Google Drive Permission Changes - Dropbox to Google Workspace

Permission Migration Watchpoints

Important Change — Effective Mid-February 2026
Google Drive has changed how permissions work. Folders that were previously hidden from certain users in Dropbox will now appear greyed out in Google Drive. Users still cannot access the content — only the visibility has changed.

What's Changing?

When migrating from Dropbox (User accounts and Team Spaces) to Google Drive, you may notice that some folders appear differently than in the source.

Key Point: This is a Google platform change, not a CloudM limitation. Google has redesigned how restricted folders work based on user feedback that hidden folders caused confusion.

The Change Explained

Example 1: Member Removed from Shared Folder

This example shows what happens when a user is a member of a parent shared folder but has been removed from a child shared folder.

Scenario

User A shares the /Project Alpha/ folder with User B and User C as Editors. User A then removes User B from the /Project Alpha/Legal/ subfolder.

Source (Dropbox)

/Project Alpha/ (User B: Editor, User C: Editor)
  /Designs/ (User B: Editor, User C: Editor)
  /Legal/ (User B: Removed, User C: Editor)

User B sees: "Project Alpha" and "Designs" folders only.
"Legal" folder is completely hidden from User B.

Target (Google Drive)

/Project Alpha/ (User B: Editor, User C: Editor)
  /Designs/ (User B: Editor, User C: Editor)
  /Legal/ [GREYED OUT] (User B: No Access, User C: Editor)

User B sees: All three folders.
"Legal" appears greyed out and cannot be opened by User B.

What this means: User B will now see that a "Legal" folder exists, but they still cannot access it. The folder name is visible, but the contents remain private to User C.

Example 2: Restricted Folder in Full Access Team Space

This example shows what happens when a folder within a "Full Access" Team Space is restricted to a subset of members.

Scenario

The Marketing Team Space is configured as "Full Access" with three members: User A, User B, and User C. The /Q4_Budgets/ folder is restricted to User A and User C only — User B is blocked.

Source (Dropbox)

/Marketing/ [Team Space - Full Access]
  /Campaigns/ (All members: Editor)
  /Q4_Budgets/ (User B: Blocked, User A & User C: Editor)
  /Assets/ (All members: Editor)

User B sees: Marketing root, Campaigns, and Assets folders.
"Q4_Budgets" folder is completely hidden from User B.

Target (Google Drive)

/Marketing/ (Marketing Group: Editor)
  /Campaigns/ (Marketing Group: Editor)
  /Q4_Budgets/ [GREYED OUT] (User B: No Access, User A & User C: Editor)
  /Assets/ (Marketing Group: Editor)

User B sees: All four folders.
"Q4_Budgets" appears greyed out and cannot be opened by User B.

What this means: All Marketing team members will see the folder structure, but User B cannot access Q4_Budgets. The folder name is visible, maintaining organisational context while preserving access restrictions.

Example 3: Restricted File (Wrapper Folder)

When a specific file has different permissions than its parent folder, a wrapper folder is created to contain it.

Scenario

User B has Editor access to the /Documents/ shared folder, but has been removed from access to the salary.xlsx file.

Source (Dropbox)

/Documents/ (User B: Editor)
  /report.docx (User B: Editor)
  /salary.xlsx (User B: Removed)

User B sees: Documents folder and report.docx only.
salary.xlsx is hidden.

Target (Google Drive)

/Documents/ (User B: Editor)
  /report.docx (User B: Editor)
  /_salary.xlsx/ [GREYED OUT] (User B: No Access)
      /salary.xlsx

User B sees: Documents folder, report.docx, and a greyed-out wrapper folder.
The wrapper folder name reveals the file name.

Why wrapper folders? Google Drive no longer allows files to have more restrictive permissions than their parent folder. The wrapper folder is created to enforce the restriction while keeping the file in its logical location.

Example 4: Limited Access Team Space (No Change)

Some Dropbox configurations migrate without any visible change.

Scenario

The Client Projects Team Space is configured as "Limited Access" — members can only see folders they are explicitly added to. User A has access to /Client_A/ and /Client_B/. User B has access only to /Client_B/.

Source (Dropbox)

/Client Projects/ [Team Space - Limited Access]
  /Client_A/ (User A: Editor)
  /Client_B/ (User A: Editor, User B: Editor)

User A sees: Client_A and Client_B folders.
User B sees: Client_B folder only.

Target (Google Drive)

/Client Projects/
  /Client_A/ (User A: Editor)
  /Client_B/ (User A: Editor, User B: Editor)

User A sees: Client_A and Client_B folders.
User B sees: Client_B folder only.
(No greyed-out folders — permissions were already direct shares)

Why no change? In a Limited Access Team Space, Dropbox already uses direct shares rather than inheritance. This aligns with Google's permission model, so no transformation is needed.

Scenarios With No Change

Many permission structures migrate without any visible change:

Shared Drive Considerations

If your migration destination is a Shared Drive, there are additional considerations beyond the visibility changes described above.

Manager Visibility

Users with the Manager role (organizers) on a Shared Drive will always see Limited Access folders as greyed out. This is Google platform behaviour and cannot be changed. Regular members (Content Managers, Contributors, Viewers) will see restricted folders as greyed out and cannot access them.

Permission Placement Settings

When migrating to a Shared Drive, CloudM Migrate provides two settings that control where permissions are applied:

How Each Option Works

Recommended Configuration

For most Dropbox migrations to Shared Drives, we recommend Folder for folder permissions and File for file permissions. This produces the most accurate permission mapping — each item's access matches the source.

Use Root only when the top-level folder's permissions represent the access level you want users to have across the entire Shared Drive. Be aware that root-level permissions cascade to all content — a user with Viewer access at the root will have Viewer access to every folder and file in the drive.

Note: The examples in this document show permissions applied to individual folders and files, which reflects the Folder / File setting. With the Root setting, top-level permissions cascade to the entire drive, so users will have at minimum the access level of the top-level folder on all items.

Pre-Migration Recommendations

To minimise unexpected visibility changes, consider these steps before migration:

1. Review Sensitive Folder Names

Folders with restricted access will be visible (greyed out) after migration. If any folder names contain sensitive information, consider renaming them before migration.

Examples of potentially sensitive folder names:

• Redundancy Plans 2026 — Consider renaming to HR-Confidential-001
• Salary Reviews - Marketing — Consider renaming to Finance-Restricted
• Legal - Acquisition Target — Consider renaming to Legal-Confidential

2. Review Team Space Restrictions

Audit your Team Spaces to identify folders that are restricted to a subset of members. Members who were previously blocked from seeing these folders will now see them greyed out.

3. Consider Team Space Type

If privacy is a concern, consider whether "Limited Access" Team Spaces are more appropriate than "Full Access" spaces with restricted subfolders. Limited Access spaces migrate more cleanly as they already use direct shares.

4. Simplify Permission Structures (Optional)

If possible, restructure content so that restricted items are in separate top-level folders rather than nested within shared folders.

5. Communicate with End Users

Inform users that they may see greyed-out folders after migration. Emphasise that:

• They still cannot access the content
• This is Google's intended design
• The folder structure is preserved for easier navigation

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can users access the greyed-out folders?
A: No. Greyed-out folders indicate "Limited Access" — users can see the folder exists but cannot open it, view its contents, or access any files within it. The access restriction is fully enforced.

Q: Why can users now see folder names they couldn't see before?
A: This is a Google design decision based on user research. Google found that completely hidden folders caused confusion — users didn't understand why some colleagues could see items they couldn't. Making restricted folders visible (but greyed out) provides clarity about the folder structure while maintaining security.

Q: Can we hide the greyed-out folders?
A: No. Google's new permission model does not support hiding folders from users who have access to the parent. This is a platform-level change that affects all Google Drive usage, not just migrations.

Q: What is a "wrapper folder" for files?
A: Google Drive now requires files to have the same or more permissive access than their parent folder. When a file has more restrictive permissions, we create a wrapper folder (named after the file) to contain it. This wrapper folder is set to "Limited Access" and appears greyed out to excluded users.

Q: Will this affect my migration timeline?
A: Migrations with complex permission structures may take slightly longer due to the additional processing required. However, this approach (Limited Access) has the lowest performance impact compared to alternative methods.

Q: What about Dropbox Paper documents?
A: Paper documents follow the same permission transformation rules. If a Paper document has restrictive permissions, it will be placed in a wrapper folder that appears greyed out to excluded users.

Q: How are Team Spaces handled?
A: Full Access Team Spaces are migrated with group permissions at the root level. Any restricted folders within the space will have Limited Access applied. Limited Access Team Spaces already use direct shares, so they typically migrate without transformation.

Q: What happens if a folder has multiple levels of restriction?
A: Each level of restriction is handled independently. If a parent folder is restricted and a child folder within it is further restricted to a smaller subset, Limited Access is applied at each level. Users will see the appropriate greyed-out folders based on their individual access.

Summary