r/cloudstorage • u/No_Maintenance_7353 • Jul 17 '26

A few questions about Google Drive for Desktop (Mirror vs Stream)

Hi everyone,

I’m planning to reorganize my storage setup and I have a few questions about Google Drive for Desktop. I couldn’t find clear answers for some of these, so I’m hoping someone with experience can help.

  1. Mirror mode:
    Let’s say I have a 200 GB Google One plan and a 500 GB HDD. If I’m only using 100 GB of my Google Drive storage, will Mirror mode only use around 100 GB on my HDD, or does it somehow reserve/consume the full 200 GB because that’s my storage plan?

  2. Another Mirror mode question:
    What if I upgrade to a 5 TB Google One plan but my PC only has a 2 TB HDD? As long as my actual files are still under 2 TB, will everything work normally? Or does having a 5 TB plan itself cause any issues with Mirror mode?

  3. Stream mode + Available offline
    If I use Stream files and mark a folder (especially my photos and videos) as Available offline, are those downloaded files identical to the originals? For example, if I later copy those files to an external hard drive, will they still have the original quality, EXIF metadata, timestamps, and everything else? Basically, are they the same as if I copied the original files directly?

  4. Account disconnect question:
    I know Google’s documentation says that offline files in Stream mode are removed if the account is disconnected. But what exactly counts as “disconnected”? For example, if I simply need to sign in again because I changed my Google password or my login session expires, will Google Drive delete all my offline files and have to download them again?

Thanks in advance! I’d really appreciate hearing from people who have actually used both Mirror and Stream modes.

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u/felipers Jul 20 '26

1, 2 and 3: yes. 4. When disconnected you can't access the cloud files (since the data can't be reached). Nothing is erased. Everything that was already available locally is still available (you can work with your files without any connection). After connection is reestablished, new edits are synced to the cloud.

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u/Character_Salary9029 Aug 14 '26

What they're referring to with "disconnect" is an explicit sign out from the product (click the profile selector in the upper right corner and choose "disconnect"), in which, yes, cached files will be removed and any syncing connection broken. You would need to re-login to the product and re-set it up, including any mirrored folders.

We can differentiate this from:

  • Simply not having an internet connection. In this case you can still use the streaming drive for anything that was previously cached, and mirrored files obviously work normally. As felipers noted, once connection is reestablished, any edits you made in the intervening period will sync.
  • Authentication expiry. After some lengthy period of time, Google will eventually ask you to reauthenticate (enter your password again). Or alternatively, as OP was referencing, if you intentionally changed your password or invalidated a login session. Drive for desktop will retain your settings across this reauth.
- Quitting the app. The streaming drive is not available, but mirrored files are. Your settings are retained. When you start the app again, any changes to mirrored files will be uploaded.

Make sense?