Google Drive is one of the best places to store files in the cloud, but some users have noticed lately that some of their files have mysteriously gone missing.
A trending support thread on Google’s forums sees multiple users reporting that some of their files from recent months have simply disappeared in Google Drive, with months of data missing from the account entirely.
The original post notes that files from May 2023 onward have disappeared, with all changes to files and folders since May having been reverted. Another user says that a spreadsheet on Drive that has been updated since 2016 has deleted all data since 2019, and another user reports similar issues with a spreadsheet used for budgeting.
There are several users on that thread alone seeing the issue, and many note that they have been using Google Drive for Desktop, both on Windows and Mac. This doesn’t seem to be exclusively the case, as several other threads have appeared from users who don’t mention desktop apps, and those affected do mention that the “Activity” section doesn’t show the files that have gone missing. There are also several reports of missing files from users in a thread on Hacker News, but only a handful imply that a desktop app was in use.
Whether this is caused by the desktop app or not, this is more than a frustrating issue for users as personal data is potentially being lost, but Google may be on the case.
Some affected users say that, in speaking to Google support, they’ve been told not to make any changes to the root folder of their Drive.
Update: Google has confirmed this issue is related to Drive’s desktop app and is investigating the problem.
If you’ve been affected by this issue, let us know in the comments below.
More on Google Drive:
- Google Drive redesigns the document scanner on Android
- Google Drive adding new ‘Activity’ feed for comments, requests
- Google Drive on Android tablets now looks even more like the website
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