My Drive and shared drives use different ownership models. An ordinary shared folder in someone’s My Drive is not the same as an organizational shared drive. Choose the location according to who must control and retain the work.
Understand My Drive ownership
Files in My Drive can belong to individual accounts even when organized in a folder owned by someone else. Sharing a folder does not automatically transfer its children’s ownership, and an employee departure can require a file-level handover.
A personal ownership transfer and a same-organization Workspace transfer also have different conditions. Do not infer ownership from who can edit the file.
Understand shared-drive continuity
Shared drives are an eligible work or school feature governed by the organization. Content added there remains with the shared drive when a member leaves. The creator can still be identified without remaining the individual owner.
Access uses shared-drive roles, membership, and restrictions. Creating a shared drive depends on edition support and administrator permission; a personal Google Account does not provide an equivalent organizational container.
Choose and verify the intended boundary
For continuing team records, an approved shared drive may fit the ownership requirement better than a folder tied to one employee. For personal or individually controlled material, My Drive may serve a different purpose. Confirm the organization’s policy before moving anything. A move into a shared drive can change inherited permissions and ownership, so inventory important files and required collaborators first. Verify the originals and access afterward. Do not choose a location simply because its name contains Shared or because the same people can currently open it.
References
- Create a shared drive
- Add files & folders to a shared drive
- Make someone else the owner of your file
Reviewed against the linked official product guidance on November 3, 2026. Features, limits, screen labels, and access can vary by account, platform, region, and organization policy.