How to Copy a Shared Google Drive Folder to Your Own Drive (2026)
Google Drive has no copy-folder button, and Add shortcut isn't a copy. Four ways to get a real copy of a shared folder in your own Drive, on a computer or phone.
Short answer
Google Drive can't copy a whole folder in one step. To get a real copy of a shared folder, select all its files and use Make a copy (one folder at a time), download the folder and upload it to your Drive, or copy it with Drive for desktop. Add shortcut to Drive is not a copy: it's a link that breaks if the owner deletes the folder or stops sharing it. For photo galleries, some services offer a one-tap Save to Google Drive.
Someone shares a Google Drive folder with you (your wedding photos, a family session, a project archive) and you want your own copy, safely in your own Drive. It sounds like it should be one click. It isn't: Google Drive has no “copy folder” button, and the button that looks like it saves the folder doesn't actually copy anything.
This guide explains why, then walks through every way to copy a shared folder into your own Drive, on a computer and on a phone, with the trade-offs of each. If the folder holds photos from a photographer, there's often an easier way at the end.
- The short answer
- Why “Add shortcut” isn't a copy
- Method 1: Make a copy of the files
- Method 2: Download and upload again
- Method 3: Copy with Drive for desktop
- Method 4: Scripts and add-ons
- For photo galleries: one-tap Save to Google Drive
- The methods side by side
- When copying is blocked
- For photographers: make it easy for clients
The short answer
Google Drive can't copy a whole folder in one step. To get a real copy of a shared folder in your own Drive, either select all the files inside it and use Make a copy (folder by folder), download the folder and upload it to your Drive, or use Drive for desktop to copy it on your computer. Add shortcut to Drive is not a copy: it's a link that stops working if the owner deletes the folder or stops sharing it.
Why “Add shortcut” isn't a copy
On a shared folder, Drive offers Add shortcut to Drive (in the Organize menu on a computer, or under More in the app). It puts the folder in your Drive, so it looks saved. But Google describes a shortcut as a link that points back to the original. It's not a separate file or folder.
That matters because, as Google's own help explains, a shortcut breaks if the original is deleted or moved to the trash, or if you lose permission to open it. For photos you care about, a shortcut is a bookmark, not a backup. If the photographer's gallery closes or they tidy up their Drive next year, the shortcut leads nowhere.
Shortcuts are useful for keeping a shared folder handy while it's being worked on. They're just not the answer when you want your own copy.
Method 1: Make a copy of the files
Drive can copy files, just not folders. So you copy the contents:
- In your own Drive, create a new folder with the name you want (for example, Our wedding photos).
- Open the shared folder on drive.google.com in a browser on a computer.
- Select every file: click the first one and press Ctrl+A (Windows) or Cmd+A (Mac).
- Right-click and choose Make a copy. Drive creates copies named Copy of ….
- Move the copies into your new folder (right-click, Organize, Move).
- Repeat for each subfolder: Make a copy doesn't include folders, so each one needs its own pass.
Good for: small folders with no subfolders. Copies stay in Google's cloud, so nothing is downloaded and no space is used on your computer.
Watch out for: the copies count towards your own Google storage, they're renamed “Copy of …”, and folders with many subfolders take a while. If Make a copy is missing, the owner has turned copying off (see below).
Method 2: Download and upload again
- Open the shared folder in a browser, click the folder name at the top (or right-click the folder) and choose Download.
- Drive packs the folder into ZIP files. Large folders arrive as several ZIPs, each up to about 2 GB.
- Unzip them on your computer, then upload the folder to your Drive: New, Folder upload.
Good for: keeping the folder structure in one go, and keeping a copy on your computer too.
Watch out for: everything is downloaded and uploaded again, which is slow on a weak connection and takes space on your computer. On a phone it's awkward; see downloading a whole Drive folder and saving Drive photos on iPhone.
Method 3: Copy with Drive for desktop
If you use Google Drive for desktop on a Mac or PC, your Drive appears as a drive in Finder or File Explorer. Shared folders appear there once you add a shortcut to them in My Drive.
- Add a shortcut to the shared folder in My Drive (this time it's only a stepping stone).
- In Finder or File Explorer, open your Google Drive, find the folder, and copy it.
- Paste it into another folder in My Drive. The computer copies the files, and Drive for desktop uploads the copy to your Drive.
- Once it has finished syncing, you can remove the shortcut.
Good for: large folders with many subfolders, which this copies in one go with the structure intact.
Watch out for: it needs Drive for desktop installed, and in practice the files come down to your computer and go back up, so it takes time and some disk space while it runs.
Method 4: Scripts and add-ons
Google Apps Script and several add-ons in the Google Workspace Marketplace can copy a folder with all its subfolders inside Google's cloud. They work well for technical users and very large folders, but they usually ask for broad access to your whole Drive. Read what access you're granting, and stick to well-reviewed tools.
For photo galleries: one-tap Save to Google Drive
If the folder is a photo gallery from a photographer, check the gallery itself first. Some gallery services can copy the photos into your Drive for you.
On GalleryLink, photographers on the Studio plan can turn on Save to Google Drive for a gallery. You'll see a Drive button in the gallery: tap it, sign in with Google, and every photo is copied at full quality into a new folder in your own Drive, with a folder for each section. There's nothing to unzip and nothing stored on your phone. GalleryLink can only create that folder and its files; it can't see anything else in your Drive.
Unlike a shortcut, that copy is yours. It stays in your Drive even after the gallery closes.
The methods side by side
| Real copy | Keeps subfolders | Works on a phone | Uses your computer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Add shortcut | No | n/a | Yes | No |
| Make a copy (files) | Yes | No, one folder at a time | Awkward | No |
| Download and upload | Yes | Yes | Awkward | Yes |
| Drive for desktop | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Scripts and add-ons | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Gallery “Save to Google Drive” | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
When copying is blocked
- No “Make a copy” or “Download” option: the owner has stopped viewers from downloading, printing and copying. Ask them to allow it for you, or to share the files another way.
- “You need access”: the folder isn't shared with your account. Ask the owner to share it with your email, or as “Anyone with the link”.
- “Download quota exceeded”: a file was downloaded too many times in a day. Try again later; see why Drive shows this.
- Not enough storage: copies count towards your Google storage (15 GB free, shared with Gmail and Photos). Check how much space the folder needs first.
For photographers: make it easy for clients
Most clients don't know any of this. They tap “Add shortcut”, think their photos are saved, and find out a year later that they aren't. Two things help:
- Tell them in your delivery message to download their favourites or save a real copy, and roughly how long the gallery stays online. See how long client galleries should stay online.
- Give them a one-tap copy. If you deliver from Google Drive with GalleryLink, the Studio plan adds Save to Google Drive to any gallery you choose, so clients get a real copy in their own Drive without ZIPs or a computer.