Your Google Drive links are going to be broken unless you opt-out of an upcoming change

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If you use Google Drive to share public links, your existing links are going to break later this year due to some security changes that Google is planning. You’ve got until September 13 to opt-out from the change for any existing Google Drive files you’re publicly sharing.

Once the change goes live, users will need what Google calls a “resource key” to access any Google Drive file that’s shared publicly. The only exception to this is users who have already accessed that file once, who will still be able to access the file.

The issue here is that the internet, from blogs to forums and everything in-between, has probably thousands and thousands of Google Drive links on them, which are no longer maintained by their owners. None of those links will work for users who newly-discover them, leading to frustration.

READ MORE: It’s 2022 and Google Drive finally supports Copy and Paste

The change isn’t going to affect all files inside Google Drive, with Google promising to send emails to any file owners who have shared links that will be affected. They’ll then have the option to opt out of the security change. Google will advise those file owners to only opt-out for the individual files, and not for their entire Google Drive account.

Again, you’ve got until September 13 to decide how the security update will apply to your files. Once that date arrives, we’re not sure if the owners can opt-out afterward.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.