If your organization uses Google Workspace, you have likely discovered that when you upload a video to Google Drive, it’s not simply a stored file—the video can be played inline.
For years, when playing a Google Drive-stored video, the interface appeared like a slimmed-down version of the YouTube player.
However, in October 2024, Google announced an update to the Google Drive video player, featuring improved playback controls and a cleaner viewing experience.
Videos can be uploaded to Google Drive by dragging and dropping one or more files at a time into a folder.
As with any Google Drive file, an uploaded video file can be assigned several different sharing options. For example, a video can be shared with just one person. It can be shared with a group of people. Another sharing option is that a video or video folder can be accessed publicly by anyone who has the link:
Note: The ability to share a Google Drive link publicly is enabled or disabled organization-wide by a Google Workspace administrator.
Reasons to Upload Video Files to Google Drive
Here are six business use cases for Google Drive videos.
Allow others to review a video before posting it to YouTube
Since YouTube does not allow for replacing videos, once a video is posted, it can’t be modified. If a video is first uploaded to Google Drive, it can be shared with other users for review and comments.
Share a recording of an internal Google Meet
With Google Workspace Business Standard edition and above, Google Meet recordings can be saved directly to Google Drive.
This type of video could be shared with all employees, but it would not be shared outside the organization.
Share internal instructional and training videos
Custom tutorials can be recorded, uploaded, and shared with internal users if a new app is being launched within the organization.
Share videos with prospects or customers
Since any Google Drive user can upload and share a video, a user can record a video or a screencast with content specific to a prospect or customer. The video can then be shared with only that person or group.
Record a video in the field and upload it to Google Drive
For realtors, contractors, or anyone else who needs to make video recordings of properties or job sites, the mobile Google Drive app can be used to upload videos directly from the mobile device’s photo and video library to Google Drive.
Embed Google Drive Videos in slide decks
A Google Drive video can be inserted into a Google Slides presentation.
Tips for Using Google Drive Videos
1. Google Drive video URLs are long. Instead of sharing a native link in Gmail, consider using a hyperlink or a URL shortener, such as bit.ly. Additionally, you’ll receive high-level activity metrics with the latter.
2. Google Drive videos can be embedded in website pages and posts. However, there’s no thumbnail control, and the embed does not have a clean look compared to an embedded Vidyard video, for example.
Here’s an example of an embedded Google Drive video.
This is the iframe embed code used to display the above video:
<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bx7UvJrUfgzAVk01Zk5jWTVmZlU/preview?resourcekey=0-7nlfjW50VpzkLzXdOkhvEw" width="100%" height="520" allow="autoplay"></iframe>3. Unlike YouTube, Google Drive videos can be replaced with new versions. This can be done by right-clicking on the video, selecting ‘Manage Versions,’ and then clicking the ‘Upload new version’ button.
4. You can upload a caption track to a Google Drive video. Captions can also be auto-generated.
5. If you want to upload many raw footage files to a Google Drive folder, you can do this easily by dragging and dropping a group of video files into a folder.
6. As mentioned above, a downside to hosting videos on Google Drive is that you cannot change the still shot or thumbnail that appears.
7. Most versions of Google Workspace have individual storage limits per user. For example, the Business Starter edition limits a user to 30 GB (unless additional storage is purchased) of Drive storage. Therefore, users should monitor their available storage, especially since videos tend to have large file sizes.
8. As with third-party apps like Wistia and Vidyard, the number of viewers is available (As of June 2025).
9. In January 2024, Google introduced the ability to share a link that directs users to a specific time in the video.
Incorporating business videos into your Google Drive usage can enhance team collaboration and improve client engagement.
By leveraging Drive’s stored video file cross-functionality with Google Slides, Google Meet, Gmail sending, and web page embedding, businesses can create a secure hub for managing and sharing specific types of video content.
