Setting access expiration dates is one of the many “hidden” or frequently overlooked features of Google Documents. This is a feature you can use when you want to share a Google Document with a person or group of people for a limited time. By setting an expiration date you can grant access for as little as an hour or as much as a year. In the short video that is embedded below I demonstrate how to set expiration dates for Google Docs. 

Video – How to Set Access Expiration Dates for Shared Google Docs

Much like you can set expiration dates for individual Google Documents, you can share your Google Drive folders and individual files for set durations of time. Watch How to Set Expiration Dates for Google Drive Folders & Files to learn how to place time limits on your sharing settings.

Applications for Education

Setting expiration dates for shared documents is helpful when you want to encourage your students to review a document before a specific time. It’s also helpful when you want to publish something like a syllabus, but you don’t want to have it published and live on the web indefinitely.