you click there, you will see who has access to that file. It can be restricted access or anyone with the link. A common mistake is to put it so that anyone with that link can enter.
The idea may seem good, since you simply copy that link and someone else opens it to access the content. However, that could leak. They could even brute force and see addresses that are accessible. Therefore, what you are going to do is click on the Add people square. There you will put the email address of whoever you want to have access to that document.
Therefore, only the users you have added will be able to access it. Everyone else, whether they have the URL or not, will not be able to see the content. This also allows you to have greater control, since at any time you could remove permissions from an email that you have added, allow them to only view the content and not edit it, etc.
Encrypt files
Beyond selecting who has permissions to enter a document that you are going to share, you could also encrypt those files. This is interesting, since it provides extra security. For example, if you are going to upload a folder you can encrypt it first. You could encrypt files with 7-Zip, for example.
If someone managed to access those folders, since they were encrypted they would not be able to see the content. You will have an extra layer of protection. One more way to improve your privacy and prevent intruders from seeing what you store. You can encrypt all types of files, although it is important to always do it correctly.
Therefore, as you have seen, it is important to prevent anyone from accessing what you upload to Google Drive. A good idea is to select who can have permissions to view a file and enter their email. Avoid having it configured so that anyone with the link can enter.
