One Month of Google Drive Made Me a Convert (Premium)

Bad news, Microsoft: I just spent the past month using Google Drive in Windows for all my work-related documents and storage needs. And it didn’t just work, it worked flawlessly.

This is particularly interesting to me because of the timing: With the release this week of Windows 11 version 23H2, Microsoft’s escalating enshittification of OneDrive integration in this version of the OS will be laid bare for all to see, especially those with the temerity to disable or in any way modify Folder Backup or otherwise use this service the way they see fit.

In early October, I discussed the ways in which OneDrive users might work around---not “fix,” necessarily---some of the service’s bad behaviors in Windows 11. Among the advice to consider was just switching to another cloud storage service; after all, Dropbox, Google Drive, and other services offer file system integration features similar to those from OneDrive. And I also recommended ignoring the default folder structures that OneDrive creates and uses for Folder Backup if this feature is problematic for you. (As it is for me.)

But I wasn’t just throwing ideas out into the world. I also took my own advice: I started experimenting with using Google Drive in Windows 11. And then I took the admittedly scary, but ultimately successful, step of moving all of my OneDrive content---work and personal documents, my personal photo collection, everything---outside of the default folders and into my own folder structure in OneDrive, a place that is safe from Folder Backup.

On the OneDrive front, everything works fine with my new folder structure. I have a “Paul” folder in the root of OneDrive with all my data in it. I can access my work archives normally. My phones back up their photos to the Camera roll folder in its new location without error or complaint. And should Microsoft silently enable Folder Backup behind my back, as it's now done multiple times, I can rest easy knowing that the nonsense it syncs to OneDrive from my PCs will no longer commingle with my personal data as was the case before. It’s not perfect: I should be able to just turn off Folder Backup and have it stop badgering me and forcing me to use it, but that solution is coming. In the meantime, my workaround works, and I have some semblance of peace of mind.

But here, I'd like to focus on Google Drive.

And could not be more impressed. After a month of just working within this new system across each PC I've used, I turned my experience from an experiment into just normal usage. And while this should be obvious, there’s something to be said for, “it just works”: Unlike OneDrive, Google Drive works with me and for me, not against me. What a concept.

So what does it mean to use Google Drive instead of OneDrive in Windows? It means installing the Drive desktop client, configuring it accordingly, and then integrating it into your workflow. Mine is, of course, particular to my needs, and I previously ...