Google Drive Files Become Unavailable 180 Days After Owner’s Account Is Suspended

When colleagues leave Stanford, certain files they’ve shared may still be an important part of your work.

Starting Nov. 5, 2026, files owned by former colleagues will no longer be available in Google Drive once their accounts have been suspended for 180 days. 

• This applies to any account that reaches 180 days of suspension on or after Nov. 5. 
• For accounts already past that mark on the launch date, the change will roll out gradually.

We want to help you prepare so you can keep the files you need.

What this means for accessing files

In May, we introduced visual indicators to help you find files owned by people who have left Stanford. The next step in our Google lifecycle policy is called Soft Delete, which takes effect after an account has been suspended for 180 days.

Once a file is in Soft Delete, it no longer appears in Google Drive, and links to it stop working, even if the file was shared with you directly.

The file isn’t erased during Soft Delete, but it is no longer accessible.

Why this change is being made

When people leave Stanford, files they own often remain widely shared. This update reduces the risk of unmanaged access and encourages teams to keep important files in Google shared drives, where they stay available even as team members change roles or leave the university.

It also supports our ongoing efforts to manage storage more efficiently and make Stanford’s Google Workspace more sustainable.

What you can do

We strongly encourage you to take steps now to protect any files you need and avoid interruptions to your work.

• Look for the [Suspended] tag next to the owner’s name and the “Account Suspended” label on their files.
• Follow the steps outlined in our guide, How to Retain Google Drive Files After Collaborators Leave the University, to find and move the files you need.
• Don’t wait. You won’t receive a notice before a file becomes unavailable, so these tags and labels are your signals to act.

If you lose access to a file you need

To restore access to a file in Soft Delete, you can sponsor the owning account’s SUNet ID at the full-service level. Files become available again once the sponsorship is processed.

Planning ahead

• Leverage shared drives for collaboration. A shared drive can help keep important files available as colleagues and roles change. Learn more in Shared Drives for Business Continuity.
• Leaving Stanford? Before your last day, move work files to a shared drive or transfer ownership to a colleague. For details about how long your account stays active after you leave, visit the guide for students and graduates or faculty and staff.

Get support

For questions or assistance, please submit a Help request to the Google Drive team.