Google Workspace Updates : Google Drive Access Control

Google has announced updates to Google Drive's access controls.

Here’s an article to explain some of the updates to how you share and manage access to files in Google Drive. These changes will make it easier to control who can see and edit your files, whether they are in "My Drive" or a shared drive.

Key Updates :

Controlling Folder Access (until February 2026)
"Editors can change permissions and share" setting (coming in August 2025)

Controlling Folder Access

Before: If a user had access to a folder owned by a Google Drive account, but not to one of its subfolders, that user would not see the sub folder he doesn’t have access to.

After: Users can now limit access to specific folders, ensuring only designated individuals can view or edit the contents, but other users are still aware of the folder's existence.

You currently still have the two options:

Update Item Only. This setting allows the folder owner to update user’s permissions (editor, commentor, viewer) on individual items without affecting the parent folder.

Limit Folder Access. This setting allows the owner to choose which folder to limit access to.

As for the other users, they won’t have access to the folder anymore but it will still be visible on the Shared Drive. They will need to request access to the owner.

By February 2026, Google will remove the ability to restrict access at the file level. Instead, all access controls will be managed at the folder level through the "Limit Folder Access" setting.

Folders that are currently shared with fewer people than their parent folder will be identified, and limited access will be enabled on them. An update in early 2026 will be provided before this process takes place. We’re going to keep you updated too!

"Editors can change permissions and share" setting

If you’re sharing a file, the owner and anyone with editor access can change the permissions and share the file. To prevent others from sharing the file, the owner can turn off this option.

Editors will have to ask the owner to share the item.

How does that affect Folgo?

We understand that these changes may raise concerns for Folgo users. However, your experience will remain unaffected. We are always adapting and ready to update our add-on to best meet your needs.

Important to consider during audits:

When a user generates an audit report, they only see what they have access to in Google Drive:

They can see folders and the files inside them if they have access.
They can see folder names but not the files inside if "Limited Access" is enabled"
They see nothing if they have no access to a folder.

On the other hand, Folgo does not handle these new parameters yet when copying folders and moving them to Shared Drives. We will work on adapting the tool as quickly as possible to integrate this update.

This update will prevent editors from sharing files. Folgo will continue to evolve to support you.