Methods to Recover Deleted Files from Google Drive
Read time 6 minutes
Google Drive is a storage facility provided by Google and can be accessed from computers, Android devices, or even iPhone/iPad units using a Google account. It has numerous benefits for individual users as well as professional users because it allows the users to organize their data efficiently and collaborate with others. It saves you from spending your money on third-party cloud storage. If you have taken the G Suite subscription, then the storage will be unlimited.
However, when the number of files and folders increases, there are chances of human errors like an unwanted deletion or faulty over-write. In such cases, you should be aware of the restore procedure for the deleted files in Google Drive. In the present article, we will discuss multiple methods using Google features to recover deleted files from Google Drive.
How to Recover Deleted Files from Google Drive?
The possibility of the recovery of deleted Google Drive data depends on whether you had taken a backup earlier or not. A backup file assures you that the data will be available even when the original files are deleted somehow.
If you have taken a backup, you can use the backup file to restore the deleted data quickly. But, if the backup file is not there to assist you, you need to use the available manual method to restore the data.
Recover Deleted Files from Trash
The deleted files are not lost instantly, but they are moved to the Trash folder within Google Drive, where they will be kept for 30 days. After the completion of 30 days, the files will be deleted permanently. If you also have some files that are deleted accidentally, then you should search in Trash.
On the Web
- Login to www.drive.google.com
- On the left-hand side, go to Trash and open it. You will see all the deleted items and a message that ‘Items in the trash are deleted forever after 30 days.’
- Choose such an item that was deleted accidentally and right-click on it. Then choose the Restore option.
Using the Backup & Sync feature
The Backup & Sync tool of Google is used to synchronize Google data to the computer. You can easily access the data, modify it, and be synchronized automatically with the online account.
- You can see the Google Drive data on your computer.
- If the files are deleted abruptly, then you can find them in the Recycle Bin folder easily. Here, you can restore them to the respective Google Drive folder.
- The Backup & Sync tool remains active for the Google Drive data, and whenever a file is deleted, it gives the notification that you deleted a file and asks if you should restore it. There is the direct option to Restore All, and you can click it.
Using Android Device
The Android device has a Drive application related to the Google Account; you can save, modify, or delete the items here. If any data was deleted due to some random click on your Android device, then you can restore the data here also.
- On your Android device, go to the Drive application.
- After opening the Drive, go to the Bin folder of the Drive.
- Choose such items that were deleted accidentally and then click the three dots against them. Then click the Restore option.
The files will be restored to the Google Drive folder.
Limitation of Manual Approaches
All the manual approaches to recover deleted files from Google Drive are dependent on the fact that they should be present in the Recycle Bin or Trash. Also, after the expiry of 30 days, the files will be deleted permanently, and you cannot recover them using any method.
For the G Suite users, when the files are deleted permanently, they can contact the Google Support team and to get help in retrieving the files.
Conclusion
For the security of your professional data saved in the Google Drive application of your G Suite account, you should take the backup of the data at regular intervals. For your assistance, you can use Kernel Google Drive Backup software to take unlimited back up. You can save the data in multiple formats and keep them in any suitable location. There are advanced features and filters present in the tool that will assure the security of the G Suite account and protect multiple types of data like Gmail emails, Contacts, Hangouts messages, etc.
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