How to Share Google Drive File or Its Link on WhatsApp

What You Need to Know

• You can share Google Drive files such as photos, videos, or others by downloading them on your device or sharing its link.
• To get a Google Drive file’s link, tap the three-dot icon > Manage Access > Restricted > Anyone with the link, and then copy-paste the link into WhatsApp.
• To share photos directly, download them from the three-dot icon > download and then send on WhatsApp.

Method 1: Share the Google Drive Link on WhatsApp

Step 1: In the Drive app on your Android or iPhone, tap on the three-dot icon next to the file or folder that you want to share.

Step 2: Select Manage Access from the menu. Tap on Change (or Restricted text on iPhone) under the General Access section.

Step 3: Tap on Restricted and select Anyone with the link.

Step 4: Tap on the Link icon at the top to copy the file’s link to your clipboard. If you don’t see it, tap the three-dot icon next to the file and select Copy link.

Step 5: Open the WhatsApp chat and long-press the typing area. Select Paste from the menu to share the Google Drive link on WhatsApp.

Note: Know what happens when you share a Google Drive link.

Few things to keep in mind:

• Anyone who has access to the link can see that particular Google Drive file. What that means if the WhatsApp recipient forwards the link to someone else, he/she can also see your file.
• By default, the file permissions are set to Viewer mode only where the recipient can only view the file and not make any changes to it. If you want the user to edit the file, tap the three-dot icon next to the file in Google Drive > Manage access > Change > Viewer and choose Editor.
• This method allows you to share photos, videos, documents, and even Google files like Docs, Sheets, etc.
• Sharing Google Files using links doesn’t impact your phone’s storage, as you are not sharing the actual file.

Method 2: Share Google Drive Files Like Photos or Videos on WhatsApp

If you want to share the actual file like a video or PDF document from Drive directly on WhatsApp, download the file to your phone first and then upload it on WhatsApp like any other file.

Let’s say I want to share the ‘Google Play music not working’ image from the below screenshot on WhatsApp. I will tap on the three-dot icon next to the file and select Download from the menu. The image will show up in the Gallery app on my phone. Now, open WhatsApp and do the following:

• On Android, tap the Attachment icon, followed by Gallery.
• On iPhone, tap the + icon, followed by Photos.
• Select the picture to share it.

Things to know:

• Documents like PDFs will be saved in the Downloads folder and you need to send them as documents in WhatsApp.
• Downloading files will consume the storage space of your phone.

Bonus Method: How to Share Multiple Photos From Google Drive to WhatsApp

You can use both methods directly to share multiple pictures on WhatsApp. However, each has its limitations. In the first method, you must create a link to each file whereas in the second method, you must download multiple files. A better approach is to add multiple pictures in a Google Drive folder and share the folder’s link via WhatsApp.

Step 1: To create a folder in Google Drive, tap on the floating New button and select Folder. Name your folder and press the Create button.

Step 2: Then, select the pictures and tap the three-dot icon. Choose Move from the menu. Select the folder you created. Then, share the folder’s link as shown in method 1.

Before you go, know the meaning of Make available offline in Google Drive.