JUNE 2020 PCWorld 254.2020.18204,
you can find the
setting under
Privacy Screen
within the
Settings in the
side menu.
Simply flip the
toggle and
choose the
delay for
when the
authentication
resets after
closing the app
(immediately, 10
seconds, one
minute, or 10 minutes), and the next time you
launch the Google Drive app, a Face ID or
Touch ID screen will pop up before logging
you in.
It’s unclear what the requirements for the
feature are, but an iPhone 6s running the iOS
13.5 Public Beta was unable to see the Privacy
Screen option in the sidebar, while an iPhone
11 updated to iOS 13.4.1 was.
For now, Privacy Screen is an all-or-
nothing feature, so you can only lock down
the entire app rather than individual files or
folders. Also, since Apple doesn’t lock down
the Files app with biometric authentication,
people will still be able to access your Google
Drive files there if you’ve allowed access.
Google also warns that notifications may be
visible as well.
Still, it’s an important extra layer of
protection during a time when more people
are sharing files using cloud drives.
Unfortunately, if you’re an Android user you’re
out of luck. Even though the Pixel is made by
Google—you know, the same company that
makes Google Drive—there’s no option to use
Face Unlock to secure the app. There isn’t
even a Privacy Screen setting for the Google
One app, which is only available to users who
pay for extra Google Drive storage. And
there’s no indication that Privacy Screen is
ever coming to Android.
So as the saying goes, if you want the best
protection for your Google Drive app, switch
to the iPhone.The Google Drive app on iOS has a new Privacy Screen feature that locks down the
app behind an extra layer of biometric authentication.