Google Drive Explained Simply — One Safe Place for All Your Files

You've probably used Google Drive without thinking too hard about it — but there's more going on under the hood than "a folder in the cloud."

What It Actually Does

Drive stores your files online instead of only on your computer or phone. That means if your laptop breaks or you lose your phone, your files are still safe — you just log in from another device and everything's there. It also lets you share a single file with other people, so everyone is looking at the exact same version instead of five different copies emailed back and forth.

What You Can Actually Do With It

• Store any type of file — documents, photos, videos, PDFs — and access it from any device
• Share a file or folder with specific people, or with anyone who has the link
• Roll back to an older version of a file if something got deleted or messed up by mistake
• Preview most files (even Photoshop or video files) without needing the original app
• Free up space on your phone by keeping large files in the cloud instead

Who Is This For?

Students keeping track of assignments. Teams working on the same documents. Anyone who's ever lost a file because their device broke or got lost — which, let's be honest, is most of us.

How to Start Using It

1. Go to drive.google.com
2. Sign in with your Google account
3. Upload a file by dragging it into the browser window
4. Right-click any file to share it with someone else

A Simple Way to Think About It

Think of Drive as a locker that follows you everywhere — open it from your phone, your laptop, or a friend's computer, and everything is exactly where you left it.

Want to see more everyday Google tools? Browse the full Google Universe directory, or read our simple guide to Gmail next.