What is Google Drive ?

Google Drive is a very common term, and many of us store and back up our files and data there. But do you know its meaning, working principle, applications, and so on? I guess, most people just know it as a simple Cloud Storage platform backup tool and use it for the same. No doubt, it is a file and data backup place, but let us get a brief knowledge about our favorite file backup service in the most simple way possible. Just stay tuned till the end of this very simple article.

This service is available to the users of Google, both Android/iOS and laptop/desktop users who use Google. In Android alone, it has over five billion downloads. You just need to have a Google account to access and use this service, on both smartphones and computers.

Now, a question might arise in your mind: what is Google Drive?

Google Drive lets you backup your useful stuff, like – photos, videos, audio files, documents, and much more to the Google servers, also known as Cloud. So, Google Drive is actually a service offered by Google to its users (those who have a Google account) to backup their crucial data and files to the Google cloud. Your data is stored in a safe and secure manner to the servers of Google and Google drive is the name given to this entire process or service. You can also call it a virtual hard drive. 

Google Drive is a free service to which every Google user is entitled to get an instant 15 GB free cloud storage, you can backup all your stuff within this range. But, if you want more storage, then you can expand this free storage up to a gigantic 30 TB. You can get 100 GB, 200 GB, 2 TB, 10 TB, 20 TB, and 30 TB cloud storage from Google Drive but you will have to purchase them. It is known as Google One, a paid expandable storage for Google Drive beyond the free 15 GB storage.

When it comes to the drive’s storage, do remember that the files and data of Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides are not taken into account. This cloud storage is also integrated with Google Photos and Gmail, and if you set the image quality to ‘High Quality’ in Google Photos, then all your photos and videos backed up in the Google photos will not consume any of the drive’s storage. But, yes, all your photos will be updated to a resolution less than 16 MP and videos up to 1080p, if you happen to choose ‘Original quality’, then those photos and videos will eat up the drive’s storage.

So, it is a nice feature offered by Google to further save your storage and back up more and more stuff. Therefore, even if you are using the general free storage of 15 GB, then also you get free space for Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Furthermore, you also get the authority to upload many ‘High Quality’ photos and videos without eating a single bite of free 15 GB storage. This is indeed a thumbs-up feature for Google Drive, and it is also the reason that it is loved and used by many users.

As of now, we have got a clear understanding of Google Drive, its working, its storage, etc. Now, let us further explore its salient features. In simple words, let us now discuss some of the characteristics and applications that Google Drive offers us:

1. You can backup your useful stuff to it, if you want to free up extra space in your system or even if you want to have a necessary second backup option, you can always count on Google Drive.
2. You can share files uploaded in Google Drive anytime with anyone, and allow your personal or professional fellows to view, modify or save them.
3. You can access your files and data uploaded in the Google servers via Google Drive from any gadget and from anywhere across the world.
4. It supports files, images, audio clips, videos, etc of a lot of extensions.
5. It is a safe and secure way to backup your stuff online.

 

 FAQs

• What is meant by Google Drive?

As we have already discussed in brief, it is the service offered to Google users by Google. Google users can backup their files and data to the servers of Google via this service.

 

• What is meant by the backup of files and data?

It means storing the pre-existing files and data of your smartphone or tablet or computer in another place for security and future use. It can be both offline or online, like – a Pendrive, a memory card, another computer or smartphone or tablet, or by online cloud storage like – Google Servers via Google drive.

 

• Is there any trick to increase the free storage without purchasing it?

Apart from the two tricks or features offered by Google – no counting of storage with stuff related to Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides and also the fact that ‘High Quality’ photos and videos do not count to the storage, there is one more way with which you can get more storage space, let us try to understand it. You simply need to create multiple Gmail accounts, even in the same device, or in multiple devices, and you get 15 GB of instant free cloud storage via Google Drive in each of those Gmail accounts.

 

• Is this process safe?

Yes, it is safe and secure, as you backup your stuff to the remote servers of Google that are highly encrypted and secure.

 

Other Articles:

• Save images directly to Google Photos from the Chrome browser
• How to access Amazon drive on your computer using a web browser