My Drive
Everything in My Drive is tied to your Google account. You can share folders, but you still own them. If you leave a Workspace domain, an admin may transfer the account, or the team may lose the only copy they understood.
Use My Drive for drafts, personal files, and work that is clearly yours.
Shared drives
Shared drives (formerly Team Drives) belong to the organization, not one person. Members get roles (viewer, contributor, content manager, manager). Files stay when someone leaves. You need a Google Workspace plan that includes Shared drives; consumer Gmail does not get them.
Use a Shared drive for client work, templates, department archives, and anything several people must keep after turnover.
Shared with me is neither
Shared with me is a list of items other people shared with you. It is not a folder you control. Putting “the team Drive” only as shares into your My Drive creates duplicates and permission surprises. Organize the source Shared drive instead of collecting shortcuts forever.
When to move a folder
- Three or more people edit it weekly → Shared drive.
- Only you need it, or it is private → My Drive.
- A mix of both → keep a thin My Drive working folder, publish finished work to the Shared drive.
Moving My Drive content into a Shared drive has ownership and permission rules. Google documents this under “Move files into shared drives.” Do it when you understand who becomes the owner. Admin tools exist for huge migrations; a tree is for seeing and sorting what is already there.
See both in one workspace
Native Drive uses separate left-nav entries. Drive Organizer Pro can show My Drive, Shared drives, Shared with me, and Trash in the same tree (Shared drives and Trash are Pro).
Free is your full My Drive tree. Upgrade when the mess is a team drive, not just personal files. $4.99/month or $29.99/year.