Google Drive share requests
March 10, 2014 5:32 AM   Subscribe

Why do I suddenly have 4 requests to share a Google Drive folder with people whom I don't know?

I woke up to 4 emails requesting that I share a Google Drive folder with people whom I don't know. I have never gotten a request to share any folder before from people whom I don't know. There are no links in the documents in the folder, so these explanations don't hold water. The folder is shared with a small group of people whom I trust, and I'm wondering if one of their Gmail accounts was compromised. However, I'm not sure how this would lead all 4 people to this particular folder in Google Drive. What is the mechanism for this, and do I need to be concerned?
posted by quiet coyote to Computers & Internet (4 answers total)
 
Ask your friends if they sent the requests. Anything else about "why" said here is just theory.
posted by DisreputableDog at 5:59 AM on March 10, 2014


One of your friends might have sent a link to the folder to their friends, and those friends are now requesting access. It's possible your friend didn't realize it had permission restrictions on it. Especially if you're sharing it with a less-then-tech-savvy people.
posted by royalsong at 6:22 AM on March 10, 2014 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: I initially thought that it couldn't have been shared by a group member because the contents of the folder are super boring, not confidential, and of zero use to anyone outside of the team. But upon googling the names, I think it's possible it was one of the group members who sent it out. Now I'm just curious about why!
posted by quiet coyote at 6:50 AM on March 10, 2014


The part of me that wears a foil hat says that this is a little trick Google uses to expand Groups. I would check with people in your group and see if these emails aren't from people in their contact lists.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:10 AM on March 10, 2014


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