Is Google Drive secure? (a deep dive)
Google Drive is one of the most popular cloud services around, but people still question if it’s secure and if it should be used to store confidential data. In this guide, we look at Google’s Drive solution to find out how secure and private it actually is.
Is Google Drive secure? Short answer
No, Google Drive is not secure enough to store your confidential data because it does not protect your data with end-to-end encryption.
While Google Drive offers good security to protect your drive data from external attack and threats, this does not mean that your private data stored in the Google Drive is truly secure and private. In general, Google does not offer end-to-end encryption for its products. For example, when you use Gmail, Google Calendar or Google Drive, the Silicon Valley tech giant retains full access to your data.
Google makes its profits off the ad-based business model by collecting and selling user data and people are becoming aware that their personal data is not as secure and private as it should be when stored in Google services. Because of this more people are actively choosing to DeGoogle by deleting their Google accounts like Gmail, and switch to better alternatives for email, drive, and more!
This means that even though your files, pictures, and data in Google Drive are secured from external threat, your information is accessible and not secure from Google itself.
How secure is Google Drive? Long answer
Google Drive encryption
The first thing we need to answer is if Google Drive is encrypted: yes, in Google Drive your files are encrypted by default with TLS when in transit (uploading or downloading) and with AES-256 when at rest on Google’s servers. Because of the way the encryption is implemented (not end-to-end), Google holds the encryption key and has access to the contents of your drive – this is the same when you use Dropbox.
For extra security and privacy it is possible to add end-to-end encryption through third-party tools or client side encryption with admin control, but this can be a hassle to set up – especially when there are better encrypted drive solutions available like the upcoming Tuta Drive which offers end-to-end encryption by default.
Because Google Drive does not end-to-end encrypt your files by default, all your data is accessible to third-parties.
What account security does it have?
Google offers the standard security features needed to protect your drive from unauthorized access from external threats.
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Login security: Google Drive lets you secure your login with two-factor authentication (2FA) and notifies you if there are new logins or login attempts from unrecognized devices.
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Sharing control: In Google Drive your files are set to private by default and you can also share files. When sharing files, you can choose whether the person can view, comment or edit the files.
What is the disadvantage of Google Drive?
Google has access to your drive data
The type of symmetric encryption used by Google allows it to hold the encryption key to everything stored in your drive: Simply put, the tech giant does have access to your files stored in Google Drive and can access them or hand them over to law enforcement without you knowing.
In the Google Drive Help Center it says, “Google respects your privacy. We access your private content only when we have your permission or are required to by law”. Screenshot: Google Drive Help.
Gemini AI in Drive
With Googles push to integrate its AI, Gemini, into all of its Workspace products, even your mailbox, another privacy concern is that Gemini might be scanning, analyzing, and possibly using this data to train AI models.
In 2025, we warned our users to turn off Gemini on Android. This came after Google decided that Gemini would get access to users’ apps (even if they had previously turned off tracking for Gemini Apps Activity). If this was not already bad enough, Google then turned on Smart Features by default, allowing Gemini AI access to drive and other apps.
If you use Google products, follow these steps to disable Gemini.
Note: Smart features are turned off by default for users in the EEA, Japan, Switzerland and the UK.
Jurisdiction
Google is an American-based company, and while it does have servers around the world, the majority of them are located in the US. When it comes to storing sensitive emails, documents, or any data for that matter, it’s important to consider the jurisdiction. For example, if you choose to secure your emails and documents in Tuta which is based in Germany, your privacy and data is protected with the GDPR and strict German data protection laws. But if you choose to store your emails, pictures and personal data with Google or Microsoft which are based in the US, a 5-eyes country, there is less data protection.
Learn why companies in Europe are choosing to leave American tech and pushing for European digital sovereignty.
It’s owned by Google
Google makes its billions through ads. Because it heavily relies on the ad-based business model, it tracks, collects, analyzes, processes and sells your data. While it says it does not collect and use your drive data for advertising, it’s worth remembering that the tech giant hasn’t had a spotless record when it comes to its user’s data privacy. For example, it used to scan your emails to target you with personalised ads, and while it says it has stopped using this for ad targeting, Gmail still scans your personal emails.
Don’t store anything confidential
At the end of the day, Google Drive is a free-to-use and easily accessible cloud solution. It also integrates well into all of Google’s productivity tools so it’s understandable you might want to use it. If this is the case, it’s not advisable to store confidential data in it, for example tax documents or documents containing your social security number. Because Google Drive doesn’t offer end-to-end encryption by default and it has access to your files, it shouldn’t be trusted for any data you want to keep private.
What has replaced Google Drive?
With the trend to move away from big tech services owned by Meta, Microsoft, and Google, there are now excellent alternatives that offer great privacy and security.
A private Google Drive alternative is in the works, stay tuned for the Tuta Drive!
Soon, Tuta the company that offers end-to-end encrypted services Tuta Mail and Tuta Calendar is releasing the Tuta Drive. A quantum-secure drive solution, that’s open source, end-to-end encrypted by default, and hosted in Germany.
Follow us on one of our social channels to find out when the Tuta Drive is out!
