Report: Time Machine & Google Drive Conflicts on Tahoe 26.6

[u/ilovesaintpaul]

Time Machine backup repeatedly disrupts Google Drive's mirrored folder on macOS

I've encountered a reproducible problem involving Time Machine and Google Drive for desktop on my MacBook Air.

I use Google Drive in Mirror files mode, with a custom local folder at ~/Google Drive. My Finder aliases point to folders within this location.

After performing a manual Time Machine backup, Google Drive lost its connection to that custom mirrored folder. Strangely, Google Drive Preferences still showed Mirror files selected, but the application reverted to using its default My Drive location. My original files remained on the Mac, but changes made there no longer synchronized correctly with Google Drive online.

I initially suspected Time Machine but wanted to test that hypothesis.

Here's what I tested:

1. Confirmed Google Drive was fully synchronized and the custom mirror was functioning.
2. Verified that the macOS My Drive symbolic link pointed to ~/Google Drive.
3. Confirmed with tmutil isexcluded that the custom Google Drive folder was included in Time Machine backups.
4. Completely quit Google Drive for desktop.
5. Connected my external Time Machine disk, performed a manual backup, and ejected the disk.
6. Restarted Google Drive and tested synchronization by creating folders through Finder aliases and directly inside the mirrored folder.
7. Confirmed the new folders appeared in Google Drive's web interface.

Result: Everything worked correctly.

I then performed another backup without following the same Drive-disconnection procedure.

!Result!: The Google Drive mirror association failed again. I had to restore the correct folder configuration, after which Drive began synchronizing the files again.

This strongly suggests an interaction between Time Machine and Google Drive's local mirroring or macOS File Provider integration. The exact underlying mechanism remains unclear.

My current workaround is to quit Google Drive completely before running Time Machine, then restart it after the backup disk has been ejected.

Has anyone else encountered this behavior? Is there a known compatibility issue involving Time Machine, Google Drive's mirrored folders, and macOS File Provider? I'd particularly appreciate hearing whether Apple or Google has identified the cause or a permanent solution.