Google Drive is one of the best and most reliable sources for uploading and sharing files and folders with other Google Drive users freely and securely. Important files can be shared on Google Drive globally with 15 GB of free data space. Normally, no expiration time is set by Google by default. Sometimes, when we have to share files temporarily for a specific period, like a week or so. For instance, we have some business offer or some kind of registration form or some other link. So we have to manually remove the file-sharing option with the person from the privacy features. This manual removal of the file-sharing option is a little bit hectic and may be time-consuming. So, we should think of some smart way to remove the shared links automatically after that period.
Fortunately, there are simple ways to share Google Drive files for a specific period, and the files will automatically stop sharing with that person. You have to give file-sharing access again to that person.
How to set an expiration date for shared files on Google Drive:
Setting an expiry time for shared Google Drive files is available to all Google Workspace users. So, if you are a normal user, then you must have a Google Workspace subscription.
- Open Google Drive, right-click on the file to share, and enter the email address of the person to share.
- Click the drop-down arrow next to the person’s name and click Add expiration.
- Click to choose a date of 7 or days or even use the custom option from the calendar to set an expiration date for that file of your choice.
- Click Done to save it.
If you have shared a file with more than one person, then you have to set an expiration date for each.
That’s it, you have just set an expiration date for the file. The Google Drive link won’t work, and hence, the shared file cannot be accessed after the time limit you set. However, if the person wants to access the file again, he has to ask the owner to grant permission for it.
What if you want to recover deleted files from Google Drive?
Deleted Files from Google Drive can be found in the “Trash” folder of the Google Workplace. You can access the folder and click “Restore” to recover files in your inbox or other folders accordingly. But there is a limit: you have only 30 days to recover the deleted files; after that, the files will automatically be deleted. However, if someone has deleted the files from the trash, then you can follow the official way described by Google to retrieve your deleted files. Before getting back files, there are some conditions:
- You are the owner of the file and have created a file or folder in your Google Drive.
- You have ownership of the file or accept the file from the original owner.
- To recover deleted files, you can visit Google’s official File Recovery Page and follow the steps.
So the deleted files can be recovered. You can also use third-party apps to get back up your files.