A collection is a curated set of your files with a title, description and cover image — a portfolio piece, an album, a package. Collections are what turn private files into something people can browse.
Creating a collection
Open My collections from the navbar and create a new one. In the editor you can:
- set the title, description and cover image;
- add files with the built-in picker, which browses your Drive folders and can search;
- reorder items by dragging.
The three visibility levels
| Level | Who sees it |
|---|---|
| Private (default) | only you — even the direct link is closed to others |
| Unlisted | anyone with the link, but it appears in no listing or search |
| Public | everyone; it shows on your profile and can appear in Explore |
One rule to be aware of: a public collection can only contain public files. If you try to publish a collection that still holds private files, the editor tells you which files need their visibility raised first.
Where collections show up
- Public collections are listed on your profile page and are eligible for Explore's browse and popular listings.
- Unlisted collections behave like a share link: reachable, but never advertised.
- Signed-in visitors can like and comment on your collections; visitors without an account can view but not react.
Collections vs. share links
A share link is for delivering files to specific people. A collection is for presenting files to an audience. They coexist happily: the same file can live in a collection and be shared by link at the same time.