How to transfer files between Google Drive accounts

Google Drive gives you a generous 15GB of free storage. It sounds like a lot, but let's remember that this space is shared by your files in Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos. So when you run out of space in one of your Drive accounts, you can transfer files to another.

Most of us have more than one Google Drive account, but Google has not yet given us an easy way to transfer files from one Google Drive to another without any hassle. You have to rely on a solution to move files from one account to another.

If you're more concerned about getting files from your computer to your phone, check out this list of the fastest file transfer methods between PC and mobile devices.

How to transfer files between Google Drive accounts

If you want to move files from one account to another without downloading and re-uploading them, here's what to do:

1. Open your main Google Drive account.
2. Locate the files or folders you want to move to your secondary Google Drive account.
3. Right-click the file or folder and select Share. Or click the Share icon (marked as “1” on the screenshot).
   
4. Enter your secondary Google username. Click Advanced . Under Sharing settings , change the permission to Owns . Hit the blue Send button.
5. Sign in to your secondary Google Drive account. Click on the Share with me Filter in the left sidebar to quickly locate the shared folder.
6. Google Drive won't let you make a copy of the folder, but you can make a copy of the files it contains and then move them to a new folder or subfolder to replicate the hierarchy of the original.
   
   Right click on each file (or select all of them) and click Make a copy . Rename the files appropriately and move them to a new folder.
7. Go back to the main account and delete the original folder from your drive and also from your tray.

You can also use Google Takeout to transfer your entire data file to another account.

Note: If you're transferring sensitive files, look into additional Google Drive encryption tools 3 Useful tools to improve Google Drive security and privacy 3 Useful tools to improve Google Drive security and privacy Is Google Drive's built-in encryption enough to keep your files private? Safe from theft and intrusions? Let's find out. Read more.