Google's cloud storage Drive platform is losing serious amounts of customer files without warning, the Register reports Several user reports have come up on the Google support page, complaining about lost files, with one user in particular losing data as far back as May 2023. Google has confirmed that it is tracking the problem but did not provide a schedule for a possible fix.
Complaints started rolling in exactly six days ago when user Yeonjoong posted a complaint on the Google support forums reporting six months of lost data inside his/her Google Drive account. A few days later, numerous user responses came in on the same post detailing similar situations. Many reported the loss of critical work-related files, while the worst reports involved years or thousands of documents going missing from their respective Google Drive accounts.
To make matters worse, users are also reporting lost files with Google Drive's desktop application, which makes a duplicate copy of a user's cloud storage on his/her location machine.
Data loss can be dire, especially for businesses or for files that are important to individuals, like family photos, resumes, or anything else you thought might be safe in a cloud backup. Google is monitoring the situation, but it is looking like data restoration for affected customers might not be possible depending on how things go.
Problems like this are always a good reminder to back up your important data no matter what, even if it's stored in the cloud. Just because data is stored in the cloud doesn't mean it is completely safe. There have been multiple cases of data loss over the past years from reputable cloud storage providers, leading to thousands of dollars in downtime and lost work.
A poster claiming they heard from Google's support claims the company is monitoring the situation and is investigating the problem with its project engineers. In a best-case scenario, everyone affected will get their files back, but in a worst-case scenario, Google won't be able to recover any lost files at all.
