# Does someone sharing their drive data mean that a copy of it comes to my drive?

When a drive is shared with me, do I take up some storage too?

##### Post Metadata
- Posted at: almost 6 years ago
- Author title: Systems Analyst ,Oracle Service Cloud(RightNow)
- Net upvotes: 1


## Comments
### Comment 1

To give a little clarification to your first question.... Google files/folders are dynamic, so there's never really a "copy". When someone shares a file/folder with you, it lives in the "shared with me" folder in your drive.  These documents do not count toward your storage quota.  If you want it to live in your drive, you would have to make a copy, but then it wouldn't be a dynamic file - it would be a separate version and would take up space (and would not reflect any changes made to the original in the shared drive). You can add a shortcut to your drive, but it still truly lives in the "shared with me" folder so it remains a dynamic file/folder.  All that being said, if it is a Google Doc (or Sheet, Slides, Forms, Sites - any google file type) it doesn't take up any of your storage space regardless if it is in your drive or shared with me.  

If you are using a free/personal google account, files only take up space in the owner's Google Drive - so shared files don't take up space unless you copy to your drive. 

If you are on a business/enterprise version there is unlimited storage, so it doesn't really matter, but just remember that any shared files or drives are separate from your drive.  

If you are using Google One and are in a group/family all shared files count against the group's storage capacity.

##### Comment Metadata
- Posted at: almost 6 years ago
- Author title: Brand Strategist, Growth Hacker, Process Optimizer
- Net upvotes: 1

#### Reply 1

Ah, I see, thank you Maria! That clarifies a long time suspicion that I had.

##### Reply Metadata
- Posted at: almost 6 years ago
- Author title: Systems Analyst ,Oracle Service Cloud(RightNow)



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