Google’s 15GB of free cloud storage provides enough space for your important videos, pictures, documents, and audio. With your Google account, you can access these files from anyinternet-connected smartphone, computer, or tablet. If the free storage is insufficient for your needs, you can get additional space of up to 2TB with a Google One membership subscription, if you don’t mind the cost.
Alternatively, you can maximize the free space with a few simple tricks. Logging in to Google Drive and deleting not-so-important files is one way to declutter your digital environment. That’s why we put together this guide showing you how to remove any document or media from your Google Drive and, if needed, restore them to your account.
What happens when you delete files from Google Drive?
When you delete a Google Drive file, it goes to the trash and remains there for 30 days. You can restore it before the time elapses. Otherwise, it’s deleted permanently. Similarly, if you manually delete a file from the trash, you lose it forever. If you made copies of the file orshared and collaborated on itwith third parties who made copies, you can continue accessing those copies. You can’t retrieve the original one you deleted, and everyone loses access to it.
The process is mostly the same for personal andGoogle Workspace accountswith multiple users. However, Workspace Administrators can recover deleted files within 25 days of the user emptying their trash. This gives organizations a total of 55 days to retrieve deleted files.
you’re able to delete files from within any Google Workspace app since they’re synchronized, and the files are sent to the trash. Files you’re invited to collaborate on appear in the Shared With Me menu and do not go in the trash after deletion because you do not own them. Instead, removing them hides them from your view, preventing you from accessing them. Since shared files are not yours, they don’t take up space in your Drive storage, so you don’t have to touch them.
Meanwhile, if you have old Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Drawings, and certain Google Photos files you created or backed up before July 23, 2025, they don’t add to the storage count if you don’t open or edit them again. On the other hand, files in the trash count toward your storage. So you need to wipe them permanently or move them somewhere else if you need more space.
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How to permanently delete Google Drive files
Google Drive works similarlyon all devices. Deleting files is no exception. However, using your PC’s browser to access the app gives you an expanded view of the menus. The mobile app is ideal for quick actions when you don’t want to turn on your computer. We show the steps on laptops and phones.
Delete Google Drive files permanently on computers
Follow these steps on your computer to permanently remove Google Drive files:
Delete Google Drive files permanently on the mobile app
Follow these steps on your phone to permanently remove Google Drive files:
How to restore deleted Google Drive files
If you accidentally delete a Google Drive file, you can recover it from the trash within 30 days. If you’re the administrator of a Google Workspace Business or Enterprise account, you get an additional 25 days to help participants recover deleted files after their trash is emptied. Depending on the amount of data deleted, the restored files may take some time to appear in the user’s account.
Restore deleted Drive files on Google Workspace accounts
Follow these steps to restore files on a Google Workspace account:
Restore deleted Google Drive files on computers
Follow these steps on your computer to restore files from the trash:
Restore deleted Google Drive files on the mobile app
Follow these steps on your phone to restore files from the trash:
Expand your storage without Google
Permanently deleting your saved files is one way to free up yourGoogle Drive storage space. You could increase the amount of space you have to play with by getting a Google One membership. However, it may cut unnecessary holes in your wallet. A more economical solution is to upload your files to multiplecloud storage platforms, even though that takes away the simplicity of having your data under one roof.
