Mark or unmark spam in Drive

Similar to how the spam folder works in Gmail, automatic classifiers redirect files or folders that Drive strongly suspects to be unwanted to the spam folder. You can also manually move files or folders in and out of the spam folder. After a file or folder has resided within the spam folder for over 30 days, it will be permanently removed from your Drive.

You can report shared files or folders as spam in Drive. Files or folders you report as spam:

• No longer generate notifications for comments
• Aren’t discoverable within Drive Search or suggested files or folders
• Are reviewed by Google for policy violations

Important: You can’t report files or folders that you or members of your organization own.

Mark a file or folder as spam 

1. On your computer, open Drive.
2. Right click on a file or folder in “Shared with me.” 
   • You can also select multiple files or folders: check the box to the left of the file or folder name, then right click.
3. Click Block or report  > Report . 
   • Tip: Another way to report spam is drag one or multiple files or folders into Spam. 
4. Select which type of unwanted content you want to report. You can select whether you want to block a user. 

Tips:

• If an illegal content type is selected, you’re redirected to an overview page for that content type. The page provides more information on how to complete the report. 
• When you click Report or manually move a file or folder into your Spam, Google is notified. 
  • To help protect our users from spam and abuse, Google may analyze the file or folder.
• Once you report spam, the file or folder is moved to Spam and is automatically deleted after 30 days.

Important: If you mark a folder as spam, everything inside it will also be marked as spam.

Unmark a file or folder as spam

If a file or folder has been incorrectly marked as spam, you can remove it from Spam:

1. On your computer, open Drive.
2. Open Spam.
3. Select the file or folder, then at the top, click Not spam.
   • Alternatively, right click on the file or folder and select Not spam. 

Delete files or folders in spam

1. On your computer, open Drive.
2. Open Spam.
3. At the top, select an option:
   • To remove all spam files or folders, click Remove all spam files or folders now.
   • To remove specific spam files or folders, select a file or folder then click Remove forever.

Related Resources

• Report a violation
• Block & unblock people in Google Drive
• Google Drive Terms of Service