Deleted file recovery and file version history - Dropbox (2024)

FAQs

Deleted file recovery and file version history - Dropbox? ›

On dropbox.com, navigate to the Deleted files page, select the recoverable files or folders you'd like to bring back, then click “Restore”. Dropbox keeps your deleted files and edits for up to 180 days, depending on your plan. How do I see file history on Dropbox?

When a hard drive is formatted, the operating system loses its ability to reference the data on the disk. Until that drive sector is overwritten with new data, there is still a chance to recover the old data if the pointers leading to the data are recovered. In essence, “deleted” data remains on the drive.

Dropbox saves deleted and previous versions of files for a specific period of time so you can recover them if desired. After that time, the deleted files are marked for permanent deletion in our system and are removed from our storage servers. Once they've been deleted, they can no longer be recovered or restored.

How far back you can view and restore is called version history and depends on the Dropbox plan you have. Dropbox Basic, Plus, and Family customers have 30 days. Dropbox Professional, Essentials, Business, and Standard customers have 180 days.

Can files be recovered once deleted? Yes, files can be recovered after being deleted. The level of difficulty depends on how long ago the file was deleted, however, and you may need to use specialized tools if trying to recover data that has been corrupted.

To completely delete files from your computer, you need to use a tool that can overwrite the data with random patterns, making it impossible to recover. Eraser is one of such tools that can securely erase files, folders, or entire drives. To use Eraser, you need to download and install it from its official website.

Dropbox Basic, Plus, and Family accounts can recover deleted files for 30 days. Dropbox Professional and team Standard accounts can recover deleted files for 180 days.

If permanently deleted 2 years ago, they are gone and can not be recovered. 2 years is too far back in time.

Deleted files don't count against your storage quota, so permanently deleting them won't free up space. If other Dropbox users have a copy of the files that you permanently delete, their copies won't be deleted.

How to restore previous file version? ›

Right-click the file or folder, and then select Restore previous versions. You'll see a list of available previous versions of the file or folder. The list will include files saved on a backup (if you're using Windows Backup to back up your files) as well as restore points, if both types are available.

To rewind your entire Dropbox account, click "..." (ellipsis) next to Organize, then click Rewind this folder. To rewind a specific folder, hover over the name of the folder and click "..." (ellipsis) next to Activity, then click Rewind this folder. This will also rewind all folders within that specific folder.

Dropbox Professional, Essentials, Standard, and Business accounts can recover any file edits or deletions made within the last 180 days. Dropbox Advanced, Business Plus, and Enterprise accounts can recover any file edits or deletions made within the last 365 days.

If you can't find a file on your computer or you accidently modified or deleted a file, you can restore it from a backup (if you're using Windows backup) or you can try to restore it from a previous version. Previous versions are copies of files and folders that Windows automatically saves as part of a restore point.

Even after emptying the Recycle Bin, there is still a chance of data recovery if no new data is written on those specific sectors where the deleted files exist. If specific sectors of the hard disc are overwritten with new data, however, the odds of recovering deleted files are little to none.

Once you delete a file, it is permanently removed from your device and cannot be recovered. Please be aware that the deleted files cannot be retrieved, so exercise caution when deleting files from your device.

When you permanently delete a file, the storage drive makes its space available for new data. However, the file is not deleted. It remains on the hard drive; only the file pointers get deleted. (The File pointer shows you where the file exists and keeps track of it being accessed.)