Skip to main content

A Google Docs glitch is locking people out of their files for ‘Terms of Service’ violations

google doc glitch
Image used with permission by copyright holder
The popular word processing service has been locking users out of accessing their own files within Google Drive. As Motherboard reported, a large number of people have already reached out to the Google Docs Twitter account about the bug.

The apparent Google Docs glitch has been randomly giving users the following error when the flagged Doc is currently in use — “This item has been flagged as inappropriate and can no longer be shared.” Secondly, when blocked out of a particular file, users have been getting this message: “You can’t access this item because it is in violation of our Terms of Service.” Neither are particularly comforting for those who are already concerned over internet privacy and the massive amount of information that is stored in the cloud.

Recommended Videos

The Google Docs Twitter account has been responding to the flood of tweets with the same message:

While the problem seems to only be some kind of a glitch, it does bring up some problematic questions about whether or not Google is reading users’ private files. Google does have a Privacy Policy, but it does not specifically mention anything about policies surrounding Google Drive, and whether or not private documents are being reviewed or scanned to meet the mentioned Terms of Service.

According to the Privacy Policy, Google uses the information it collects to “provide, maintain, protect and improve them, to develop new ones, and to protect Google and our users.”

Google has been scanning its users’ email for ad personalization for years now, which is something people seem to have accepted at this point. However, Google announced earlier this year that it would be halting ad personalization, and giving users the ability to choose how ads appear in Gmail. In other words, Google still reads your email, but for a reason other than giving you personalized ads.

As the tweet states above, Google seems to be looking into the issue, and will probably have it worked out soon enough. As for the larger issue of how and why Google is reading your documents — that’s another question that we all need clarification from Google about.

Luke Larsen
Luke Larsen is the Senior Editor of Computing, managing all content covering laptops, monitors, PC hardware, Macs, and more.
Google Drive vs. Dropbox: which is best in 2024?
Google Drive in Chrome on a MacBook.

Google Drive and Dropbox are two of the most popular cloud storage providers, if not some of the best. They offer a range of exciting features, from secure file storage and transfer, to free storage, file syncing, extensions, chat-app integration, and more. But while they might go toe to toe on some cloud storage specifications, there are others where one is the clear winner. The question is, which one is the best in 2024?

Let's take a close look at Google Drive and Dropbox to see how their latest head to head turns out.
Google Drive wins the free storage battle
Both Dropbox and Google Drive offer free storage space for those who would like to try out their respective services before putting down a few dollars a month for something more expansive and permanent. Google Drive comes standard, with 15GB of free space, far more than Dropbox's initial free storage offering of just 2GB.

Read more
How to save your data from Google’s purge of inactive accounts
The Google "G" logo on an Android phone.

Google is about to begin deleting inactive Google accounts, which could mean you’re about to lose photos, documents, and other data that you actually want to keep.

The good news is that there’s a way you can safely hold onto everything, but you’ll need to take action this week to be sure.

Read more
Watch out: Google Drive may have lost months of data
Google Drive in Chrome on a MacBook.

If you're using Google Drive to back up your files, you may need to make sure everything's in order -- and perhaps even back those files up again somewhere else. While cloud storage is typically considered to be one of the safer methods of storing data, several users have reported that Google Drive may have misplaced their files. In some cases, the data loss goes as far back as May 2023. Here's what we know, and how you can protect yourself.

Over the last few days, multiple complaints started cropping up on the Google Support forums. It appears that Google has a pretty worrying problem on its hands, and it was first reported by user Yeonjoong. Files are suddenly vanishing for some users, with seemingly no way to get them back. The user said that their drive seems to have gone back in time to May 2023, including files and folder structure.

Read more