June 7, 2022

How to Recover a Deleted Google Doc from Google Drive

How to Recover a Deleted Google Doc from Google Drive

Google Drive is a cloud platform that provides its users with 15 GB of free storage to store their data safely. A Google Drive account is created automatically when you create a Gmail account. Google Doc is a widely used platform by Google, which is a big help for many. From files to every important document, it stores all your important information. Not just it, but it also lets you make new files using Doc pages too. But what if you delete the same important file by mistake? How would you recover a deleted Google Doc? If you are someone looking for tips on how to recover a deleted Google doc from Google Drive, we bring a helpful guide that will teach you the same in detail.

How to Recover a Deleted Google Doc from Google Drive

How to Recover a Deleted Google Doc from Google Drive

You can recover the desired Google doc that you might have deleted inadvertently. Read the article till the end to learn how to recover those deleted Google docs from Google Drive and learn more about deleted docs period and location.

Can You Undelete a Doc?

Yes, you can undelete Google Docs within 30 days of deletion. You can visit the Google Drive website and restore the deleted Google doc through Trash, as discussed above. Your file will be restored to the location it was deleted from. However, you can only undelete a doc if the file has been deleted less than 30 days ago. If more than 30 days have passed, you will not be able to undelete any Google Docs. 

Are Deleted Files Gone Forever?

No, the deleted files are not gone forever. You have 30 days to recover those files. If you mistakenly delete any of your files permanently, you can recover them in 2 ways.

  • If your school or organization controls your account, you can ask the admin to recover it, but this can be done within 25 days of deletion. After this period, the files are permanently deleted from the Google system and cannot be recovered.
  • If your account is not controlled by your school or organization, you can contact Google Help, and they will help you recover your files. Remember, you should be the owner of the files.

Also Read: How to Recover Deleted Instagram Account

How Do I Recover a Deleted Google Doc?

The upcoming steps will help you recover the doc you deleted accidentally. Read and follow the steps carefully to understand better.

Note: In case you have deleted any of your important docs from Google Drive, you don’t need to worry, as you can recover them within 30 days of deletion.

1. Visit Google Drive on your desktop browser.

2. Enter your Email or phone in the required field and click on Next.

Enter your Email or phone in the required field and click on Next

3. Now, enter your Password in the required field and click on Next.

enter your Password in the required field and click on Next | How Do I Recover a Deleted Google Doc

4. After logging in, click on Trash in the left pane.

click on Trash in the left pane

5. Right-click on the file you want to restore and click on Restore. Your file will be restored to the location it was deleted from.

Right-click on the file you want to restore and click on Restore

Also Read: How to Create a Hanging Indent in Word and Google Docs

How to Recover Permanently Deleted Google Docs?

If your school or organization manages your Google account, you can contact your admin and ask them for recovery, but remember this also has a limit of 25 days. After this period, the files are deleted from the Google systems. However, you can recover files, but you must be the file or folder owner. Follow the below steps on how to restore permanently deleted files from Google Drive.

1. Go to Google Drive Help to start with recovery.

2. On opening the link, a form will be surfaced.

3. Fill in your First name and Last name in the form.

Fill your name in the form | How Do I Recover a Deleted Google Doc

4. Click on Submit to recover the file.

Click on Submit to recover the file

Also Read: How to Add Table of Contents in Google Docs

How Do I Recover Something I Accidentally Deleted?

You can always recover a deleted Google Doc that you accidentally deleted by recovering/restoring it from Trash. This way, your files will be restored until or unless you do not manually delete all the data from the Trash.

How to Recover Deleted Files from Google Drive Trash?

You can recover the deleted docs from the Google Drive trash within 30 days of the Google Doc deletion period.

1. Open Google Drive and login into your Google account.

2. Click on Trash > Restore.

Right-click on the file you want to restore and click on Restore | How Do I Recover a Deleted Google Doc

The desired Google Doc will appear back in the Google Drive as it was before.

Also Read: 7 Quick Ways to Empty Trash on Android

Where Do Permanently Deleted Files Go?

The permanently deleted files are stored in the Google system for 25 days. If you still want to recover the file, you can contact Google and ask for help regarding file recovery. But, after 25 days, the file is deleted from Google systems and cannot be recovered.

How Long Does Google Drive Keep Permanently Deleted Files?

Permanently deleted files are stored in the Google system for up to 25 days. If the user still wants to recover the file, then they can do so by contacting Google Drive Help.

Google Drive Help page

How Do I Recover Permanently Deleted Files from Google Drive After 30 Days?

If 30 days are crossed after deleting your file, you can do the following things to get your file back:

  • If you are the owner of that account and the deleted file, you can visit the Google Drive File Recovery page to recover your file.
  • If your school or organization controls your account, you can contact your account admin to get your files back, and they will help you recover your files.

Note: This works only if the file has any valid older versions.

1. Open Google Drive.

2. Log in to your Google account using login credentials.

3. Double-click on the desired file to open it.

4. Click on the File option from the menu bar.

Click on File in the menu bar

5. Click on Version history > See version history, as shown.

Note: You can also press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + H keys simultaneously to open the See version history window.

Select the option Version history and then See version history in the sub-menu | How Do I Recover a Deleted Google Doc

6. Click on the original version of the file in the right pane.

Click on the original version of the file in the right pane

7. Then, click on the Restore this version option from the top, as highlighted.

click on the Restore this version button

Also Read: 9 Best Free Data Recovery Software (2022)

Where Do Files Go When Deleted from Shared Google Drive?

These files are moved to the Trash bin in the admin’s console, and only they can recover those files.

What Happens to Google Docs When the Account is Deleted?

If the account is deleted, all the documents created by the account are also deleted, even if they are shared with other users. No data from that account can be recovered later.

How to Recover Google Docs from a Deleted School Account?

If you have deleted your docs permanently, you have to ask the admin of your school account to recover your files within 25 days of deletion. They can do this using their admin console. But if you have not deleted the file permanently, you can easily restore them as follows:

1. Log into Google Drive with school login credentials.

2. Then, open the Trash folder from the left pane.

3. Right-click on the desired file you want to recover. Then, click on Restore to recover the Google Doc to the position from where it was deleted.

Right-click on the file you want to restore and click on Restore | How Do I Recover a Deleted Google Doc

This is how to restore permanently deleted files from Google Drive.

What Happens to a Google Doc When the Owner is Deleted?

Google Doc is terminated if the owner is deleted. All the shared or unshared data files are deleted from the Docs and cannot be recovered. Shared or unshared data is also deleted from the Docs and cannot be recovered when the owner is deleted.

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We hope that you learned how to recover a deleted Google doc from Google Drive account. Feel free to reach out to us with your queries and suggestions via the comments section below. Let us know what you want to learn about next.