Google Drive is getting a lot better at dealing with spam – if you let it

Making sure your Google Drive account doesn’t get clogged up with spam or unwanted files should soon be a lot easier thanks to a new update.

The cloud storage platform has announced it will be adding a dedicated spam folder to ensure your account stays protected, keeping you safe from any potential cybersecurity risks.

Potentially harmful content will be automatically sent to the spam folder using automatic classifiers, with users also able to manually move files or folders there themselves.

Google Drive spam

Moving a folder to Spam, which can also be done by selecting “report spam” from the context menu or by dragging the file into the spam folder in the left hand navigation menu, will also unsubscribe users from the file, preventing any comment, sharing, and mobile push notifications. 

Any file that stays within the spam folder for over 30 days will be permanently removed from Drive.

(Image credit: Google Drive)

“This feature improves the security of Google Drive by giving users a new way to suppress potentially malicious content to stay safe and distraction free,” a Google Workspace update blog post announcing the news noted.

It added that Google has offered “best-in-class” spam, phishing, and malware prevention on Gmail and Drive for some time, but the latter has until now lacked a specific location to send unwanted content.

“By introducing a spam view, we’re simultaneously giving users more control over their content while blocking harmful files without risking impact to our users,” the post concluded.

The new spam folder will be available from May 24 to users on Web, Android, iOS and Drive for Desktop. All Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers and users with personal Google Accounts will be able to access the new tool.

Opinion – another strong security move

The news was announced at Google I/O 2023 alongside a host of other security-themed launches and upgrades from the company.

It seems to patch a rather obvious hole in Google Drive’s security, particularly in this modern online collaboration age, where sharing files and folders has become second-nature for many of us.

Getting all of its office software tools up to the same peg on cybersecurity is a smart move, and should hopefully keep businesses everywhere much safer going forward.

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