Cant Find Any Trace of File I Uploaded to Google Drive

Every day, millions of people use Google Docs to share and interact on documents. And when information technology comes to working on documents online, few tools friction match the power and versatility of Google Drive and Google Docs. Merely like all online tools that provide an open environment for many people to share data, Google Docs entails privacy risks.

A while back, one of the readers of TechTalks raised expressed business organization that a malicious role player was using Google Drive to stalk him and find his identity. "[A] person sent me a public link to a video on their Google Drive. I clicked and viewed the video and so realized the owner was stalking me and trying to find out my identity. Can he see who I am? Can he trace me by IP address or past my Google Drive account? I saw the video in my Google Drive and deleted it just now I am concerned," the user asked.

In this post, I will go over the privacy issues of Google Bulldoze link-sharing and whether malicious actors can use publicly shared Google Drive files to gather sensitive information near users. The following mail focuses on link-sharing in Google Docs, merely the same rules too apply to other file types shared in Google Drive. Commencement, let's see how link-sharing works.

Does viewing publicly shared Google Docs reveal your identity?

Google Drive lets you share your documents with specific people by selecting their Google Account emails. Only it also has a link-sharing feature that enables you to share documents with anyone without explicitly including them in the document's access list. By turning on link sharing, Google Drive produces a URL that gives access to the file. You can publish the URL online or send it to your mailing lists to share it with a large group of people.

Link sharing is widely used to share press releases, online courses and other public documents. Some organizations use link sharing to collaborate on internal documents (it's a terrible thought).

Now, the question is, if you open up a publicly shared Google Doc, does the possessor of the certificate larn your identity?

Explicitly shared documents show the name and avatar of users who accept currently opened the document. It also shows a total history of edits made by each user. In dissimilarity, publicly shared documents testify placeholder beast profiles such as "Bearding Annoy," "Bearding Kraken" and "Anonymous Camel" to represent users who are currently viewing the document.

Even if you've logged in to your Google Account while viewing a publicly shared document, your identity will remain secret.

The merely exception to this rule is the owner of the document and other users who have explicitly been given access to the Google Doc. Their avatars and names volition always be visible when they're viewing the document.

Lesser line: Viewing publicly shared Google Docs does non reveal your identity. If you accidentally open a Google Doc, the owner won't be able to assemble information nearly your account. Neither volition they proceeds access to information nearly your device, IP address or geographical location.

Does editing publicly shared Google Docs reveal your identity?

Google Docs keeps a history of all edits made to a document. But when users edit the document through public sharing, their identity remains bearding, regardless of whether they've signed in to their Google Business relationship or not. All edits fabricated by people other than the owner or users who accept been given explicit admission to the document are filed nether "All anonymous users."

Things get catchy when you leave comments or suggestions. In this case, if you're logged in as a Google user, then Google Docs volition annals your name.

If yous're not logged in your Google Account, your comments and suggestions will be registered under "Anonymous."

Bottom line: As long equally you don't leave comments or suggestions, editing publicly shared Google Docs will not reveal your identity to the owner of the document or other users.

Notation: Editing rules use to all native Google file types, including Docs, Sheets and Slides. Video, audio and other file types that can't exist edited in Google apps don't track edits and user identities.

Does calculation publicly shared file to your Google Bulldoze reveal your identity?

Shared documents have a "Add to My Bulldoze" feature that lets yous create a shortcut to the file in your Google Drive. This feature is only meant for convenience, organization and easy access to shared files. Information technology doesn't reveal your identity to the owner of the file. Also have note that this feature doesn't create a copy of the file in your Google Drive. If the owner revokes access, you will non be able to access the file anymore.

Lesser line: If a shared file appears in your Google Drive, it doesn't hateful the file'southward owner knows most your identity. They won't even know yous've added the file to your drive.

Google knows everything

Let's be articulate: Google knows quite a lot well-nigh you, even if the owner of the shared Google Docs doesn't. Google runs the servers of Google Docs, which means it will collect your IP address, device info, browser info, geolocation and much more. Even if you lot oasis't logged in your Google Business relationship and are using private browsing mode, Google will still know that you lot've previously used the aforementioned device to access an account.

While this post is merely about protecting your privacy confronting owners of shared Google Docs, if you're interested in hiding your information from Google itself, there are a few things you tin can exercise, such as using a virtual individual network (VPN) or the Tor browser.

Privacy concerns beyond Google Docs

Like emails and social media posts, Google Docs tin can go subject to phishing scams and information theft. Bated from the points raised higher up, yous must have a few things into consideration when dealing with publicly shared Google Docs.

If you meet a link to a publicly shared Google Doc file in an email, brand sure that the hyperlink really points to a real Google Docs file. Some senders employ electronic mail and link trackers to collect information about users. When you lot click on a tracked link, yous're non directly taken to the destination. Instead, you become through an intermediate server that tin can collect information such as device type, browser type, IP address, geographical location and more. If yous're not careful, you won't find that you have just been tracked. Below is a tracked link. While the anchor text clearly shows it'due south a Google Doc link, the real URL of the link is a tracker.

You can verify this by hovering your mouse pointer on the link and reading the address that appears at the bottom of your browser window. If it doesn't get-go with "https://docs.google.com" and so it'southward not an accurate Google Docs link.

In that location's another way to avoid clicking on tracked links by accident. If you're using Gmail or a corporate G Suite email, existent Google Docs links will appear as certificate attachments at the bottom of the electronic mail message. You can straight click on the icon to open the file in Google Docs. If the icon doesn't appear, then there's something wrong with the link.

A terminal privacy consideration when using publicly shared Google Docs: Be very careful of links inside documents. Google Docs makes sure document owners can't track IP addresses and device information of visitors. But at that place's no guarantee about the safety and privacy of the links inside the document. Make sure to cheque the destination of links within the document. They might become through trackers, giving the owner the capability to collect information about visitors.

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Source: https://bdtechtalks.com/2019/03/18/google-docs-link-sharing-identity-privacy/

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