Inspired by its Gmail, Google Drive now has a shiny new spam folder and algorithmic filters to address the security issue that has plagued users for years: the ability of random people to dump files into their accounts without permission or supervision.
The Drive file sharing system had always been too trusting, assuming all shared files were welcome and legitimate, leaving users to rely on “security by obscurity” and hope their email addresses would remain secret.
However, anyone with a user’s email address could bombard them with unsolicited files – from dating site scams to unwanted adult content – to the chagrin of users worldwide.
After a damning report revealed how an ex-husband exploited Drive’s vulnerabilities, Google acknowledged the problem in 2019 and allowed users to block specific individuals from sharing files. But this was just a small step towards the horde of anonymous spammers who can create countless accounts in an instant.
The spam folder is a much-anticipated addition that brings Gmail-esque spam control to the Drive universe. Automatic classifiers screen incoming files and route suspicious files to the spam folder, while users can manually move files in and out of this digital purgatory.
While this update is a step in the right direction, a few missing features are hard to ignore, such as the option to limit sharing to Gmail contacts and the ability to turn off sharing altogether. According to Google’s official blog post, these new features are rolling out this month, so change is coming.
