Google can read every file on your Drive. They scan them for policy violations, their Gemini AI processes them, and they complied with government data requests 80% of the time in 2023 — 209,000 requests globally. A Minnesota teacher was arrested after Google automatically scanned his Drive photos and reported them to NCMEC. Google isn't a filing cabinet. It's a filing cabinet with an employee who reads everything you put in it. Files encrypted against outsiders but not against Google. They license themselves to modify your content and can suspend your entire Google account over a scanner false positive.
What they claim: Google Drive keeps your files secure and private.
What we found: Google holds encryption keys -- not zero-knowledge. Scans files for violations. Gemini AI caught reading PDFs (July 2024). PRISM since 2009. 150K+ govt requests H1 2023, ~80% compliance. Can provide full file contents.
What they claim: Files are encrypted and protected.
What we found: AES-256 but Google holds keys. No zero-knowledge for consumers. ToS: license to 'use, reproduce, modify, create derivative works.' False positive scanning flags innocent files. Account suspension affects all Google services.
What they claim: Google Drive is safe for sensitive documents.
What we found: Enterprise: 709K publicly exposed sensitive assets per org. 120K sensitive assets shared to personal emails. Sharing defaults lean accessible. No consumer client-side encryption. PRISM.
What they claim: Gemini AI features require user consent.
What we found: Google says users must 'proactively enable.' Privacy researcher found it reading documents without clear opt-in. Documents processed by AI infrastructure.