How to Upload Photos to Google Drive and Share Link

Google Drive lets you upload photos and share them with one link, so others can view the original files without getting each photo as a separate attachment.

Messaging apps can compress photos and make large batches hard to manage. Google Drive keeps your photos in full quality, lets you organize them in folders, and gives you one shareable link you can send anywhere.

Uploading a photo to Google Drive does not make it shareable. The file stays private until you change its access settings. This is the step many people miss.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to upload photos to Google Drive and share a working link using three different approaches, along with guidance on when to use each one.

Table of Contents

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have the following ready.

• A Google account with access to Google Drive
• The photo files saved on your device
• For the mobile method: the Google Drive app installed on your phone (Android or iOS)

One thing worth checking before you start:

Storage space: Google Drive gives you 15 GB of free storage shared across Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. If your account is nearly full, uploads may fail. Check your available space at Google Drive Settings before uploading a large batch.

Uploading and Sharing Photos via the Web App

You can upload photos to Google Drive and share a link directly from your browser.

This works best when you are on a desktop or laptop and need to upload one photo or a small batch quickly.

Uploading the Photo or Folder

Before you upload, decide what to share. If you are sharing one photo, upload it directly. If you are sharing multiple photos, create a folder first and upload the photos into it. This lets you share one folder link instead of sending each photo link one by one.

1. Go to Google Drive, sign in, and open the folder where you want to upload the photos. If you do not open a folder, Google Drive uploads them to My Drive.

2. Click the + New button in the top-left corner.

3. Select File upload to choose photos, or Folder upload to upload a photo folder.

4. Choose your photos or folder. To select multiple photos, hold Ctrl on Windows or Command on Mac, then click Open or Upload.

Wait until Google Drive shows that the upload is complete. You will usually see the upload progress in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

Sharing the Photo or Folder

Once the upload finishes, your photo or folder appears in the Google Drive file list. Now you can set who can open it and copy the sharing link.

1. Right-click the uploaded file or folder and select Share > Share.

2. Under General access, click the dropdown next to Restricted and select Anyone with the link.

   • Use Anyone with the link only when the photos are okay to share broadly, such as event photos, portfolios, or client deliverables.
   • For private photos, use Share with specific people and enter the recipient's email address instead.

   If you do not see Anyone with the link, your school or work account may have public sharing turned off. In that case, share with specific people by email.

3. Set the permission level based on how much control you want to give.

   Permission	What It Allows
   Viewer	People can view and download the photos, but they cannot change or delete them
   Commenter	People can view and comment where comments are supported, but they cannot edit the files
   Editor	People can edit files. For folders, they can also add, move, or delete files

   For most photo sharing, choose Viewer. It gives recipients access to the photos without giving them control over your files.

4. Click Copy link, then click Done.

5. Test the link before sending it. Open the link in an incognito window or another browser where you are not signed in to Google. If the photo or folder opens, the link is ready to share.

6. Paste the link into an email, chat message, or document. When the recipient opens it, they can view the photo or folder in Google Drive at full quality. If you shared a folder, they can download photos one by one or download the folder as a zip file.

To stop sharing later, change General access back to Restricted. This stops the link from working for anyone who has it.

If the photos are on your phone, you can upload and share them directly from the Google Drive mobile app without moving them to a computer.

Uploading and Sharing Photos via the Mobile App

You can upload photos from your phone and share a Google Drive link without using a desktop. Use this method when the photos are already on your phone.

Uploading the Photo or Folder

Before you upload, decide what to share. If you are sharing one photo, upload it directly. If you are sharing multiple photos, create a folder in Google Drive first and upload all photos into it. This lets you share one folder link instead of sending each photo link one by one.

1. Open the Google Drive app on your phone.

   If you are uploading many large photos, connect to Wi-Fi first.

2. Open the folder where you want to upload the photos.

3. Tap the + New button at the bottom of the screen.

4. Tap Upload and select your photos.

   On Android, look under Images or Gallery. On iPhone, tap Photo Library or Browse.

   To select multiple photos, tap and hold the first photo, then tap the other photos you want to upload.

   Use Upload for this workflow. Do not use Google Photos backup, because it saves photos to Google Photos instead of the Google Drive folder you want to share.

5. Tap Upload and wait for the upload to complete.

   When the upload finishes, the photo or folder appears in your current Google Drive folder.

Sharing the Photo or Folder

Once the upload finishes, change the access so other people can open the photo or folder from a link.

1. Tap the three-dot menu (⋮) next to the uploaded photo or folder.

2. Select Manage access.

3. Under General access, tap Restricted or Change, then select Anyone with the link.

   Use Anyone with the link only when the photos are okay to share broadly. For private photos, share with specific people by email instead.

4. Set the permission level to Viewer.

   Viewer lets recipients view and download the photos without changing or deleting your files.

5. Tap Copy link or the link icon at the top of the screen.

6. Test the link before sending it.

   Open the link in an incognito window or another browser where you are not signed in to Google. If the photo or folder opens, the link is ready to share.

Paste the link into WhatsApp, iMessage, email, or any other app.

If you need to upload photos in bulk, the next method helps you upload them at once and list each photo's preview, file name, and shareable link in Google Sheets.

Uploading Photos in Bulk with Drive Explorer Pro

Drive Explorer Pro lets you upload multiple photos to Google Drive and list each photo's name, preview, and shareable link in Google Sheets automatically.

Use this method for large photo sets, such as event photos, product images, client deliverables, or project documentation. It saves time because you do not need to upload photos one by one, change access manually, or copy each link separately.

Why use Drive Explorer Pro

• Upload multiple photos in one workflow.
• List each photo link in Google Sheets automatically.
• Add image previews to identify photos without opening each file.
• Keep photo links organized for sharing later.

Install Drive Explorer Pro from the Google Workspace Marketplace:

Launching Drive Explorer Pro

You open Drive Explorer Pro from inside Google Sheets after installing it.

1. Open Google Sheets.
2. Go to Extensions > Drive Explorer Pro > Open Drive Explorer Pro.

3. Wait for the Drive Explorer Pro sidebar to open on the right side of your sheet.

Before uploading, complete this one-time setup. You only need to set these options once. After that, Drive Explorer Pro can reuse them each time you upload photos:

• The destination folder
• The file details to log
• The image preview size and sharing permissions

Setting Your Destination Folder

Choose where the uploaded photos should be saved in Google Drive.

1. In the sidebar, click Change under Default Google Drive folder.
2. Select the folder where you want to save the photos.

Use a dedicated folder, such as Event Photos June or Client Project Assets, so the photos stay organized and are easier to find later.

Configuring File Attributes to Log in Google Sheets

Use the List files tab to choose which photo details Drive Explorer Pro should add to Google Sheets after upload.

1. Click the List files tab in the sidebar.

2. Under Start listing file from, choose where the details should appear.

   • Currently selected cell - starts from the cell you selected
   • Append below existing data - adds new rows below existing sheet data

3. Under Select File Attributes to list, choose the details you want to log.

For photo sharing, enable Image Preview, File Name Linked to URL, and File URL. These give you an image preview, a clickable file name, and a copyable link.

Note: Image Preview lets you see the photo directly in Google Sheets, so you can identify the right image without opening each file in Google Drive.

4. Click Save Selected Settings as Default.

Setting Image Preview Size and Sharing Permissions

Before uploading, set the image preview size and file access. This controls how large the photo preview appears in Google Sheets and makes each uploaded photo shareable.

1. Click the Settings tab in the sidebar.

2. Set the Image Preview Size in pixels.

   Choose a size that is large enough to identify the photo without making the rows too tall.

3. Under File Access Settings, select Anyone with the link.

   This gives each uploaded photo a working shareable link. You do not need to open each photo in Google Drive afterward to change its permissions.

4. Click Save Selected Settings as Default.

Drive Explorer Pro applies these settings during upload.

Note: This setting applies to newly uploaded files only. It does not change the permissions of files already in your Drive.

Uploading Photos and Generating Links

With your folder, attributes, and sharing settings configured, upload your photos.

1. Click the Upload files tab in the sidebar.

2. Drag and drop your photos into the upload box, or click the box to select files.

3. Check Show preview of selected files if you want to review the photos before uploading.

4. Click Upload files to drive and list in sheets.

Drive Explorer Pro uploads each photo to the selected Google Drive folder and adds the selected details to your sheet. Each row represents one photo.

You can now identify photos from the Image Preview column and copy links from the File URL or Direct Download Link column.

Sharing All Photo Links at Once

If you uploaded several photos with Drive Explorer Pro, you do not need to send each photo link one by one. Share the Google Sheets file instead.

1. Click Share in the top-right corner of Google Sheets.
2. Under General access, change Restricted to Anyone with the link.
3. Set the permission to Viewer.
4. Click Copy link, then click Done.

Send the spreadsheet link to your client, team, or recipient. They can open the sheet, view the photo previews, and click the photo links they need.

The spreadsheet link and the photo links have separate access settings. Because you already set the uploaded photos to Anyone with the link, recipients can open the photo links from the spreadsheet without requesting access.

Drive Explorer Pro may ask for Google Drive and Google Sheets permissions during installation. These permissions allow the add-on to upload files to Google Drive and write file details into your spreadsheet.

Conclusion

You now have three ways to upload photos to Google Drive and share a working link.

• Use the web app when you are on a desktop or laptop and need to upload one photo or a small batch.
• Use the mobile app when the photos are already on your phone and you need to share them right away.
• Use Drive Explorer Pro when you upload many photos regularly and want every link tracked automatically in Google Sheets.

Whichever method you use, always change General access from Restricted to Anyone with the link before you share. If you skip this step, the recipient may see an access request page instead of the photo.