Sending a PDF to Google Drive is universally easy and varies slightly by device. The trick is what you do *before* uploading — editing, compressing, signing — so the version that lands in Drive is the final one, not a draft.
From desktop
Drag the PDF from Finder or File Explorer onto drive.google.com in your browser. Drive uploads it to whatever folder you have open. Or click + New → File upload.
Alternatively, install Drive for desktop and the file shows up by dragging to the Drive folder in Finder/Explorer.
From mobile
iPhone/iPad: in Files, long-press the PDF → Share → Save to Drive (if Drive app installed) or open Drive app and tap + → Upload. Android: Drive's share sheet integration handles it natively from any app.
Polish before uploading
Big PDF? Compress in Flint first. Saves Drive storage quota and upload time. Need to sign? Sign first, upload the signed version. Need to combine documents? Merge before uploading so Drive has one tidy file instead of five fragments.
FAQ
What's the file size limit for Drive uploads?
Drive allows uploads up to 5 TB per file (yes, terabytes) for paid plans. Free plans have the same per-file limit but smaller storage. For PDFs, you're effectively unlimited.
Will uploaded PDFs be OCR-searchable?
Drive runs OCR on uploaded PDFs automatically — you can search the document text in Drive even for image-only scans. The PDF file itself doesn't change; Drive indexes content separately.
Can I email PDFs straight to Drive?
Not directly, but Gmail's 'Save attachment to Drive' button does the same job. Or forward to a Drive ingestion address if your account is set up for it.
Polish before you upload. Edit, sign, or compress in Flint first.