If you’ve noticed that some of your Google Drive files have disappeared, you’re not alone. This week, several news websites like Android Authority echoed the mysterious disappearance of files from Google Drive for several app users.
After acknowledging the issue causing files to disappear for users on Google Drive, Google announced an investigation. Now, after extensive investigation, the company has identified the problem and is offering a series of recommendations on what to do until it’s definitively resolved. The Mountain View-based company confirmed the problem is specifically related to the Google Drive desktop app.
Before Google pinpointed the exact issue, several Google Drive users reported their deleted files problem on the company’s support forum.
One South Korean user claimed their Google Drive account had reverted back to May 2023, meaning they couldn’t find anything uploaded or created after that date. The user also stated they never synchronized or shared their files or drive with anyone.
Google states that the issue only affects a limited subgroup of users and mentions that they will send updates as soon as they have more information. While the tech giant continues working on a patch to fix this problem, it offers some suggestions to help users avoid file deletion.
If you don’t want to lose your files, follow these recommendations from Google:
- Do not click on “Disconnect account” within Drive for Desktop.
- Do not delete or move the application’s data folder:
Windows: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Google\DriveFS
macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Google/DriveFS
