Drive Trash, File Restore, and Recovery

Drive doesn't immediately destroy what you delete. Files and folders go to Trash first, where they stay for 30 days before being permanently removed. During those 30 days you can restore anything with one click. After, they're gone.

This guide covers how Trash works, what it costs you in storage, and how to handle the edge cases.

How Trash works

When you delete a file or folder in any Drive view (Account Drive in the dashboard, or webmail Drive), the item is moved to Trash. It disappears from its original location and shows up in the Trash view.

A few things happen as part of the move:

• The item is marked as deleted with a timestamp.
• It stops appearing in normal browse views.
• It stops appearing in search results.
• Public share links pointing at the file return the "not available" page.
• Its bytes still count against your storage pool.
• A 30-day clock starts running.

After 30 days, if you haven't restored the item or emptied Trash, the file is permanently removed. The bytes are released back to the pool, the database row is deleted, and the underlying object is removed from storage. There is no recovery beyond that point.

Finding Trash

In Account Drive (dashboard at /drive), there's a Trash link in the sidebar. Click it to see all trashed items.

In webmail Drive, look for the Trash entry in the Drive sidebar. Same view.

The Trash list shows:

• File or folder name
• Size (or item count for folders)
• When it was deleted
• Days remaining before permanent removal
• A Restore button per row
• A Delete forever button per row

Restoring an item

Click Restore next to any item. It returns to its original location when that location is still available. If the original parent folder is also in Trash, restore that folder first; a restored folder whose parent is unavailable returns at the top level so it remains visible.

Folders restore recursively, restoring a top-level folder brings every subfolder and file with it, in their original structure.

There's no time limit on restoration during the 30-day window. A file deleted on day 1 and restored on day 29 looks identical to a file deleted on day 1 and restored on day 2.

Permanently deleting a single item

Click Delete forever next to a row to remove just that item from Trash immediately, ahead of the 30-day timer. This is useful when:

• You've confirmed you don't need the file.
• You're at your storage cap and need bytes back right now.
• You deleted something sensitive and want it gone for sure.

Permanent delete is immediate and unrecoverable. We don't keep a hidden backup. If you delete forever, the file is gone.

Emptying Trash

The Trash page has an Empty trash button at the top. Click it and (after a confirmation prompt) every item in Trash is permanently deleted. Bytes are released to the pool right away.

Emptying Trash is usually the right move when:

• You're freeing up storage urgently.
• You've reviewed the list and confirmed nothing in it is needed.
• You're about to take a big action (run a backup, hand over to a successor) and want a clean state.

It's not reversible. Items in Trash that you might still need should be restored before you empty.

What counts against the pool

This is the most-asked question, so let's be explicit.

Trashed items still count against your storage pool for the full 30 days they're in Trash. We're not pretending they're gone for accounting purposes. They really are still on disk, recoverable.

If you're at your storage cap and you delete a 5 GB file expecting the bytes to free up immediately, they don't. The 5 GB stays consumed until either:

• 30 days pass and the file is auto-removed.
• You manually permanently delete the file (or empty Trash).

If you need the bytes back urgently, empty Trash. There's no in-between option that "releases the bytes but keeps the file recoverable."

Trash and shared folders

This is the one wrinkle worth knowing.

In Account Drive, when the account owner deletes a shared folder, two things happen:

• The folder goes to Account Drive's Trash.
• Mailbox owners stop seeing it in their webmail Drive, the share is paused.

If the owner restores the folder within 30 days, the share reactivates automatically. The owner doesn't need to re-toggle "Share with account."

If 30 days pass and the folder is auto-removed, the share is gone with it. Same if the owner empties Trash.

Inside webmail Drive, when a mailbox owner deletes a file from a shared folder (not their personal folder), that file goes to the account-wide Trash, not the mailbox owner's personal Trash. Only the account owner can restore it from there.

This split is intentional. Files in shared folders are part of the company's resources, so the company (the account owner) is responsible for what happens after they're deleted.

Trash and download links

If a file with active public download links is moved to Trash, the links stop working immediately. The next request gets the "no longer available" page.

Restoring the file does not reactivate the old links. Create a new link if you need to share the restored file again.

If 30 days pass and the file is auto-removed, the links are dead permanently. Same if you permanently delete the file from Trash.

This matters when you're sending a file to a client and then accidentally delete it. Restore the file from Trash within 30 days, then create and send a new link. The old link remains revoked.

Trash retention period

The retention window is 30 days. It's long enough to handle "I deleted the wrong file last week" recovery, short enough to keep the platform from accumulating dead files indefinitely.

If you need a file kept for longer but don't want it in your active Drive view, the right pattern is to move it to a dedicated "Archive" folder rather than rely on Trash as cold storage.

Behaviour at the storage cap

If your pool is full and Trash contains 50 GB of stuff you don't need, the cleanest fix is empty Trash. Bytes release back to the pool immediately and uploads resume.

If you might still need the items in Trash, add capacity with the Drive Add-on rather than deleting them permanently. Check the billing screen for the current purchase and activation status.

When the shared storage pool is full, Drive uploads are blocked and new incoming mail can also be rejected. Clear capacity before waiting for an important message.

Reviewing what was deleted

Trash is designed for recovery rather than a full audit history. Use the item name and deletion time to locate a recent removal, then check your account activity or ask the account owner if you need to investigate who made the change.

Common scenarios

"I deleted a file two weeks ago and now I need it back." Open Trash, find the file (sort by deletion date if the list is long), click Restore. Done, file goes back to its original folder.

"I emptied Trash by accident." Empty Trash is permanent. We do not have a backup beyond the 30-day in-Trash window. The file is gone unless you have a copy elsewhere (your local disk, a separate backup, a forwarded email).

"I'm at the storage cap and Drive uploads are failing." Empty Trash if you have items in there you don't need. Failing that, delete large files manually then empty Trash. Failing that, upgrade your storage.

"A file I'm sharing publicly suddenly stopped downloading." Check whether the file is in Trash. Either you or someone else with access may have deleted it. Restore the file if needed, then create a new public link.

"I want to permanently delete a sensitive file right now, not wait 30 days." Delete the file (it goes to Trash), then in Trash click Delete forever on that one item. Gone in seconds.

What's next

• Bulk File Operations, restoring or permanently deleting many trashed items at once.
• Pooled Storage Quotas Explained, what counts against your pool, including Trash.
• Public Share Links, what happens to links when files are trashed and restored.