This article explains why AODocs doesn't support Google Drive Back up & sync. It also shows Google Workspace Super administrators how to disable this feature for their organization.
Google Drive Back up & sync synchronizes Google Drive files and folders from My Drive to a local folder on your computer. Learn more: Google Workspace admin help – Choose a sync solution. The feature was previously called "Google Drive for your Mac/PC" or "Drive Sync client".
If a file or a folder belonging to an AODocs library is added to a user's My Drive, they can use the Drive Sync client and synchronize the file locally on their computer. Keep in mind that all the files and folders managed by AODocs are owned by the AODocs storage account of the library.
AODocs doesn't support the use of Back up & sync. We strongly recommend that you disable this feature on your domain for the following reasons:
- Local files infected by viruses (cryptovirus or ransomware type) can synchronize corrupted files back to Google Drive if the user has edit rights on these files.
- Synchronized files behave unexpectedly, which can confuse end users. This is especially the case when the user is not the owner of the document. It generally leads to:
- duplicated documents
- document subscription cancellation (user doesn't see the document from Google Drive)
- Managing incidents related to Back up & sync requires logs to be retrieved from the user’s computer.
- Using Back up & sync can negatively impact internet bandwidth in large organizations.
As a Google Workspace super admin:
1. Open the Google Admin console.
2. Click Apps.
3. Click Google Workspace.
4. Click Drive and Docs.
5. Scroll down and click Features and Applications.
6. In the Drive section, select the checkbox Do not allow Backup and Sync in your organization.
7. Click Save.
Note: If you are a Google Workspace Business customer, you can disable this feature by Google Organization.