Google Drive is now blocking macOS system files, mistakenly flagging them for a "copyright infringement" violation.
The cloud storage platform of Google is now flagging some of its users for uploading their files from the macOS machines, such as the MacBook, Mac Mini, and iMac.
Google Drive Blocks macOS System Files
Google notifies Mac users that system files from macOS have violated the terms of service of Google Drive, as per a news story by Bleeping Computer.
An email from Google Drive Safety further explains that the file that carries the name "_DS_store" violated the Copyright Infringement policy of the cloud storage service of the tech giant.
That said, the notice email says that "some features related to this file may have been restricted."
It is worth noting that the same notice from Google Drive Safety previously accused files that contained merely the number 0 or the number 1 for also violating its Copyright Infringement policies.
Some Google Drive users back then were taken by surprise with the notice as the text file that was flagged down by the cloud service was a harmless document that only had a number in it.
The detection algorithm of Google Drive has been mistakenly ruling out these nearly empty text files in violation of its terms of service.
Google has since acknowledged and corrected the false flagging for files containing "1" and "0"
This time around, the same issue is flagging down the macOS system file entitled "_DS_STore."
Bleeping Computer said in the same report that "a possible hash-collision between copyrighted files and benign fields sharing the same hash can trigger false violations."
Apple's macOS System File
According to a recent report by iPhone in Canada, the DS_Store system file from macOS is actually a harmless metadata file, which is automatically created when users are copying a folder or an archived file, including ZIP or RAR file types, to Windows.
The file "DS_Store" is created by the Finder application of macOS to store various information from files, such as icons, locations, and tons of basic details.
However, long-time Mac users might not have heard of this system file as it is hidden by default when using the Finder app.
That said, a normal user would not have stumbled upon a file named "DS_Store."
However, third-party storages, such as Google Drive, do not hide the macOS system files. Thus, when Mac users transfer their files on cloud storages, they might encounter such hidden files.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Teejay Boris
