Google Drive is the primary choice of cloud storage for Android and iPhone users, thanks to its ease of use, reliability, and cross-platform availability. It's one of the most powerful productivity apps on your phone, whether that's one of the best budget Android phones or a pricey Apple iPhone. While Drive comes pre-installed on Android devices, if you use an iPhone, you must download the app from the Play Store. When it's installed and you sign in, you'll find everything looks the same. That's because the Google Drive UI and its functions are the same no matter which platform you use.

If you're switching from Android to iOS, you'll feel at home with the familiar design. The search giant has done a splendid job of keeping up with new iOS features. Google Drive supports home screen widgets, lock screen widgets, Face ID protection, and more. Let's check it in action.

Install Google Drive on your iPhone

Google Drive is available to download from the App Store. The app also has an app for iPad.

1. Launch the App Store on iPhone.
2. Search for Google Drive and install the app from the following menu.
3. Open Google Drive and log in with your primary Google account details.

Everything you've uploaded to Google Drive will be there.

Turn on backups for photos and videos in Google Drive

You can activate media backup in Google Drive and upload your photos and videos to the Google Photos platform.

1. Open Google Drive.
2. Tap the hamburger menu in the upper-left corner.
3. Go to Settings.
4. Select Backup.
5. Select Photos & videos.
6. Turn on the Back up to Google Photos toggle switch.
7. Choose an upload quality option. Select High-quality for excellent visual quality uploads at reduced file size. Select Original for a full-resolution media upload. The Original option may consume more storage if you regularly shoot videos in the 4K resolution.

You can upload your device and iCloud contacts to Google Contacts and sync calendar events to Google Calendar from the same menu. Google Drive starts the media upload in the background. Connect your iPhone to a high-speed Wi-Fi network for a flawless background upload process.

Turn on Face ID authentication

Google doesn't offer biometric security for its app on Android, yet an iPhone user can secure their Google Drive using only their face. Here's how to turn on Face ID protection for Google Drive on your iPhone:

1. Navigate to Google Drive settings on your iPhone (check the steps above).
2. Select Privacy Screen.
3. Turn on the Privacy Screen toggle switch.
4. Select the time limit for Face ID authentication.

Use your Google Drive files when you're offline

If you plan to travel to areas with limited network connectivity, make your important Google Drive files available when you're offline. Give yourself time for the files to download to your phone, especially if you have a lot of files.

1. Open Google Drive and select a folder.
2. Tap the three-dot menu beside a file and select Make available offline.
3. A small checkmark under the file name confirms the offline status.
4. Tap the hamburger menu and select Offline to check all such files in a single place.
5. You can also star relevant files and access them from the Starred tab.

Add Google Drive widgets to the home screen

Google Drive offers a couple of widgets to place on the home screen. The widgets allow you to quickly access your files and search Google Drive from the iPhone home screen.

1. Long tap an empty space on the home screen.
2. After your iPhone goes into Jiggle mode, tap + in the upper-left corner to open the widgets menu.
3. Scroll to Google Drive.
4. You have two widgets to choose from. You can either add the Medium or Large widget to your home screen.

Add Google Drive widgets to the lock screen

You can install interactive home screen widgets on any iPhone that supports iOS 17. Google Drive is not one of those you can interact with, but tapping the widget opens your Google Drive for quick access.

For even quicker access, install the Google Drive widget on the lock screen, along with other Google apps such as Chrome, Gmail, and Calendar. Follow the steps below to place a Google Drive widget on the iPhone lock screen.

1. Press the side button to check your iPhone lock screen.
2. Long tap it and select Customize.
3. Select your lock screen.
4. Tap the widget area below the clock.
5. Scroll to Google Drive.
6. Add the suggested files, search, and starred Google Drive widgets to the lock screen.

If you're a power Google Drive user, set up lock screen widgets to access your files with a single tap.

Keep your Google Drive storage in check

Google no longer offers unlimited free media backup (for reduced quality) in Google Photos. With your 15GB of free storage shared with Gmail, Google Photos, and Drive files, it's easy to fill up your Google Drive storage. You can open Google Drive and check the storage breakdown from the hamburger menu. If you run out of space, consider upgrading to one of the Google One plans. Read our dedicated post to learn more about Google One.

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Use Google Drive like a pro

Accessing your Gmail, Calendar, Notes, and cloud files on any device is what makes Google services useful. It doesn't matter if you use iPhone or Android because Google remains the same across all of them. Read our handy guide to set up and use Google Drive on a Mac to take advantage of the Google ecosystem.