Why are ._ files being created when uploading files from an ExFAT drive to Google Drive?

I’m encountering an issue when uploading files from an external hard drive formatted as ExFAT. For every file I upload through **Google Chrome**, a second file with the same name is created, prefixed with ._ and with a size of 4KB. **Here’s the key detail:** The ._ files are not visible on the external drive before the upload (I have enabled hidden files visibility to check this). They only appear after the files are uploaded. **My understanding so far:** I know that macOS creates ._ files to store metadata (like resource forks or Finder attributes) on file systems that don’t natively support macOS metadata, such as ExFAT. However, in this case, I am not copying these metadata files manually, and they don’t seem to exist on the drive before the upload process starts. **My question:** Why are these ._ files being created during the upload process if they are not visible nor selected beforehand on the drive? **Additional context:** - My external drive is formatted as ExFAT for compatibility with both macOS and Windows. The files being uploaded do not seem to have any special Finder attributes, tags, or custom icons (at least as far as I can tell). - When I upload files to Google Drive using Google Chrome, either by dragging them from a Finder window to the drop area in the browser or by using the "+ New > Folder upload" option in the Google Drive web interface, a second file with the same name is automatically created for each uploaded file. These additional files are prefixed with ._ and have a size of 4KB. I’d appreciate any insights into why this might happen and practical steps to resolve or prevent it!