Google: Remove Access to Files/Folders/Shared Drives for Departing Employee

Environment

Google Drive

Issue

How do I completely remove someone's access from my Google Drive files, folders, and shared drives before they leave my department or the university?

Resolution

Files/folders shared from My Drive

For files and folders you own and shared from My Drive:

1. Go to My Drive.
2. Click the People filter at the top of your file list.
3. Enter the name or uniqname of the departing individual in the field provided.
4. Hover over the person's name in the list and select Shared with. The results will show everything you shared with them that you own from your My Drive.
   • Alternatively, you can also use the ITS Data Reclamation tool to find all the files you own and shared with them.
5. Press CTRL/CMD + A on your keyboard to select all files/folders displayed.
   • Important: You may have shared hundreds of files/folders with them. If that is the case, you will want to break this process into chunks of ~100 at a time to prevent Google from displaying an error when you click the Share icon.
6. Click the Share icon at the top of your results.
   • Note: If you have selected too many files/folders, Google will display the following error: "Sorry, sharing is unavailable at this time. Please try again later." You will need to select fewer files/folders and try again.
7. Find their name under "People with access" and click the permission level drop-down menu.
8. Select Remove access and click Save.
9. Click Yes if prompted to confirm your removal.

You should repeat these steps in your shared drives to ensure no subfolder or file-level access remains. (Instead of going to My Drive, open the relevant shared drive in Drive.)

Shared drives you manage

Depending on their role in the shared drive, you can manage their access in the following ways:

They are a Manager

Previously, shared drives created before January 3, 2023, could remove Managers in Google. However, they must be removed using the ITS Shared Drive Manager moving forward.

Refer to Google: Transfer Ownership of Shared Drives for instructions.

They are a Content Manager, Contributor, Commenter, or Viewer

1. Open the relevant shared drive in Google.
2. Click the shared drive's name at the top and select Manage members from the drop-down.
3. Find the individual's name and click the access level drop-down menu beside it.
4. Select Remove access and click Save.
5. Click Yes if prompted to confirm your removal.

Additional Information

Refer to Transfer Ownership of Google Drive Files Owned by Departing Employee for more information on helping a departing employee transfer ownership of university/department data in Google before leaving.

Need additional information or assistance? Contact the ITS Service Center.