Google Drive app gets an important security feature

Google Drive is receiving an important security feature to help you offer protection against potentially suspicious or dangerous files. Google first announced this feature at its Cloud Next 2021, which took place in October. The company is now finally rolling out this feature for everyone.

This is a much-needed feature as a lot of people get files from unknown sites and share them with others using Google Drive. Some people directly receive Google Drive linked files on Gmail. Now, with the latest update, users get additional protection that will safeguard them against abusive content.

One won’t be required to turn on this feature as it will be enabled by default. Google Drive will automatically send you an alert or warn you if you open a potentially suspicious or dangerous file in the app. It will display a yellow warning banner on the top of the screen to help protect users and their organization from malware, phishing and ransomware.

For example, if you are opening a file, photo or document in Google Drive, then the app will run a quick scan and display a message if it suspects something - “The file looks suspicious. It might be used to steal your personal information.”

It is worth noting that these types of warnings are already available when opening Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings. Google has just started rolling out this feature, so it will take time to reach everyone. One should receive it in about 15 days as it's a gradual rollout.

Google Drive app is fully integrated into Google's other services, so people who have a Google account get 15GB of storage space for free. The app is used by many as this cloud storage app comes pre-installed with every Android smartphone and it is pretty easy for users to access files across devices. So, the use of this app as a file hosting and sharing service has increased more than ever. As people these days are more reliant on cloud storage services, Google seems to have realized the importance of having this alert system.