Third-Party Email Users Can Now Collaborate on Google Docs With Pincode Sharing

Google Docsand similar work-related products have revolutionized both school and workplace, and has drawn people away from the more seriousMicrosoft Office. But these features have been limited to those who use G Suite or Gmail IDs, especially cutting out enterprise users depending on their company’s web domains.

Now, Google is opening its doors for such users and allowingnon-Google users to access Google Docs, Sheets, Slidesstored on a Google Drive account. Currently, this feature is limited toG Suiteusers and to begin using the feature, admins will have tosign up for the betahere.

The feature, BTW, is officially called Pincode Sharing because when you share a link with a non-Google, a numeric pin (or pincode, if you please) will be sent to their e-mail ID as part of a 2-step authentication process. After signing in with the pin, non-Google users will be able to view the document, and here’s an example shown by Google using Yahoo:

Non-Googleusers invited to collaborate will also be able to editthe document and add comments to Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides. Theowner of the file will have absolute controlover the file but G Suiteadmins will be able to manage external sharingand as well as audit usage to track any suspicious activity.

The feature might launch to free Gmail users sometime in next year but currently, there is no information from the company. Google has beenactively pushing Google Onefor paid Google Drive subscriptions and we expect these paid users to get an advantage over the free ones.

By activating this option, Google believes it is mitigating “a significant barrier for collaboration“, and perhaps giving non-Google users a chance to try the service for free and maybe adopt G Suite. That, for sure, is a great way of inviting new users into its ecosystem.

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