Re: Audio files in Google Drive

david_calder · 11-17-2021 04:02 AM

A user has sensitive audio files stored in Google Drive. She has given people "viewer" permissions so that they can listen to them, but has unchecked the option: "Viewers and commenters can see the option to download, print, and copy".

In Chrome on the Desktop, viewers get a message saying "Owner has prevented downloads and playback of this audio file." However, the file can be played from the Drive app on a mobile device.

We raised this issue with our supplier who said that this was by design, but I don't think that's correct, and I wanted to get other people's input.

A viewer would be able to view a file, so a listener should be able to hear a file. They just shouldn't be able to download or copy the file. I'm right aren't I?!

stimms

It's a common (and understandable) misconception with how that option works. If we look at the wording "Viewers and commenters can see the option to download, print, and copy" it does exactly what it says on the tin: it just hides the download print and copy buttons from the UI. It doesn't prevent anything, just obfuscates it. Ultimately if you understand how the url queries work you can download any file you like regardless of the option by using "&export=download".

david_calder

Thanks for the response. I think Google may have terminated this workaround. For example https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=[fileID] gives me the "Sorry, the owner hasn't given you permission to download this file." I'm happy with that - we don't want users to download these files.

We do want the users to listen to them though. And as "viewing" (or "listening" in this case) isn't downloading, printing or copying, this should be something they can do. Otherwise, what's the point in sharing a document?

stimms

Oh sorry, I think I am understanding you now. There must be an intrinsic interaction with how the operating system plays audio files via a Chrome browser. If there is no built in player or app with permissions to run the file without downloading it then it will fail in this scenario. I would imagine that if you saved the audio file as a video and uploaded it to Google Drive then you would be able to play it in line as Google Drive on the web has a built in video player but as far as I understand it, doesn't have a built in audio player.

I would be interested to see if Google Drive File Stream/Google Drive for Desktop would work in the scenario? Is that something you can test?

david_calder

Hi stimms - thanks for the suggestions. If I play a wav file that doesn't have any limitations on viewing/downloading etc it seems to play in a built-in player that's part of Drive or Chrome. I'm not sure which, but it looks like it's Drive. However, I can be sure that it's not downloading the file to play it, i.e. it's not in my Downloads folder, as would be the case if I had viewed a pdf with Adobe.

I can play files via Google Drive for Desktop (it opens up in VLC), but the ones I'm interested in are only available to me via the 'Shared with me' folder, which isn't available in Google Drive for Desktop. If the file was in My Drive or Shared Drives it would be downloadable, which is the thing we're trying to prevent. I'll have to do some more testing with this tomorrow to be 100% sure.

LVoyles

I have this exact same issue. Have you found a solution?

david_calder

I'm afraid not!

Sundar

Any luck till now??

david_calder

No!

JGuy

I am having a similar problem, I want to allow a colleague to hear my new music but I don't want them to be able to download. I have set them up as a commentor but the drive won't allow them to playback, "Owner has prevented downloads and playback of this audio file."

It's not really fulfilling a primary function. I will keep an eye on this thread in the hope that one of you guys figure it out. Thank you for trying!

caribguy76

We're experiencing this issue as we roll out shared drives in our organization. We need to be able to share audio files with the viewer access level to prevent downloading but playback is essential.

wjcroft

Any updates on solutions for this issue playing audio but disallowing download?

Thinking I might try alternatives such as SoundCloud, Bandcamp, etc. Which are used by musicians to demo their work.

loundy_mark

All you can ever hope to do is make it a bit harder to copy. Any graphics file that can be viewed, can be copied. The same goes for any audio file that can be played.