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Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace
Does Google Workspace really include a backup of your data?
No. In its standard editions, Google Workspace does not include a backup that would let you restore Gmail or Drive to a chosen date, from a copy held outside the domain. It includes a redundant platform, trash folders, a restore window for deleted accounts and, depending on the edition, Google Vault for legal retention and search.
Key points
- Gmail and Drive trash: 30 days, then 25 days of administrator restore, then purge.
- Deleted account: restorable for 20 days, after which the data is lost.
- Google Vault: Google’s FAQ states that it is not designed to be a backup or archiving tool.
- Many companies need Vault and a backup, and believe they only have one of the two.
What the subscription includes
| Feature | Actual role | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Google redundancy | The service continues if part of Google’s infrastructure goes down | It also replicates your deletions |
| Drive trash | Recover a recently deleted file | 30 days, then permanent deletion |
| Gmail trash | Recover a recent deletion on the user side | 30 days |
| Administrator restore | Bring back emails or files after the trash | 25 days, then an irreversible purge |
| Restoring a deleted user | Reinstate the account and its data | 20 days, after which the data is lost |
| Google Vault | Retain and search emails and files for an audit or litigation, if the edition includes it and a rule exists | Stays within the domain, under the admins’ control; Google states that it is not designed as a backup tool |
| Drive for desktop | Work offline and sync | Can propagate encryption or a deletion |
None of the rows in this table is a dated copy held by another party and tested by you.
Microsoft sells a paid backup separately, Microsoft 365 Backup. The Google documentation consulted for this page does not describe an equivalent for Workspace: its recovery tools stop at the periods above. If that changes, the question to ask will be the same as for Microsoft. Does the data remain solely with Google, and who can erase that backup?
Why the confusion is so common
“Our data is in the Google cloud, so it is backed up.” This statement confuses availability with history. The cloud spares you the disk failure of the mail server you no longer have. It does not spare you the shared drive emptied by mistake in July and needed in September, after the trash and the administrator restore window have expired.
Vault adds to the confusion because the word “archiving” appears in the brochures. Yet Google itself states, in the Vault FAQ, that the tool is not designed to be a backup or an archive. Compliance archiving retains what a rule has designated. It does not get the company back up and running on Monday morning.
When is Vault enough?
If you only need to prove that a message existed, and the Vault rule was active beforehand, Vault may be enough for that proof. If you need to get back to work on your files on Monday, you need a backup, or another source for the files. Many companies need both, and believe they only have one.
| Need | Vault | Backup outside the domain |
|---|---|---|
| Prove that a message existed | Yes, if the rule existed beforehand | Yes, within the retention period |
| Return a shared drive to its state of two months ago | No | Yes |
| Survive the deletion of an account beyond 20 days | Depending on the rule set | Yes |
| Copy held outside Google | No | Yes |
At WeDoBack
WeDoBack provides the copy outside the domain for emails, calendars, contacts and Google Drive, encrypted before it is sent, with the key held by the customer, one agent per address plus the stored volume, under SMART or INTEGRAL. It is a backup in the sense used on this page. It is not Vault, and it is not included in the Google licence. A company whose memory lives in shared drives has them listed in the quote. In any case, Google remains responsible for the platform, and the customer remains responsible for having verified a restore.
Frequently asked questions
Is Google Vault a backup?
No. Asked whether Vault can be used as a backup, the Google Vault FAQ answers: “Vault isn’t designed to be a backup or archive tool”. Vault retains and searches data for an audit or litigation, within the domain, according to rules set in advance.
How long does Google keep a deleted email?
Thirty days in the user’s trash. After that, the administrator has 25 more days to restore it from the console. Once both periods have passed, the message is permanently deleted.
Does Google offer a paid backup option like Microsoft 365 Backup?
The Google documentation consulted describes the trash, administrator restore, account restore and Vault, but no comparable point-in-time backup product. If that changes, ask the same questions: where are the copies, for how long, and who can erase them?
Further reading
Sources
Documents consulted in October 2026.
- Google Vault FAQ — Google Vault Help
- Restore a user’s permanently deleted email — Google Workspace Admin Help
- Restore a recently deleted user — Google Workspace Admin Help
- Recover deleted files and folders for Drive users — Google Workspace Admin Help
- Offers and prices — WeDoBack
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