How to Download from Google Drive

Google Drive provides one of the best cloud storage services. You can use it to upload, share, and download files from it. In this guide, we show you how to download files and folders from Google Drive using its web, desktop, and mobile app versions.

Download from Google Drive web version

To download from Google Drive on a browser:

1. Go to Google Drive.
2. Click the folder or file you want to download. To select multiple files or folders, press and hold the Command key (on macOS) or the Ctrl key (on Windows) and click the files or folders you want to download.
3. Next, right-click the selected file(s) or folder(s) and click Download from the drop-down menu.
4. Finally, select the download location in the pop-up window and click Save.

Keep in mind that if you download multiple files or a folder, then Google Drive will zip the contents before you can download it. Once the zip file is downloaded, you will have to extract it.

Download from Google Drive desktop app

Google Drive desktop app, on both Windows and Mac, allows you to access your files and folders locally. On Windows, from File Explorer, and on MacOS, from Finder. Therefore, there’s no direct option to download from the Drive desktop app.

However, you can make your file(s) and folder(s) available offline. This way, you don’t have to be connected to the Internet to access them. Here’s how:

1. Go to This PC (or Finder in macOS), and then open Google Drive.
2. Next, go to My Drive.
3. Click the folder or file you want to download. To select multiple files or folders, press and hold the Command key (on macOS) or the Ctrl key (on Windows) and click the files or folders you want to download.
4. Right-click the selected file(s) or folder(s) and click Available offline on macOS, or click Offline access > Available offline on Windows.
5. Finally, wait for Google Drive to download the files onto your computer.

That’s it! Now you can access your Google Drive file(s) or folder(s) without the Internet.

Download from Google Drive mobile app

Google Drive on both Android and iPhone devices doesn’t support downloading folders. You can only download files.

Download Google Drive files on Android

1. Open the Drive app.
2. Tap the three dots next to the file you want to download. For multiple files, long tap a single file and select multiple files, and then tap the three dots on the top-right corner of the screen.
3. From the list of options that appear, tap Download.

You will get a notification once the file(s) have finished downloading.

Download Google Drive files on iPhone

1. Open the Drive app.
2. Tap the three dots next to the file you want to download. For multiple files, long tap a single file and select multiple files. Then, tap the three dots on the top-right corner of the screen.
3. From the list of options that appear, tap Open in.
4. After that, tap Save to Files and navigate to the folder where you want to download the file(s).
5. Finally, tap Save.