To locate files in your Drive, use Google Drive Search. If you still can’t locate your file or folder, it’s possible that it was moved or deleted, either by you or someone who shared the file or folder with you. These steps can help you identify potential causes and recover your file.
If you think that someone accessed your Drive without your permission, we recommend you take steps to make your account more secure.
Check your Trash- Go to drive.google.com.
- On the left, click Trash.
- All your deleted files are listed in “Trash.”
- To find out how long ago files were added to the “Trash,” you can sort files by their “Trashed date.”
- To restore a file:
- Right-click the file.
- Click Restore.
Tip: Files remain in Trash for 30 days, then they’re deleted forever.
It’s possible that you moved or accidentally deleted the file. To find out what happened to the file or folder, check your activity.
- On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
- On the left, click My drive.
- At the top right, click Info
Activity.
- If you’re the owner of the file or folder, you can find recent activity and possibly locate the file you want.
Activity.
Tips:
- If a permanently deleted file meets certain conditions, you can recover it. Learn how to recover a deleted file.
- If you want to check your My Drive activity on a mobile device, open drive.google.com in your mobile browser, navigate to the browser's menu and select ‘Request Desktop Site.'
Many people have more than one Google Account. For example, they can have a work and a personal account.
If you can’t locate a file, make sure that you’re logged into the account where you originally accessed it. Learn how to switch between multiple Google Accounts.
If someone creates a file and shares it with you, they’re the owner of the file and can:
- Delete it
- Move it
- Rename it
- Restore it
If you can’t locate a file that someone shared with you, it’s possible that they moved or deleted it. Contact the person who created the file and ask them to restore it or share it with you again.
It’s possible that you were given access to a shared drive by a Workspace account. Any items that you create, upload, or move to a shared drive become the property of that Workspace domain. If your access to the shared drive is removed, you lose access to the items too.
If you can’t find or open a shared drive or a file saved in it, then it’s possible that your access was removed. Contact the person who gave you access, and ask them to restore it or share it with you again.
If you created a file in Drive and can't find it, it could be “hidden” because it lost its original folders. The file still exists but is harder to find.
Learn how files lose their folder
A file you own can lose its folder if:
- You create a file in someone else's folder and they delete that folder.
- You share a folder with someone and they delete your file from the folder.
In both cases, the file isn’t deleted. It automatically moves to My Drive.
Find your unorganized files
- In the Drive search field, enter:
is:unorganized. - When you find the file, move it to a folder or into “My Drive” so it's easier to find next time.