Auditing Your Drive

Drive Toolbox provides several tools for understanding who has access to your files, identifying sharing risks, and taking action. Whether you need a quick check or a comprehensive audit, there is an approach that fits.

Audit Tools at a Glance

Tool	Best For
Sharing Panel	Quick visual overview — see every person with file access
Custom Filters	Targeted searches — find publicly shared files, external users, etc.
Audit Scripts	Comprehensive reports — generate detailed sharing reports across your entire Drive
Workspace Admin	Organization-wide auditing for Google Workspace administrators

Quick Audit: Sharing Panel

The fastest way to understand your sharing landscape. The Sharing Panel shows every person who has access to your files, organized by role. Click any person to filter the file table to files involving them.

Use this when: You want a quick look at who you are sharing with, or you need to find files shared with a specific person.

Targeted Audit: Custom Filters

The filter system can find files matching specific sharing patterns. Common audit filters:

What to Find	Filter
Files shared with anyone (public)	shared_with:equals:public
Files shared with a specific person	shared_with:equals:user@example.com
Files shared outside your domain	permissions:type:user (then review non-org emails)
Files you do not own	NOT owner_email:equals:me
Files with pending transfers	pending_outgoing_transfer:equals:true

Use this when: You know what pattern you are looking for and want to find matching files quickly.

Comprehensive Audit: Scripts

Audit scripts let you generate detailed reports across your entire Drive. Scripts can iterate over all files, aggregate sharing data, and produce formatted tables.

Use this when: You need a full report — for example, "list every external user with access to files in this folder and what role they have."

Workspace Admin Audit

If you are a Google Workspace administrator, Drive Toolbox can sync your organization's user directory and use it to enhance auditing. This lets you distinguish internal users from external ones and audit sharing across your organization.

Typical Audit Workflows

"Who am I sharing with?"

1. Open the Sharing Panel → All tab
2. Browse the list of people — each shows a file count
3. Click anyone to see which files are involved

"Are any files public?"

1. Apply filter: shared_with:equals:public
2. Review matching files
3. Select files → Sharing → Make Restricted or Make Private

"Clean up sharing with a former colleague"

1. Open the Sharing Panel → My Shares tab
2. Find the person
3. Click their file count to filter
4. Select all → Sharing → Remove User

Learn More

• Sharing Panel — Visual sharing overview
• Custom Filters — Targeted sharing queries
• Audit Scripts — Generate sharing reports
• Workspace Admin — Organization-wide auditing