{"id":31971,"date":"2026-10-06T22:10:27","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T20:10:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wedoback.com\/?page_id=31971"},"modified":"2026-10-07T11:00:43","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T09:00:43","slug":"should-you-back-up-google-workspace","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wedoback.com\/en\/guides\/cloud-email\/should-you-back-up-google-workspace\/","title":{"rendered":"Should you back up Google Workspace?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"31971\" class=\"elementor elementor-31971 elementor-31556\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d2d26a2 e-con-full wdb-g e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"d2d26a2\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-168d373 e-con-full wdb-g-hero e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"168d373\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-480730c e-con-full wdb-g-hero-in e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"480730c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0d07ad0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0d07ad0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wdb-g-crumb\"><a href=\"\/en\/\">Home<\/a><span>\u203a<\/span><a href=\"\/en\/guides\/\">Guides<\/a><span>\u203a<\/span><a href=\"\/en\/guides\/cloud-email\/\">Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace<\/a><\/p><p class=\"wdb-g-pill\" style=\"--pill:#5b8def\">Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f2e2b88 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"f2e2b88\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Should you back up Google Workspace?<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-64aa98c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"64aa98c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wdb-g-lead\">Yes, as soon as Gmail or Drive hold exchanges or documents you could not recreate. The robustness of Google\u2019s data centres protects you from a Google outage. It does not protect you from an employee, an administrator or an attacker who deletes data, encrypts it through a synced workstation, or exfiltrates it.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4af77d6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4af77d6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wdb-g-meta\"><span>Updated <b>October 2026<\/b><\/span><span><b>3 min<\/b> read<\/span><span><b>5<\/b> sources cited<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c77fe80 e-con-full wdb-g-body e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"c77fe80\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6ba6a55 e-con-full wdb-g-grid e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"6ba6a55\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-12e8182 e-con-full wdb-g-article e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"12e8182\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-03fce3a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"03fce3a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wdb-g-key\"><h2>Key points<\/h2><ul><li>Beyond <strong>30 days in the trash and 25 days<\/strong> of administrator restore, a deleted email or file is purged.<\/li><li>A deleted account can only be restored for <strong>20 days<\/strong>.<\/li><li>Vault serves compliance; Google states that it <strong>is not designed<\/strong> as a backup tool.<\/li><li>Minimum decision: Gmail (individual and group mailboxes) <strong>and<\/strong> shared drives.<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-96acaab elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"96acaab\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2>When the answer is clearly yes<\/h2><ul><li>The domain\u2019s email is hosted by Google, and orders, contract documents or customer files pass through it.<\/li><li>Shared drives are your de facto file server.<\/li><li>Several people hold the administrator role, or a service provider does.<\/li><li>Nobody could say today how to recover a folder that disappeared six weeks ago. With Google\u2019s tools alone, beyond 30 days in the trash and 25 days of administrator restore, it is no longer possible.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8d9e53d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"8d9e53d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2>When the scope can be narrowed<\/h2><ul><li>Test accounts or mailing lists with no useful archive: exclude them, in writing.<\/li><li>A business application that is already the source of truth, with Google used only for drafts: back up the business application, and accept the loss of the drafts.<\/li><li>Vault is enabled for a specific dispute: keep it for that purpose, and back up anyway if you want a copy outside the domain. The two do not cancel each other out.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4888c64 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4888c64\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2>What you are weighing up<\/h2><p>The cost of a daily copy outside the domain, kept for one to three months, against the cost of a week with an empty <code>contact@<\/code> mailbox, or with the shared drive of the practice, the office or the workshop wiped out. The second cost is almost always higher, and it tends to strike on a Friday.<\/p><table><thead><tr><th>Tool<\/th><th>What it provides<\/th><th>What it does not provide<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Trash (30 days) then admin restore (25 days)<\/td><td>Recovering a recent deletion<\/td><td>A folder lost two months ago<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Account restore (20 days)<\/td><td>Undoing the deletion of an account<\/td><td>An account deleted a month ago<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Google Vault<\/td><td>Retaining and searching data for litigation<\/td><td>A backup: Google states that it is not designed for that<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Backup outside the domain<\/td><td>Restoring to a chosen date, held by another party<\/td><td>eDiscovery compliance<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><p>Upgrading to a more expensive Workspace edition \u201cto get Vault\u201d improves compliance. It does not give you free, point-in-time restores held by a third party.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6eab6c1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6eab6c1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2>Minimum decision<\/h2><p>If you do only one thing: back up Gmail (individual and group mailboxes) and the shared drives. Each employee\u2019s My Drive comes next, especially for those who do not use shared drives and keep everything in their own space. Also set the retention period: the CNIL, France\u2019s data protection authority, points out that personal data cannot be kept indefinitely.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-15bae12 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"15bae12\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wdb-g-brand\"><h2>At WeDoBack<\/h2><p>Both decisions, \u201cback up Gmail, Calendar and Contacts\u201d and \u201cback up Drive\u201d, are carried out at WeDoBack: one agent per address, <a href=\"\/en\/smart-offer\/\">SMART<\/a> or <a href=\"\/en\/integral-offer\/\">INTEGRAL<\/a> storage, an encrypted copy outside Google, with the key held by the customer. Whichever provider you choose, have the list of covered services and drives written into the quote: that is the list you will check during the first restore test.<\/p><div class=\"wdb-g-btns\"><a class=\"wdb-g-btn wdb-g-btn-primary\" href=\"\/en\/quotation\/\">Request a quote<\/a><a class=\"wdb-g-btn wdb-g-btn-ghost\" href=\"\/en\/offers-and-prices\/\">See offers and prices<\/a><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-982d85a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"982d85a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wdb-g-faq\"><h2>Frequently asked questions<\/h2><details><summary>Our data is with Google: isn\u2019t it already backed up?<\/summary><p>It is replicated: a hardware failure at Google will not make it disappear. But a deletion made by a user or an administrator is replicated too. After 30 days in the trash and 25 days of administrator restore, Google permanently purges the item.<\/p><\/details><details><summary>Is an edition with Vault enough?<\/summary><p>For compliance, Vault is useful. To get back to work, no: the Google Vault FAQ states that it is not designed to be a backup or archiving tool. Many companies need both.<\/p><\/details><details><summary>How long should a Google Workspace backup be kept?<\/summary><p>One to three months covers most mistakes and compromises discovered late. Beyond that, you need a business or legal reason. The CNIL, France\u2019s data protection authority, points out that personal data cannot be kept indefinitely, and mailboxes are full of it.<\/p><\/details><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-320ea15 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"320ea15\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2>Further reading<\/h2><div class=\"wdb-g-related\"><a href=\"\/en\/guides\/cloud-email\/back-up-google-workspace\/\"><small>Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace<\/small>Backing up Google Workspace<\/a><a href=\"\/en\/guides\/cloud-email\/does-google-workspace-include-backup\/\"><small>Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace<\/small>Does Google Workspace really include a backup?<\/a><a href=\"\/en\/guides\/cloud-email\/back-up-business-gmail\/\"><small>Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace<\/small>Backing up business Gmail<\/a><a href=\"\/en\/guides\/backup\/how-long-to-keep-backups\/\"><small>IT backup<\/small>How long should you keep your backups?<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-176d0a3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"176d0a3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wdb-g-sources\"><h2>Sources<\/h2><p class=\"wdb-g-src-date\">Documents consulted in October 2026.<\/p><ol><li><a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/vault\/answer\/2539616?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Vault FAQ<\/a> \u2014 Google Vault Help<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/a\/answer\/112445\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Restore a user&#8217;s permanently deleted email<\/a> \u2014 Google Workspace Admin Help<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/a\/answer\/6052340\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Recover deleted files and folders for Drive users<\/a> \u2014 Google Workspace Admin Help<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/a\/answer\/1397578\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Restore a recently deleted user<\/a> \u2014 Google Workspace Admin Help<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnil.fr\/fr\/cnil-direct\/question\/dois-je-fixer-une-duree-de-conservation-des-donnees-dans-mon-fichier\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Do I need to set a data retention period for my file? (in French)<\/a> \u2014 CNIL, France\u2019s data protection authority<\/li><\/ol><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9e913c9 e-con-full wdb-g-aside e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"9e913c9\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-00bd1ed elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"00bd1ed\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<nav class=\"wdb-g-toc\" aria-label=\"Table of contents\"><p>On this page<\/p><ol><\/ol><\/nav>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a51b658 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a51b658\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wdb-g-card\"><h3>Planning a backup, DRP or BCP project?<\/h3><p>More than 20 years of experience protecting business data.<\/p><a class=\"wdb-g-btn wdb-g-btn-primary\" href=\"\/en\/quotation\/\">Request a quote<\/a><a class=\"wdb-g-tel\" href=\"tel:+33972507828\">+33 9 72 50 78 28<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6e45743 e-con-full wdb-g-cta e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"6e45743\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2e25add e-con-full wdb-g-cta-in e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"2e25add\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b4ce279 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b4ce279\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2>Protect your data with WeDoBack<\/h2><p>Encrypted offsite backup, immutable storage, DRP and BCP: tell us about your servers and we will recommend the right combination.<\/p><div class=\"wdb-g-btns\"><a class=\"wdb-g-btn wdb-g-btn-primary\" href=\"\/en\/quotation\/\">Request a quote<\/a><a class=\"wdb-g-btn wdb-g-btn-ghost\" href=\"\/en\/offers-and-prices\/\">See offers and prices<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":31778,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Should you back up Google Workspace? | WeDoBack","_seopress_titles_desc":"Yes, if Gmail or Drive carry your business. Trash, account restore and Vault only cover short windows or legal needs.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"https:\/\/www.wedoback.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/wdb-og-messageries.jpg","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"https:\/\/www.wedoback.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/wdb-og-messageries.jpg","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"class_list":["post-31971","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wedoback.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wedoback.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wedoback.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wedoback.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wedoback.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31971"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.wedoback.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32235,"href":"https:\/\/www.wedoback.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31971\/revisions\/32235"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wedoback.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wedoback.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}