- Streaming vs mirroring My Drive
- How to switch modes without losing files
- Signing in and using up to 4 accounts
- What uses your Google storage and what doesn't
- Offline files and photo backups
- Mac users: File Provider and permissions
- Settings most people never open
- When files stop syncing
- My verdict on Google Drive for desktop
- Frequently asked questions
Google Drive for desktop is Google's app that puts your Drive on your computer like any other drive, so edits sync both ways between your computer and Google Drive. By default it streams your My Drive files instead of downloading them, which uses almost no computer space, while mirroring keeps a full copy of My Drive on your hard drive.
Here's the catch. The space tracker in Drive for desktop shows the room left on your computer's hard drive, not your Google Account storage. Google says it's completely normal for the two numbers not to match: streamed files barely touch your disk but still count against your cloud storage, while shared files you sync can fill your hard drive without ever using your Google space.
Streaming vs mirroring My Drive
| As of October 2026 | Streaming (the default) | Mirroring |
|---|---|---|
| Computer disk space | Minimal: only files you open or make available offline | Significant: a full copy of My Drive |
| Offline access | You pick files or folders by hand | Every file is offline by default |
| When the app isn't running | Files generally can't be opened | Files open like any other local file |
| If something goes wrong | Unsynced changes sit in a local cache and can be lost if it's cleared or corrupted | Local files stay on your computer even if the app crashes |
The choice only applies to My Drive. Shared drives always stream, and folders you sync from your computer, under Folders from your computer, always mirror.
How to switch modes without losing files
- Open Google Drive for desktop on your computer.
- Click Settings, then Preferences.
- On the left, click Google Drive.
- Under My Drive syncing options, select Stream files or Mirror files.
Google's warning here matters. Make sure your recent changes have finished syncing before you switch, especially from Mirror to Stream. If you delete your old local Mirror folder before everything's uploaded, those unsynced files are lost. There's one safety net for a specific bug: version 85.0.13.0 can recover unsynced local files lost during an issue in version 84.x. Hold Shift and click Settings, and recovered files land in a new Google Drive Recovery folder on your desktop.
Signing in and using up to 4 accounts
The first time you open the app, click Get started, then Sign in, and sign in to the Google Account you want to use. You can run up to 4 accounts at once. To add one, click the Drive for desktop menu, click your profile picture, then Add account, sign in through your browser and restart the app.
Be careful when you disconnect an account. If a streaming account is disconnected, any offline files are removed from your computer.
What uses your Google storage and what doesn't
Each Google Account includes up to 15 GB, shared across Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos. Here's how Drive for desktop activity lands against that quota.
| What's on your computer | Uses your Google storage? |
|---|---|
| Your own files, streamed | Yes, even though they use almost no computer space |
| Your own files, mirrored | Yes, and they also take up a full copy on your hard drive |
| Files shared with you, synced | No, they count only against the owner, but they fill your hard drive |
| A copy you make of a shared file | Yes |
| Your files added to someone else's shared folder | Yes |
| A shared file whose ownership moves to you | Yes |
| Gmail, Google Photos, Trash, hidden app data and pinned file versions | Yes, and none of it shows in your local Drive folder |
Two more reasons the numbers drift apart. After a big clear-out it can take 48 to 72 hours for your cloud storage figure to update, and your computer calculates size on disk differently from the exact bytes the cloud counts. If you're running out of Google space, here's my guide to freeing up space on Google Drive.
Offline files and photo backups
When you mirror, everything's offline already. When you stream, right-click a file or folder and select Offline Access, then Available offline. If that option's missing, you're in Mirror mode or the app isn't running. Google Docs, Sheets and Slides are different: you make them available offline in Drive on the web. If you get errors like too many open files, make smaller batches available offline instead of everything at once.
Backup to Google Photos is no longer available in Drive for desktop. To keep backing up folders, you reselect them in the new Google Photos interface, and anything already backed up stays in Google Photos. You also can't fully sync a Network Attached Storage folder with Google Drive. For a Mac Photos library, Google's advice is to export your photos and sync the exported files, because the live library is a complex database that can be corrupted by changes in more than one place.
Mac users: File Provider and permissions
On macOS 12.1 or later with Stream files, Drive for desktop uses Apple's File Provider. You'll need to give it permission to reach your desktop, documents and downloads folders, plus any external drive, in System Settings under Privacy and Security. To check it's active, open Drive's Preferences and Settings: if it says Folder location is controlled by macOS, it's on. You can't move the streaming cache to an external drive, because macOS manages it, but offline files open even when the app isn't.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
Settings most people never open
Click the Drive for desktop menu, then Settings, Preferences and Advanced settings. From there you can:
- Turn Real-time presence on or off, so you can see when others are editing a shared Word, Excel or PowerPoint file (it needs Microsoft Office 2010 or later).
- Change the drive letter on Windows, such as G.
- Pick auto-detect proxy settings or a direct connection.
- Set bandwidth limits for downloads and uploads in kilobytes per second.
- Change the search hotkey. The defaults are Ctrl + Alt + g on Windows, and Command, the accent key and g on a Mac.
That built-in search finds files across your streamed Drive, which Windows Search and macOS Spotlight don't. You can also pause and resume sync at any time from the app.
When files stop syncing
- Check your computer meets the system requirements.
- Check your internet connection.
- Restart Drive for desktop, then restart your computer.
- Disconnect and reconnect your account, remembering that a streaming account loses its offline files when disconnected.
- Reinstall Drive for desktop.
If an error message is the problem, from low disk space to files moved to Lost and Found, my guide to fixing Google Drive when it's not working covers the wider fixes. To report it, click Settings, then Send feedback, tick Include diagnostic logs and click Submit.
My verdict on Google Drive for desktop
I'd stay on streaming if your laptop's short on space, and mark the folders you need on the move as Available offline. I'd switch to mirroring if you often work without the internet or want files that open when the app's closed, as long as your hard drive can hold all of My Drive. Whichever you pick, let sync finish before you change modes, and don't judge your Google storage by the number on your computer.
Frequently asked questions
Does Google Drive for desktop use space on my computer?
In streaming mode, the default, it uses almost no space, only for files you open or make available offline. In mirroring mode it stores a full copy of My Drive on your computer.
Why does Drive for desktop show a different storage number from my Google account?
The space tracker in the app shows the room left on your computer's hard drive, not your Google Account storage, and the two measure space differently.
Do shared files I sync use my Google storage?
No. Files shared with you count only against the owner's storage, unless you make a copy, add your own files to the shared folder or become the owner.
How many accounts can I use in Google Drive for desktop?
You can use up to 4 accounts at one time.
Can Drive for desktop still back up photos to Google Photos?
No. Backup to Google Photos is no longer available in Drive for desktop. Reselect your backup folders in Google Photos, and items already backed up stay there.
