Can someone without a Google account access Google Drive?

by Matthew Adams

Windows & Software Expert

Matthew is a freelancer who has produced a variety of articles on various topics related to technology. His main focus is the Windows OS and all the things surrounding it. He is passionate about... Read more

Posted: Dec 7, 2020

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Google Drives Share option enables you to show your GD files to other users.
This guide provides details on how you can share your Google Drive files with non-Gmail users.
You can look through other web apps articles at the Web & Cloud page.
Check out our Google hub to discover other handy tips and tricks for Google apps.

Google Drive is one of the worlds foremost cloud storage service. Its users will sometimes need to share folders or single files in their GD cloud storage.

Table of Contents Show

How to share Google Drive folders with non-Gmail users
Can I share Google Drive with non-Gmail users?
How do I share a Google Drive file with no sign in required?
1. Share the folder or file as an email attachment
2. Select the Anyone with link option for link sharing

Therefore, Google Drive includes a Share option you can select to share folders via links or email attachments with other users.

Some users might assume they can only share GD folders and files with Gmail users who have Google accounts.

However, you can also share GD folders with users who dont utilize Gmail or any other Google apps for that matter.

When you do so, non-Gmail users will be able to view shared files without signing in to Google.

First, open your Google Drive page.
Right-click a folder or file to share to open the context menu shown directly below.
Select the Share option on the context menu, which will open the sharing options directly below.
Next, enter the non-Gmail email address of a user to share the file with in the Add people box.
Enter some text in the Message box to tell the other user youve attached a shared file.
Click the Send button.
Click the Share anyway option to confirm.

Thereafter, the user you sent the attachment to will receive an email like the one shown in the shot directly above.

The email says that it grants access to the attached item without a login required. So, the user can click the Open button to view the folders files without needing to sign in to Google.

To share a link with a non-Gmail user, right-click a folder or file to share in your Google Drive storage.
Click Share on the items context menu.
Click the Get link option.
Then select the Anyone with the link option.
Press the Copy link button.
Open Gmail, or whatever email you use, and click the Compose button there.
Enter a non-Gmail email address to share the link with in the To box.
Type in an email title in the Subject box.
Press the Ctrl + V hotkey to paste the copied link into the message.
Click the Send option to share the link with the user.

Thereafter, the user who receives the link for the shared file will be able to view it without signing into a Google Gmail account.

However, bear in mind that selecting the Anyone with the link option for non-Gmail users will make the file available to users outside your domain.

So, you dont need to ask non-Gmail users to set up Google accounts before sharing GD folders or files with them.

Instead, share your files with non-Gmail users with either of the quick and straightforward methods above.