Google Drive files are going missing for some desktop users

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Google Drive is one of the most popular cloud storage services used by millions. But it’s not absolute. Unfortunately, hundreds of users are reporting bad experiences with Google Drive and stored files.

According to a report by 9to5Google, Google Support forums have piled up with several reports from users who have recently experienced missing files in Drive.

The original complaint stated the user’s Google Drive cloud storage was missing files going back several months. The drive only shows files dated until May 2023. 

However, the issue doesn’t end here. After digging further, it was discovered that “activity doesn’t show any changes” and “No files were deleted manually,” so no point in snooping around the “Trash” folder.

Google Drive storage issues are spreading like wildfire

Similarly, another user is having trouble with their Google Sheets file. According to the user, the saved Google Sheets file was created in 2016 and contained four years of information. 

Unfortunately, the cloud storage problems are only showing data until 2019 in this case. 

Google Drive even has the file’s version history wrong, stating the last recorded date as January 2019 and showing the user is observing its “current version.” 

Again, this isn’t the end. There are reports from numerous users about missing files and data. While the issue has set back some users a few years, it’s a few months for others. 

That said, Google has responded to the issue officially, starting the issue impacts a “limited subset of Drive for desktop users.”

Google’s official steps of caution, as of now, are:

• Do not click “Disconnect account” within Drive for desktop
• Do not delete or move the app data folder:
  • Windows: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Google\DriveFS
  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Google/DriveFS
• Optional: If you have room on your hard drive, we recommend making a copy of the app data folder.

Moreover, the issues seem to be focused on the Google Drive desktop app. While some desktop app users have faced the issue, others have not, casting doubt over the exact reason for the glitch.

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