Deleted the wrong email or file? It can usually be recovered, as long as you act within days rather than months. This guide covers Microsoft 365 (Outlook, OneDrive and SharePoint) and Google Workspace (Gmail and Google Drive).
First: stop and don’t keep “cleaning up”
Don’t empty the trash or recycle bin, and don’t keep deleting while you look. Each step below is a safety net with a time limit, and emptying a bin moves things closer to gone for good. If a lot disappeared at once, or files suddenly have strange names, call your IT contact first: that can be a sign of ransomware, not a mistake.
Outlook (Microsoft 365)
- Open the Deleted Items folder. If the email is there, right-click it and choose Move > Inbox (or drag it back).
- Not there? While in Deleted Items, click Recover items deleted from this folder (at the top of the folder in Outlook on the web and new Outlook; on the Folder tab in classic Outlook).
- Select the email and click Restore. It goes back to Deleted Items or its original folder.
That second safety net keeps items for 14 days by default, and your admin can raise it to 30. After that, only a separate backup can bring them back.
OneDrive and SharePoint (Microsoft 365)
- One file or folder: go to OneDrive (or the SharePoint site) in your web browser, click Recycle bin in the left menu, select the item and click Restore.
- Not in the recycle bin? Scroll to the bottom of the recycle bin and click Second-stage recycle bin. Items stay in the two bins for up to 93 days in total.
- Lots of files deleted or damaged at once: in OneDrive on the web, click the Settings gear > OneDrive settings > Restore your OneDrive, then pick a date and time before the problem. You can go back up to 30 days.
- An earlier version of a file: right-click the file and choose Version history, then restore the version you want.
Gmail (Google Workspace)
- In the left menu, click More (if needed) and open Trash.
- Open the email, click the Move to icon and choose Inbox.
Emails stay in Trash for 30 days. After that, or if Trash was emptied, your Google Workspace admin can often still restore it for a short time: in the Admin console, open the user and choose Restore data. That works for about 25 days after the email left Trash.
Google Drive (Google Workspace)
- One file or folder: in Drive, click Trash in the left menu, right-click the item and choose Restore. Items stay in Trash for 30 days.
- An earlier version: for Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, open the file and choose File > Version history > See version history. For other files (PDFs, Word files), right-click in Drive and choose File information > Manage versions.
- Gone from Trash? Your admin can restore Drive files the same way as Gmail (Restore data for the user), for about 25 days after they were removed from Trash.
When the built-in options run out
Microsoft and Google keep deleted items for a limited time, not forever. If something was deleted months ago, or someone emptied every bin, only a separate backup can bring it back. That’s what backup is for: see Does Microsoft 365 back up your email and files?
Related
- Does Microsoft 365 back up your email and files?
- Managed cloud backup
- Share files with clients securely from OneDrive
More guides
- Is this email safe? The 60-second check (Outlook and Gmail)
- Microsoft 365 admin: add staff, reset passwords and offboard someone who leaves
- Microsoft 365 Copilot: what it does, where to find it, and how to use it safely
- Set up Microsoft Authenticator and Outlook on your phone (iPhone and Android)
- How to check your email's SPF, DKIM and DMARC records (and what the results mean)
- How to send an encrypted email in Outlook (Microsoft 365)
- How to open an encrypted email sent from Microsoft 365 (Outlook)
- What goes in a WISP: a checklist for small tax offices
- Share files with clients securely from OneDrive (expiring links, no attachments)
- Hand over HOA or office email when a board member or manager changes
- How to spot and report a phishing email in Outlook
- Turn on 2-step verification in Google Workspace (and keep your backup codes)
- Google Workspace admin: add staff and offboard someone who leaves
- Share files with clients securely from Google Drive
Microsoft and Google change their menus from time to time, so a button may have moved. These guides are general information for small businesses; check with your IT provider before changing settings that affect everyone.