Using Google Drive as Progressive Web App

You can now use Google Drive as a Progressive Web App (PWA) for use via desktop or mobile. This facility will give users an alternative to existing access through browsers.

PWAs appear like downgraded apps even though they’re present in a low-down version of your web browser and act as an intermediary between apps and websites; they take up less storage space than regular apps and are much faster to load than browsers.

You can install the Drive PWA on Windows 10, MacOS and Chrome OS using the Chrome browser. Windows 10 users can also intall it via Edge Chromium.

• Open Google Drive in Chrome browser.
• Click the “+” icon in the URL bar adjcent to the bookmark star icon.
• Click “Install” when the popup appears.
• A new Drive app window will appear with the same interface along with a desktop shortcut.

Android users can install Drive PWA by accessing Drive through Chrome app and tapping the Hamburger icon, then click “add to homescreen“; though we recommend you stick with the Android app for ease-of-use.

Unlike other PWAs, certain Drive files will open in a Chrome tab instead of the app (in both desktop and mobile versions).