Some Google Drive Users' Files Have Mysteriously Vanished

Google Drive users have been warned not to disconnect their account within the Google Drive for desktop app, after a spate of reports of files going missing from the cloud service.

Google Drive
Alarm bells began ringing last week on Google's community support site when some users reported files mysteriously disappearing from Google Drive, with some posters claiming six or more months of data had vanished.

As noted by The Register, one user logged into Google Drive to find things as they were in May 2023, with everything saved since that date gone, despite attempts by Google's support team to help them recover the files. Currently, the thread of complaints has 217 users who clicked the "I have the same question."

The Google Drive team has since posted that it is "investigating reports of an issue impacting a limited subset of Drive for desktop users." In the meantime:

  • 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

Google also recommends making a copy of the app data folder if there's space on your hard drive, until the sync issue is resolved. We'll update this article if we hear more.

Popular Stories

airpods pro 3 purple

New, Higher End AirPods Pro Coming This Year

Tuesday January 20, 2026 9:05 am PST by
Apple is planning to debut a high-end secondary version of AirPods Pro 3 this year, sitting in the lineup alongside the current model, reports suggest. Back in September 2025, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to introduce a successor to the AirPods Pro 3 in 2026. This would be somewhat unusual since Apple normally waits around three years to make major...
smaller dynamic island iphone 18 pro Filip Vabrous%CC%8Cek

iPhone 18 Pro Leak: Smaller Dynamic Island, No Top-Left Camera Cutout

Tuesday January 20, 2026 2:34 am PST by
Over the last few months, rumors around the iPhone 18 Pro's front-panel design have been conflicted, with some supply-chain leaks pointing to under-display Face ID, reports suggesting a top-left hole-punch camera, and debate over whether the familiar Dynamic Island will shrink, shift, or disappear entirely. Today, Weibo-based leaker Instant Digital shared new details that appear to clarify the ...
Apple Logo Spotlight

Apple Expected to Unveil Five All-New Products This Year

Wednesday January 21, 2026 10:54 am PST by
In addition to updating many of its existing products, Apple is expected to unveil five all-new products this year, including a smart home hub, a Face ID doorbell, a MacBook with an A18 Pro chip, a foldable iPhone, and augmented reality glasses. Below, we have recapped rumored features for each product. Smart Home Hub Apple home hub (concept) Apple's long-rumored smart home hub should...
airtag prime day 2

Apple Developing AirTag-Sized AI Pin With Dual Cameras

Wednesday January 21, 2026 12:31 pm PST by
Apple is working on a small, wearable AI pin equipped with multiple cameras, a speaker, and microphones, reports The Information. If it actually launches, the AI pin will likely run the new Siri chatbot that Apple plans to unveil in iOS 27. The pin is said to be similar in size to an AirTag, with a thin, flat, circular disc shape. It has an aluminum and glass shell, and two cameras at the...
Liquid Glass App Store Feature

App Store and Apple TV Experiencing Outage

Tuesday January 20, 2026 4:36 pm PST by
Apple's App Store, iTunes Store, and Apple TV service are experiencing an outage at the current time, according to Apple's System Status page. Apple says that some users may be experiencing issues with the App Store and iTunes Store. Apple also says some users may be seeing intermittent issues with Apple TV. The Apple TV Channels feature is down too, and users may be unable to access some...

Top Rated Comments

tcgjeukens Avatar
28 months ago
The Cloud = somebody else's server
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
a m u n Avatar
28 months ago
It happened to me, 128GB is gone from my Google Drive! ?
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
heystu Avatar
28 months ago
Shows the level of dependency and trust we have on cloud storage now, if anything happened to my iCloud Drive I'd lose so much...think it's time to invest in a separate back-up solution, maybe get something decent in the Black Friday deals! Oh wait...
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple_Robert Avatar
28 months ago
Always have a backup of your backup.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rnizlek Avatar
28 months ago
This is why I have a dedicated online backup subscription and don't rely entirely on a cloud drive. There's just two much risk having all one's data in only a single place.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vagos Avatar
28 months ago
Google really is the next Microsoft...
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)