Google-drive – Do a user’s access permissions to a document change if they are removed from the Google Group

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If we have a Google Document and share it with a Google Group, then remove 1 user from that Google Group, will the user who was removed still have access to the Google Document (either as a copy shared only with them as of how it was last before they where removed from the group) or at all?

Best Answer

I tested the following using 2 unique Gmail accounts:

  1. User Alice created a Google Group and invited User Bob to join.
  2. Alice created a Google Doc and wrote text.
  3. Alice shared the Google Doc with the Google Group via the group email address GROUP_NAME@googlegroups.com.
  4. Bob could view everything written so far and can edit the document.
  5. Alice then removed Bob from the Google Group.
  6. Bob could temporarily view and edit updates to the Google Doc but then received an error message shortly saying the permissions changed and he no longer had access.
  7. Alice would see a user named "Anonymous Dolphin" viewing the document at the same time as her.
  8. Once Bob reloaded his page, he could no longer access the page and it was gone from his list of documents on his Google Doc dashboard. Alice no longer saw the user "Anonymous Dolphin" viewing the document.

Luckily Bob saved a personal copy of Alice's Google Doc before being removed from the Google Group :)

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