Google Drive is a cloud service that allows you to store photos and content for free and always have them available on different devices (PC, smartphone, tablet …), simply by logging into your Google account. If you have the Google Drive app installed on your iPhone or iPad, remember that it would be better to protect the content you uploaded to the cloud.
If someone uses your device, in fact, they could access all your material stored in the service and your privacy could be compromised.
To protect yourself, know that the Google Drive app allows you to activate the authentication via Face ID or Touch ID to access the content of the app.
Add Face ID authentication to the Google Drive app
Apple devices often have several “hidden” features that are not known to many users, but which, if known, they really could simplify life. With this guide, we want to explain how to activate the face ID authentication for the Google Drive app on iOS and iPadOS to better protect your privacy and your content.
The steps to follow are as follows:
- Open theGoogle Drive app on your iPhone / iPad.
- Touch the icon menu in the upper left corner.
- In the sidebar, touch “Settings“.
- Select “Privacy screen“.
- Enable the option for Privacy Screen, which should activate the data protection function.
At this point, you will receive a pop-up notification from iOS / iPadOS that will ask you if you want to authorize the Google Drive app to use the Face ID / Touch ID on your device. Tap “OK” to allow it. Now, the next time you open Google Drive, you will need to provide authentication via Face ID or Touch ID, depending on the method you are using.
You will also see some new options for privacy screens available. Open the menu as explained above and you will see the following customizable functions:
- Delay: By default, Google Drive will ask you to authenticate again when you lock the display or close the app. You can choose to set this option according to your preferences and decide that authentication is required: “Immediately”, “After 10 seconds”, “After 1 minute” and “After 10 minutes”.
- Use passcode: Some users may choose to use a code on their device instead of unlocking it using Face ID / Touch ID
To do this, open the menu Privacy screen and tap the blue “Open system settings” link. In the Settings menu, turn off the option for “Face ID”. Once this is done, you will be asked to enter the device code instead of Face ID / Touch ID the next time you open Google Drive.
Now that you know how to add Face ID authentication to Google Drive on iOS you can certainly feel more relaxed: your content is protected from strangers!
