Google Cloud Professional Cloud Developer Practice Test 2025 – Comprehensive All-in-One Guide to Exam Success!

Generating and assigning a Cloud Storage-signed URL for the file is the most effective method for allowing clients to download a file for a specific period of time. A signed URL is essentially a secure, temporary link that grants access to a resource in Google Cloud Storage while allowing you to specify how long the link remains valid.

When you create a signed URL, you can determine the expiration time, after which the URL will no longer be valid, effectively controlling access to the file. This approach is secure, as it does not require the file to be publicly accessible; instead, only users with the signed URL can download the file. This method is particularly advantageous for scenarios involving sensitive data or when you want to limit access to specific users to enhance security.

Sending the file as an email attachment lacks control over the access duration and can introduce management issues regarding file distribution. Creating a temporary Cloud Storage bucket is not a common or efficient solution, as managing and configuring temporary buckets can create additional complexity. Using HTTP cookies for time-limited access would require additional configuration and might not be as straightforward or secure as using a signed URL, which is specifically designed for this purpose in Google Cloud's architecture.