When you create, sync or upload any file, you are the default owner of that file. In Google Drive, you can transfer ownership of Google Docs and folders to anyone you’d like, as long as that person owns an email address.
Google Apps Customers: You can’t make someone outside of your domain the owner of your doc.
You aren’t able to transfer ownership of a synced or uploaded file if you are using Google Drive and Google Docs with a personal account. Only Google Apps customers in Premier, Education and Government domains can transfer ownership of a synced or uploaded file (such as a PDF or image file).
How to transfer ownership.
- Access drive.google.com.
- Check the box next to the file or folder you want to share.
- Press the Share icon OR Click the More menu and select “Share…”
- Open the doc that you would not like to own any longer.
- If the new owner already has access, skip to Step 6. Otherwise, follow these steps:
- Click the white space below ‘Add people.’
- Type the email address of the new owner.
- Click Share & save.
- Click the drop-down menu to the right of the new owner’s name; choose “Is owner.”
- Click Share & save.
When you have already transferred ownership, you’ll have access to the doc as an editor.
Before transferring ownership, you should consider the following:
If you are the owner of a docs, you are given a lot of control over the file. And changing owners means you give up those controls. So after you transfer ownership, you will no longer be able to do the following:
- Change visibility options
- Remove collaborators
- Share with as many people as you like
- Allow your collaborators to change access privileges for others
- Permanently delete something from Google Drive. After it’s deleted, no one can access it, including those it was shared with.
