Why this works well
- Zero bandwidth on your end — we fetch and push over our network, not yours
- See the file size before you commit, so you know what's about to land in your Drive
- Optionally convert images on the way (HEIC → JPG, PNG → WebP) — one pipeline, no second site
- Handles multi-gigabyte files — a 4 GB video saves the same way a 4 MB PDF does, with no browser timeout
- Runs in the background — close the tab and we notify you the moment it lands in Drive
- Nothing is stored on our side after the job — the file streams through a worker, it never sits on a disk we keep
How to do it
- Connect Google Drive once (OAuth — we never see your password).
- Paste the public file URL into a new remote upload.
- Pick Google Drive as the destination.
- Start the job — watch live progress in your feed and get notified when it lands.
The manual way vs. SaveToDrive
What actually happens when you paste a link
SaveToDrive hands the link to a background worker on our network. The worker opens a stream to the source URL and pipes those bytes straight into the Google Drive API. The file is never written to a disk we keep, and it never travels through your browser.
Because it's a live stream, the upload into Drive begins while the download from the source is still running, and the file's size is known up front — so you can see what's coming and cancel before it commits. If the source sits behind a login, you can attach Basic Auth or a custom header to the fetch.
What kind of links work
Anything that resolves to a real file over HTTP(S):
- Direct download links — a URL that points at the file itself
- Public share links from hosts like MediaFire and Pixeldrain, which we resolve down to the underlying file
- Pages on ~1,800 supported video and media sites (YouTube, Vimeo and others), saved as an MP4
- Links behind Basic Auth or a custom header, when you supply the credentials
FAQ
Do I need to download the file to my computer first?
No — that's the entire point. Paste the link and our servers fetch it directly into your Drive; your device is never in the data path.
What if the link needs a login or password?
You can attach Basic Auth or custom headers to the request if the source needs them. Plain public links need nothing extra.
Can I convert the file while saving it?
Yes for images — pick an output format (WebP, JPG, PNG, AVIF) and it converts in-flight before landing in Drive.
How large a file can I save this way?
Up to your plan's per-file limit. Because the transfer streams server-side instead of through your browser, size and connection speed on your end stop being a factor — a slow phone can start a 5 GB save and walk away.
Does this work with YouTube or other video links, or only direct file links?
Both. A direct link (one that ends in the file itself) is fetched as-is. For a page on a supported video site, we extract the video and save it as an MP4 — we never pull an audio-only rip. If a page isn't a recognised source and isn't a direct file, it won't save.
Is my Google Drive account safe — do you get my password?
Never. You connect Google Drive through Google's own OAuth screen, which hands us a scoped access token, not your password. You can revoke that token from your Google account at any time, and we only ever write the files you ask us to.