How To Revoke Permissions to Google Drive™ Files and Folders at Scale?
Have you ever wondered who still has access to your Google Drive files and folders? Maybe a former teammate, a contractor, or even a public link you forgot about? Keeping track of permissions is one thing, but knowing how to revoke them when needed is just as important for security.
Introduction
Google Drive makes it easy to share files and folders with teammates, clients, partners, or external collaborators. But over time, access can pile up.
Former employees, old contractors, external domains, or public links may still have access to files they no longer need. This can create security and compliance risks, especially when sensitive company data is stored in Google Drive.
Google Drive lets you remove access manually, but this can be slow if you need to review many files or folders. You often need to open each item, check who has access, remove permissions, and repeat the process again and again.
There are a few ways to revoke Google Drive permissions:
- Use Google Drive’s built-in sharing panel to remove access from individual files or folders.
- Ask your Google Workspace admin for help when permissions need to be reviewed at a wider domain level.
- Use Folgo to run an audit first, identify unwanted access, then remove or update permissions directly from the audit report.
Folgo is especially useful when you need to clean up access across multiple folders, Shared Drives, or large sets of files at once.
Why revoking permissions matters
Once you find access that should no longer exist, you need a simple way to remove it. Revoking permissions helps you:
- Remove access from former employees or contractors.
- Reduce external sharing risks.
- Clean up old project permissions.
- Remove public or unwanted access.
- Improve Google Drive security.
- Support compliance and internal data governance.
- Keep sensitive files under better control.
Without regular permission cleanup, files can stay accessible to the wrong people for months or even years.
How Folgo helps
Folgo’s revoke permissions feature starts from an audit.
First, you run an audit on the folder, Shared Drive, or account you want to review. Folgo then generates a Google Sheets report showing who has access, what they can access, and their permission level.
From this centralized report, you can quickly identify users, groups, domains, or public links that should be removed or updated. Instead of opening files one by one, you can review and manage permissions from a single spreadsheet.
- Remove access completely.
- Change access to Viewer.
- Change access to Commenter.
- Change access to Editor.
This makes the audit report more than a visibility tool. It becomes a central control panel for cleaning up Google Drive permissions at scale.
How to revoke Google Drive permissions in 5 simple steps
- Open Folgo and run an audit on the folder or Shared Drive you want to review.
- Open the Google Sheets audit report generated by Folgo.
- Go to the Permission Recap tab.
- Select the users, groups, domains, or permissions you want to remove or update.
- Choose the action you want Folgo to apply, such as removing access or changing the permission level.
Folgo then processes the action directly from the Google Sheets spreadsheet.
For full instructions, read our step-by-step Help Center guide on removing permissions with Folgo.
Easy to use
Folgo makes permission cleanup easier because it works from a clear Google Sheets report. Instead of checking files one by one, you can review permissions in a spreadsheet, filter the results, select what needs attention, and launch the action from there. This makes the process easier to understand, easier to track, and more practical for larger Drive structures.
Safe and secure for your data
Folgo makes permission cleanup easier because it works from a clear Google Sheets report. Instead of checking files one by one, you can review permissions in a spreadsheet, filter the results, select what needs attention, and launch the action from there. This makes the process easier to understand, easier to track, and more practical for larger Drive structures.
Free trial and pricing
Folgo is free to try for 30 days. During the free trial, you can test the audit workflow, as well as other powerful Google Drive management features.
Folgo offers flexible plans for organizations of every size, depending on your usage needs. The revoke permissions feature is only one of many Folgo features designed to help you manage, organize, secure, and scale Google Drive. For heavier usage, advanced requirements, or enterprise needs, you can contact the Folgo team at support@folgo.app.
Conclusion
Revoking access is a critical step in keeping your Google Drive secure. Security isn’t just about who can see your files, it’s about making sure the wrong people can’t. Over time, permissions in Google Drive pile up: old collaborators, external contractors, even public links you forgot about. Each one is a potential security risk.
While Google Drive lets you remove permissions one by one, Folgo allows you to revoke access at scale, across entire folders, Shared Drives, or even your full account all in just a few clicks.
Install Folgo and give it a try! We only showed one of many powerful features Folgo offers to help you manage Google Drive at scale. Feel free to explore Folgo's features and see how it helps your organisation!