Google Drive allows you to upload and share almost any kind of file with anyone. Anyone who has access to your shared file link can view and download the file if required. You can also share the files publicly where everyone can access the files, and it will also appear in the Google search results. But, what if you want to share files for viewing purpose only and stop people from downloading it or printing it? Google Drive allows you to disable download option for the shared files. This way you can share the file link with anyone, but they will not be able to download the file and will be restricted to viewing only. This comes in handy if you are sharing some text documents or if you are selling a virtual product that needs to be downloaded after making a purchase. Irrespective of why you want to disable download option in Google Drive here is how to do it. Disable Download Option for Google Drive Files Login to your Google Drive account. If you are not already logged in you may need to enter your username and password. Once logged in, click New button and select File Upload. Browse your PC for the file that you want to upload and select it. Once you have uploaded the files for which you want to disable download option, it will appear in the My Drive section. If you can’t locate your recently uploaded file in the My Drive section, click the Recent tab (left pane) to view recently edited or uploaded files. Once you have located the file, right-click on it and select “Share…” A new dialogue box will appear asking you to enter the email address of the people with whom you want to share the files. If you want to share the file with anyone with the link, then click on Advanced at the bottom of the dialogue box. Under Who has access, click on Change and then set it to Specific, Anyone with the Link or Public option. Click Save to save the changes. Now you will be back in the Sharing Setting window. At the bottom of the Sharing Setting dialogue box, you can see Owner Settings section. If you want to prevent anyone from downloading your files you can check the box ” Disable option to download, print and copy for commentators and viewers“. As the option describes, not only the Download option will be disabled, it will also hide the Print and Copy options from the viewers. Once checked, click on Save Changes and you are done. Now if you have shared this file with everyone or only with the people with access to the link, open the Sharable link in Incognito Mode and click the download button. Even though the Download button will appear, but you will get an error message saying the Owner has not given you the permission to download this file.
