How to Restore Google Drive Data Deleted by a Google Workspace User

Quick and easy-to-follow guide for Google Workspace administrators

When a user removes a file or folder they own from Google Drive, it goes to Trash. It can stay there for up to 30 days before it gets permanently deleted.

When you can recover permanently deleted Google Drive files and folders

After permanent deletion from Google Drive, you have up to 25 days to restore the data using your admin settings.
After 25 days pass, data gets permanently removed from Google servers, and not even their support team can help you get it back.

Other ways for Google Workspace admins to restore deleted Google Drive data

There is an exception to this scenario with Google Vault.
You can set Google Vault up to retain deleted Google Drive data for as long as you need.

How to recover permanently deleted Google Drive files and folders step-by-step with images

Step 1

In the Admin console https://admin.google.com, click the Users icon or click Manage next to it.

Step 2

Hover over the user and click More to the right, then select Restore data.

Alternatively, if you have too many users to scroll through the Users list, just type the user’s name or email in the search on top. Then click the suggested result to find the user whose data you want to restore.

Click RESTORE DATA on the top left.

Step 3

Select the Date range and set Drive as the Application, and click RESTORE.

Drive data gets restored to the user’s Drive to its original location. For now, there is no option to choose specific things to restore; it’s all or nothing – you will bring back everything removed from Drive in the time range you specify. If you’re interested in being more specific about what you want to restore, you can check our recommended backup services – some of them provide this feature.

Restored Drive data’s sharing permissions

Sharing permissions don’t get restored to their original state. Restored files and folders need to be re-shared with others.

How long it can take for data to be restored

Restored data usually comes back within about an hour. However, if you try restoring lots of data, it may take up to several days for everything to reappear in the user’s account.