How to Block or Unblock Someone on Google Drive

When it comes to sharing, Google Drive is quite a user-friendly platform as it allows you to share files with anyone. But this sincerity also comes at a hidden cost, as it paves the way for spammers to target everyone by effectively sharing malicious files and abusive content. Google is trying to stop all this by introducing the Block on Google Drive feature.

With the blocking feature, you can prevent people you don’t know from trying to share files with you. Also, blocking someone effectively deletes all files shared by that person. What’s more, it also revokes the person’s access to files you’ve shared before.

In this post we will cover how you can block and unblock someone on Google Drive on both mobile and PC. Lets start.

How to Block Someone on Google Drive on PC

Blocking someone on Google Drive will delete any files that person shared and vice versa. Here’s how it works on PC.

Stage 1: Open your preferred web browser and log into your Google Drive account.

Step 2: Switch to the ‘Shared with me tab’ on your left. Here you will find all the files shared with your account. Go to the file shared by the user you want to block. Right click on the file and select ‘Block’. [email-id]’ option from the list.

Stage 3: When prompted, click Block to confirm.

Note: If you use Google Drive at work or school, you cannot block other users with the same domain.

This much. Now blocked users will no longer be able to share any files with you. Blocking someone on Google Drive is to send that person to Gmail, Chat, Maps, etc. It also blocks other Google services such as

How to Block Someone on Google Drive on Mobile

You can also block someone using the Google Drive app on your phone. The Google Drive app offers a similar experience on Android and iPhone. Here’s how to block someone in the Google Drive app for mobile.

Stage 1: Open the Google Drive app on your phone. Go to the Shared tab.

Step 2: Find any file shared by the person you want to block. Click on the three-dot menu icon next to it. Scroll all the way down to tap ‘Block’ [email-id]’ choice.

When you block someone, Google doesn’t notify them. But after that when they will not be able to share any files with you.

How to Unblock Someone on Google Drive on PC

If at any point you change your mind and want to share something with someone you blocked before, you need to unblock them first. Here is how to unblock someone on Google Drive on PC.

Stage 1: Open your browser and go to Google Drive’s home page.

Step 2: Click on your profile picture in the top right and click on ‘Manage your Google Account’.

Stage 3: Switch to the ‘People and sharing’ tab on your left and click on Blocked on your right.

Step 4: Here you will find a list of all the users you have blocked. Click the X next to the person’s username to unblock them.

This much. Now the user can share files with you as before. However, unblocking the person will not restore previously shared files.

How to Unblock Someone on Google Drive on Mobile

Similar to the web version, you can unblock someone in the Google Drive app on your iPhone or Android device by visiting the account management settings in the app. Here’s how.

Stage 1: Open the Google Drive app on your phone. Click on your profile picture in the upper right corner and tap on ‘Manage your Google Account’.

Step 2: On the next page, switch to the ‘People and sharing’ tab and under People tap on Blocked.

Stage 3: Finally, tap the X next to the person’s username to unblock them.

Whether you’re using Google Drive in a web browser or app, blocking and unblocking someone is a pretty similar and simple experience.

Avoid Getting Spam

The introduction of the blocking feature is a step in the right direction by Google. While it doesn’t completely protect you from spammers, there is one more hurdle for them to clear. It also gives the user some sort of control over what is shared and what isn’t.

How important is this feature to you? Would you like it to work a little differently in any way? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below