How to Grant People Access to a Shared Drive (Add Members)

Quick and easy-to-follow guide for Google Drive users

What are shared drive members

To grant someone access to a shared drive, you need to add them as a member.

Members can view the shared drive’s data. They have access to all files within the shared drive, with the access level depending on the role given to the member (e.g., reader, writer).

Members can have different roles:

  • Managers have full access, including the ability to manage members and settings.
  • Content managers can add, edit, move and delete files.
  • Contributors can only add and edit files.
  • Commenters can only view and comment on files.
  • Viewers can view but not comment or do anything else.

How to add shared drive members step-by-step with images

Step 1

How To Grant People Access To A Shared Drive (Add Members) - Step 1

Go to Google Drive at https://drive.google.com and click Shared drives on the left.

Then right-click a shared drive and select Add members.

Step 2

How To Grant People Access To A Shared Drive (Add Members) - Step 2

Type the names or email addresses of people or groups you want to add as members of the shared drive in the Add people and groups field.

You can add multiple members simultaneously by adding them to a group.

Follow these steps to create a group, then follow these steps to add people as members one by one or in bulk. 

Finally, add the group as a shared drive member.

Step 3

How To Grant People Access To A Shared Drive (Add Members) - Step 3

Once you start typing, users/groups will appear below if you have them in your Google Contacts at https://contacts.google.com.

Click them to add them quickly without typing their complete email addresses.

Step 4

How To Grant People Access To A Shared Drive (Add Members) - Step 4

You can add more users/groups to the same field.

Keep the Notify people box checked, and you can type a custom message below to let them know that you’ve granted them access.

Step 5

How To Grant People Access To A Shared Drive (Add Members) - Step 5

Set up new shared drive members’ roles

When adding members, make sure you select the proper permission level.

  • Managers have full access, including the ability to manage members and settings.
  • Content managers can add, edit, move and delete files.
  • Contributors can only add and edit files.
  • Commenters can only view and comment on files.
  • Viewers can view but not comment or do anything else.


When you are ready, click Send. Everyone you added can now go to Google Drive and access the shared drive in the Shared drives section.

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