Can Viewers on Google Drive Download Files

Yes, viewers on Google Drive can download files, but there are some restrictions. Google Drive allows viewers to download files that have been shared with them, but only if the owner of the file has given them permission to do so.

If the file owner has chosen to make the file available for viewers to download, the viewer can download the file directly from the Google Drive preview screen. They just need to click the "Download" button.

Viewers can also download files if the owner has shared the file with them via a link. In this case, the viewer can click the link and download the file directly to their device.

Google Drive allows viewers to download files in various formats, including Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as PDF and image files.

You can download files from Google Drive using the Google Drive app on your mobile device or by accessing the Google Drive website on your computer.

Google Drive offers a range of download options, including downloading a single file or multiple files at once, and you can also choose to download files in their original format or as a compressed zip file.

If you're using the Google Drive website on your computer, you can right-click on a file to select the "Download" option from the context menu.

Unfortunately, Google Drive doesn't allow you to restrict downloading for users with Editor access, they can download the file.

You can only restrict downloads for Viewer and Commenter roles.

If you need to block downloads, you can use BeyondCorp Enterprise, an add-on to Workspace.

BeyondCorp Enterprise gives you the ability to block downloads in Chrome, but it's a cloud platform-focused security tool with a minimum spend requirement.

It would be applied to any Chrome browser enrolled in cloud-managed Chrome browsers.

A possible workaround is to give users the Commenter role, as they can make edits in suggestion mode and you can restrict them from downloading, printing, and sharing.

You can also use the copyRequiresWriterPermission property and set it to false, but this means viewers can't download or copy the file.