How to Transfer Files from One Google Drive Account to Another

Are you switching to a new Google account, planning to segregate your work and personal documents, or thinking of subscribing to Google One on your second Google account? You’ll want to transfer files between your Google Drive accounts.

Sadly, Google hasn’t made moving Drive files between Google accounts easy. But fret not. We’ll walk you through the steps so you can move Drive files between your Google accounts without a third-party program.

Move the Files You Want to Transfer Into One Google Drive Folder

First, consolidate all the files you want to move to another account into a single folder on Drive. Not only will this save you the headache of dealing with individual files, but also time. Follow the steps below to do this:

1. Log in to both your Google accounts in two separate windows or tabs. Or access one in normal browsing mode and the other in private mode.
2. Head to your sender account’s Drive.
3. Click the New button in the left sidebar and select New Folder.
   
4. Give the folder a name and click the Create button.
   
5. Drag and drop the documents or folders into the new folder to move them there.
6. Alternatively, select the items to move, right-click on the selection, select Organize > Move, and select the new folder from the list.
   

Set Up Sharing on the New Folder

After you move all the files you want to into a new folder, the next step is to set up sharing on this folder. This is to grant your other account access to all the files in the new folder. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Go to the folder with all your files.
2. Click the downward-pointing arrow next to the folder’s name at the top and select Share > Share.
   
3. In the Share window, type the name or email address of your other Google account.
   
4. Click the drop-down button in the box to the right and select the Editor privileges.
   
5. Click Send to send the link to your receiver account.
6. Go back to Gmail on your receiver account.
7. Accept the invite by clicking the link to the new Drive folder in the email and check the folder for all your files.
   

Change Ownership of the Shared Folder

Once you accept the invitation and access the new Drive folder in your receiver account, it’ll reflect in your sender account. The next step now is to change this folder’s ownership from your sender account to your receiver account. This is how you do it:

1. Go back to Drive on your sender account.
2. Go into the shared folder.
3. Click the Share icon next to the folder name at the top.
   
4. In the Share window, click the downward-pointing arrow next to your receiver account’s name or email address and select Transfer Ownership from the list.
   
5. On the prompt asking for confirmation, click the Send Invitation button.
   
6. Click Close to close the window.

Accept the Invite to Own the Shared Folder

With the ownership invitation sent to your receiver account, all you need to do now is accept the invite, and you’ll become the new owner of the shared folder. Here’s what that looks like:

1. Head back into Gmail on your receiver account.
2. Open the ownership invite email.
3. Click the Accept button to accept the invite and become the new owner of the shared folder.
   
4. Go to Drive, open the shared folder, and click the Shared icon next to the folder’s name. You’ll now see the Owner tag right next to your name, confirming the transfer was successful.
   

Delete the Shared Folder From the Sender Account

Finally, with the transfer of ownership complete, you can either remove the sender account’s access to the shared folder or delete the shared folder from that account. Here are the steps to remove access:

1. Go to the new owner’s Drive.
2. Open the shared folder and tap the Shared icon next to its name.
3. Click the drop-down button next to the name or email address of the original owner.
4. Select Remove Access from the options.
   
5. Click Save.

Alternatively, if you no longer need the files in the shared folder on your sender account, you can delete the shared folder. If you’re using the free (15GB) storage plan, you should definitely consider doing so to free up storage space. This is how you delete a shared folder in Google Drive:

1. Head into the Drive on your sender account.
2. Go to the shared folder.
3. Click the downward-pointing arrow next to the folder name and select Move to Bin.
   
4. Now, click on Bin from the left sidebar.
5. Click Empty Bin in the right corner and click the Delete Forever button in the confirmation prompt to delete everything and empty the bin.
6. Alternatively, you can delete items selectively from the bin. Select all the items you want to delete, click the Trash icon at the top, and confirm deletion by clicking Delete Forever.

Google Should Simply File Migration Between Drive Accounts

A built-in migration tool is a major missing in Google Drive. Sure, the workaround we’ve demonstrated above does get the job done, but it isn’t perfect and can feel tedious if you need to move files between Drive accounts more often.

If you feel the same way, you should consider upgrading to a Google Workspace account, which gives you access to a built-in migration tool for moving files between Drive accounts, and use it instead. Besides, it also gets you a few other benefits, like more storage space, electronic signature support, customizable email layouts, longer calls and meetings in Google Meet, and more.