How to upload videos to Google Drive

Google Drive is one of the most comprehensive and intuitive cloud-based file storage platforms you can stuff full of your data. If you have a Google account (which you most likely do), you’re all set to store your files in a single place, ready to be accessed whenever and wherever you are. Since the service doesn’t compress any videos you upload, it’s also a great way to keep your files organized for later consumption or sharing. Google Drive is available on most platforms, so there are multiple ways to upload your videos to the cloud, and here they are.

How to upload videos to Google Drive from an Android or iPhone

Since most of us create videos using a mobile device, this is a method you’ll be using more often than not. There’s no need to transfer your videos to a computer first, as the Google Drive app for Android and iOS makes it relatively easy to upload all your video files as long as you have a stable internet connection.

By default, you can only upload videos over Wi-Fi but if you want to share files on the go using mobile data, head over to Settings (tap the hamburger icon on the top left), scroll to the bottom, and toggle off the Transfer files only over Wi-Fi setting.

Here are a couple of ways you can upload videos to Google Drive straight from your phone:

1. Open the Google Drive app and navigate to the folder to which you’d like to upload the video.
2. Click on the floating + icon in the bottom-right corner and tap Upload.

3. You can choose to upload a single video by locating and tapping on it from the finder. If you want to upload multiple videos simultaneously, long-press the first video you want to upload, then tap on the other videos and hit Select at the end.

4. Once you select the videos you wish to upload, the upload process will begin in the background. You don’t need to keep the app in the foreground for the uploads to continue.
5. Once your video is on Google drive, you can change the file name or move it to a different folder by tapping the three-dot icon next to the video.

You can also upload video files from your phone’s gallery app. Google Drive doesn’t have to be running, but you do need to be logged in for this to work.

1. Open the video you want to share in your phone’s gallery app.

2. Click on the share button and find Google Drive in the pop-up menu.

3. You can select which Google account and folder you want to upload the video to and then tap on Save when you’re done. The upload process will begin in the background.

4. If you accidentally upload your video to the wrong folder, tap the three-dot icon next to the video, select Move —> My Drive and select the appropriate folder.

How to set up the Google Drive desktop app to upload videos

Google Drive can also be accessed from any device with a browser, and uploading videos is a straightforward process; just follow the instructions below.

1. Open the application settings/preferences by clicking on the Drive icon (situated at the top-right corner on Mac and bottom-right corner on Windows).

2. Now click on Add folder to select the folders you want to keep synced with your Google Drive account.
3. Once you select the folder, you’ll also have an option to sync it with Google Photos.

How to set up the Google Drive desktop app to upload videos

This method isn’t as straightforward as the previous two because it requires installing and configuring the desktop client. However, once set up, the app will automatically backup and sync selected folders to Google Drive without any further input.

To get started, install the Google Drive app for desktop (Windows/Mac) and sign in via the browser. The app also lets you set up sync for multiple Google accounts at once, and you can even your Google Drive files in the file explorer on Widows and the Finder window on Mac.

1. Open the application settings/preferences by clicking on the Drive icon (situated at the top-right corner on Mac and bottom-right corner on Windows).
2. Now click on Add folder to select the folders you want to keep synced with your Google Drive account.

3. Once you select the folder, you’ll also have an option to sync it with Google Photos.
4. After you’re done with this, you need to hit Save for the sync process to begin.

5. Every subsequent video (or any other file) you add to this folder will automatically be uploaded to the corresponding folder on Google Drive as long as it has a working internet connection.

Video files take up a lot of storage space

Video files can quickly use the 15GB of storage space that comes with a free account, or even the 30GB of storage space that basic Google Workspace users get. If you‘re planning to store a lot of videos on Google Drive, you may want to upgrade to a Google One account.