Prior HCI research (Mazmanian, 2015) noted that cloud synchronization creates “file status ambiguity.” We extend this by studying a virtual drive where most files are never local .

In this mode, your Google Drive files are visible in Explorer, but they aren't actually taking up space on your hard drive until you need them .

Moving beyond the browser-based interface offers several powerful advantages:

: Head to the official Google Drive for Desktop download page and grab the installer.

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