Just A Few Unusual Things Google Drive Can Do

At its most basic, Google Drive is just one of the many cloud storage devices out there. That alone is enough to make any one look into it, but storing files isn’t the only thing it can do. Here are some of the others.

For one, it can make custom maps. Google Maps is well-known to most people, but the ability to make custom maps is less known. Google Drive uses the my maps tool to let anyone create and share those custom maps.

It can also help capture thieves. When a pizza guy reported his car, cash, and phone stolen, he also mentioned one other detail. His Google Drive account connected to said phone was set to automatically upload any pictures taken with the phone to the drive. The thieves switched off the GPS but didn’t turn off the drive feature, giving the police a few nice photos of the thieves.

With google drive comes Google Docs, which has become the most popular way to collectively upload, share, and edit documents. It also comes with a feature allowing a legally binding e-signature to be added to documents, speeding up their approval. It also has a feature where parts of shared documents can be made password-protected, so only those people who are approved to see them can while still allowing others to see most of the document.

Want to stream music but not pay a fortune for it? Google Drive can help. With a third party app, CloudPlayer, anyone can upload their music collection and turn it into a stream. It even allows the music to be downloaded by others.

Photos taking up too much space on a Google Drive? Now there’s a linked service, Google Photos. Don’t worry about compatability, either. Drive can automatically sort the photos and move them.

Not all of the things Google Drive can do are helpful for consumers, but no one can deny their use. Google admins can now see download event logs. This isn’t an idle concern for anyone; criminals who are uploading or downloading illegal items in the drive can now be caught red-handed.

Of course, Google Drive means more than one thing. Most people wil be aware of Google’s testing driverless cars. However, they’re not the only ones. Car manufacturers are introducing automated driving features as well, but their predicitions say that self-driving cars won’t be a reality until at least 2025. Google says it can be done in five years. Who will be victorious? No one knows, but after all they’ve already done, no one is counting Google out.

(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)