Your expert in backup and data protection!The solution tailored to your needs
Home›Guides›Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace
Backing up business Google Drive
Business Google Drive is backed up by copying My Drive and, above all, shared drives to storage outside the domain, with several dates. In many SMEs, shared drives are the real file server. Forgetting them means backing up the email while leaving the folders without a safety net.
Key points
- Drive trash: 30 days, then the administrator has 25 days; after that, Google purges the items.
- Versions bring back a document, not a deleted folder structure.
- Vault retains data for compliance; Google states that it is not designed as a backup tool.
- Drive for desktop can propagate local encryption to the cloud: you need a non-synchronised copy that predates the attack.
Trash, versions, Vault
- The Drive trash keeps deleted items for 30 days, after which Drive deletes them permanently. Google then gives the administrator 25 days, after the trash is emptied, to recover them from the console. After that period, they are purged and can no longer be recovered. Fifty-five days at best is short when a mistake is discovered on returning from holiday or at the year-end closing of the accounts.
- The versions of a Google file (Docs, Sheets) or of an uploaded file help you roll back a document. They do not rebuild a deleted folder structure.
- Vault can retain Drive files if a rule exists and if your Workspace edition includes it. It is used to search and to preserve evidence within the domain. Its FAQ states that it is not designed to be a backup or archiving tool.
What to include
- All shared drives in use. Their list is in the admin console. “Old projects” drives need sorting: either you genuinely archive them or you back them up; you do not state that they are covered without having looked at them.
- The My Drives of people who store their day-to-day work there instead of using a shared drive. This is common.
- Files in non-Google formats (PDFs, plans, accounting exports). These are often the heaviest and the most irreplaceable.
- You can exclude caches, duplicated automatic exports and folders clearly identified as “to be sorted”.
“Anyone with the link” sharing is not a backup copy. It is a publication.
A risk specific to Drive
The Drive for desktop client syncs a local folder with the cloud. Ransomware that encrypts this folder can send the encrypted files to Drive and overwrite the good ones. Version history limits the damage over a short period. An external copy, older than the attack and not continuously synchronised, is your way back. Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr, the French government’s cybercrime assistance platform, specifically recommends keeping disconnected copies, because an attacker destroys the backups they can reach.
Real-time sync to a second cloud without history reproduces the encryption: it is replication, not backup.
Implementation
Inventory of drives, a tool with read-only delegated administration, at least daily frequency, retention of one to three months, and a test: restore a shared drive folder to another location and open three files, including a Docs file and a PDF. ANSSI, France’s national cybersecurity agency, requires these tests to be regular and to follow a written restore procedure.
| Step | Check |
|---|---|
| Inventory | List of active shared drives and My Drives, volume |
| Access | Service account or limited delegation, admin protected by two-factor authentication |
| Settings | Daily frequency, retention in writing, storage outside Google |
| Test | One folder restored, three files opened, time recorded |
At WeDoBack
WeDoBack’s Google Workspace backup covers Google Drive, in addition to email, calendars and contacts. Copies are encrypted before they are sent, with a key held by the customer, and stored outside the Google domain on servers dedicated to backup, under SMART or INTEGRAL depending on volume. Have the spaces concerned (users’ My Drives, shared drives) specified in the quote, then check the restore of a folder during the first test.
Frequently asked questions
Can a file deleted from Drive two months ago be recovered?
Generally not. An item stays in the trash for 30 days, then the administrator can still recover it for 25 days after the trash is emptied. Beyond that, Google states that it is purged from its systems. Only an external backup can then bring it back.
Is syncing to another cloud enough?
No, if it is real-time and has no history. It reproduces deletions and encrypted files. That is replication. A backup keeps several dates and lets you go back to before the incident.
Should each employee’s My Drive be backed up?
Those of people who store their day-to-day work there, which is common. Shared drives come first, because they hold team folders. The other My Drives are decided on in writing.
Further reading
Sources
Documents consulted in October 2026.
- Recover deleted files and folders for Drive users — Google Workspace Admin Help
- Google Vault FAQ — Google Vault Help
- Ransomware: what to do if your organisation is attacked? (in French) — Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr
- Information system backup – The fundamentals (ANSSI-BP-100, v1.1, 27 November 2025, in French) — ANSSI
Planning a backup, DRP or BCP project?
More than 20 years of experience protecting business data.
Request a quote+33 9 72 50 78 28Protect your data with WeDoBack
Encrypted offsite backup, immutable storage, DRP and BCP: tell us about your servers and we will recommend the right combination.