The spam folder is a new view within Drive for content that’s abusive or considered spam that’s moved out of “Shared with Me” by either:
- Automatic classification
- Through manual user reports
Files within a user’s spam folder:
- Don’t generate notifications
- Aren’t discoverable through Drive search or “Suggested”
- Are automatically removed after 30 days
Target Audience: Agents for Drive, Google One, Google One Extended Support, Google One Legal Escalations, Google One Proactive Support in all regions.
Last updated: June 6, 2023. Updated "Target Audience" section.
Learn how to manually move documents to the spam folder
- From the document list, select and hold the title of the document.
- Drag the document to the "Spam folder" in the left hand column.
Learn about Drive Spam View
The spam folder allows users to mark and unmark files as spam. This function gives Google better datasets to refine how Google identifies spam and abusive content.
The spam folder doesn’t change Google policy on what files are eligible to scan. The spam folder provides a new view within Drive to store files identified as spam.
Google is committed to make Google Drive a safe place for users to collaborate. The safety measures include protections to discourage the spread of spam and abusive content.
Google reviews content for violations of its abuse policies and takes steps to keep Drive a positive environment for collaboration.
Important: In the event of erroneous False Positives, where users are get this message: "You cannot share this item because it has been flagged as inappropriate" when attempting to share a file/folder, OR users are seeing innocuous files/folders reported as Spam, escalate immediately to apps-abuse+escalations@google and apps-abuse@google.com.
Give users 1:1 support for Drive Spam View
- Google One members:
- WIS subscribers:
- Drive users:
FAQs
Is this feature powered by AI?Yes. This feature is powered by a machine learning model that’s trained on known pieces of Drive spam.
This model classifies an item shared with users on how likely it is to be spam, which informs whether Google directs this item into spam.
This model is trained on a dataset of known pieces of Drive spam that users report to Google.
Is this similar to Gmail’s spam detection?This feature is very similar to Google’s spam detection feature. The spam view should serve the same function that the spam folder does within Gmail.
Why did it take so long to bring this feature to Drive?Google wants to ensure we have a robust dataset of known pieces of spam content so that the new classifying model can meet the high bar we maintain for us to redirect or block file shares.
What features in Drive limit Spam or malicious content?Drive already classified incoming shares on likelihood of spam and blocks shares classified as highly likely to be spam.
What’s the availability of this feature?This feature is in beta and available to a select group of Drive end users. Eventually, this feature will be released publicly to both end users and enterprises.
Is Google scanning my files in Drive?Google selectively scans Drive files we suspect may be spam.
Will files automatically get moved to the spam view?
Google already classifies incoming shares to your Drive for abusive content. Whenever Google identifies a file as likely spam, we either block or automatically redirect the file to a new view within Drive.
Most users never receive spam in Drive. For those who do, spam can be frequent and annoying.
What if I accidentally report the wrong file as spam?You can remove the file from the spam view and the file returns to its original location. After 30 days in the spam folder, the file is hidden and can't be unmarked as spam.
What happens if someone reports one of my files as spam?File owners aren’t notified when one of their files is marked as spam. A marked file can trigger a file scan that can result in the file being restricted. When a file is restricted, we notify the file owner who can request a review if they disagree with the decision.
Why do I see two options for reporting unwanted content: “Report” & ”Report abuse?"“Report:”
- Serves as the new entrypoint for the in-app reporting dialog for abusive content
- Allows for files to be moved to spam
- Is only available for individual files
You can find “Report Abuse” available for folders, which allows you to report them to Google, Folders reported as abusive, just won’t be moved to Spam.
If you mark a file as spam, it only removes the file's visibility for you. Other users won't know that you marked it as spam.
If I mark a file as spam, what behavior changes happen?When you mark a file as spam, the file:
- Disappears from Drive
- Won't show up in other Drive views
- Doesn’t send you notifications for the file or comments made on the file
Content shared with you is already eligible for abuse detection. When you mark something as spam, it can trigger a review. This helps train our system to be more accurate.