How many files have you shared with other people using Google Drive (formerly known as Google Docs)? Sharing is great (and it’s what your mom told you to do), but the problem with sharing files is that it’s easy to forget what you’ve shared. The danger in forgetting what you’ve shared may be that you add more items to a folder. Then, not remembering what you’ve shared, you may share information that you do not want to share with random people.

Google has recognized that there is a problem with sharing too much information – or forgetting what you have already shared. So, the folks over at Google have decided to add expiration dates to Google Docs (er, Drive) folders. These expiration dates are easy to implement and will make sharing (or not sharing) simpler.

Using Google’s New Expiration Dates

First, log into your Google Drive account. Then, click on the File tab and the Make A Copy tab. The nice folks over at {{https://script.google.com/d/1aGt_ygxPcG36jRi8hojZDRGirLxcY58gfx_IdCP7lfMOuSKiLa6Rwaa2/edit|CNet}} have created a handy script that can be copied. Once you’ve made a copy of this script, replace your new URL where the current Folder URL. Then, click on RUN and then RUN START, and your new script should run nicely. Sure, it takes a few extra minutes to set that expiry date, but this will be worth the effort if you’re not sure what you’ve shared of who you’ve shared it with.

When you wake up one day and realize that the folder you’ve just dropped personal pictures into is currently shared with your colleagues, you’ll be happy that you’ve used the steps listed above. Sharing is great, but not when you aren’t intentionally sharing. If you don’t want to go through the hassle of setting up a separate script, there are other ways to ensure that you aren’t sharing the wrong information.

Protecting Your Folders

Google has included all kinds of indications and details when it comes to sharing. There are all kinds of settings and brightly colored icons that let you know when a folder is shared, who shared it, and who can see what you’ve posted. You can even see who is looking at a folder right now, or who the last person was to look at a folder. Really, Google has made sharing simple. The key is to look at your folders regularly. If you use Drive often enough, you will become used to the Drive interface.

The next time you go to drop something in a folder or share a folder with someone, just pay attention to all of those Google indicators. It will pay to keep an eye on your folders. You can also remove someone from a folder quite simply. When Google turned Docs into Drive, the company added a lot of handy features. To remove someone from a folder, simply click on the folder that you want to protect, find the SHARE button in the top right-hand corner, click on this button, and proceed to see who you’ve shared with and remove anyone that you do not want to be part of the sharing process.

Even though it has taken a lot of users awhile to get used to Google’s relatively new Drive (Docs seemed to be so much simpler), Google is a company that never lets users down. When it comes to Google’s many services, you can pretty much guarantee that you’ll be in the driver’s seat. Google Drive’s shared folders are no exception to this rule.