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How do you back up Google Workspace?
You back up Google Workspace by copying Gmail, Google Drive, Calendar and shared drives outside the Google domain, at a frequency you choose, with several restore points. Vault, the recycle bin and the restoration of a deleted account are safety nets internal to the domain, with time limits of 20 to 25 days: they do not replace a copy held by another party.
Key points
- A deleted user can be restored for 20 days; after that, their data is permanently lost.
- Once a user has emptied their Drive trash, the administrator has 25 days to recover the files.
- Google says so itself: Vault is not designed as a backup or archiving tool.
- Include Gmail, My Drive, shared drives, Calendar and Contacts, as well as generic accounts.
- Run a test restore of a mailbox and a Drive folder at least twice a year.
What Google lets you recover, and for how long
The “should you do it” question and the limits of the subscription are covered in Does Google Workspace really include a backup?. The time limits documented by Google are short:
| Situation | Native recovery by the administrator |
|---|---|
| Deleted user account | 20 days, after which the data is lost |
| Drive files after the trash is emptied | 25 days, after which Google purges them |
| Data of a deleted user in Vault | Deleted with the account; no more search or export |
Google itself states that Vault is not designed to be a backup or archiving tool. Vault covers neither Calendar nor Contacts, does not perform differential backups, and makes restoration difficult without a dedicated tool.
What to include
- Gmail: messages, labels, attachments. Group mailboxes and generic accounts (
contact@,billing@) as much as individuals. - Drive: each user’s My Drive and the shared drives, which often hold the team’s documents.
- Calendar and Contacts, if the business depends on them (professional firms, sales, support).
- Suspended or recently deleted accounts: Google gives an administrator only 20 days to restore a user. An external copy must have been made beforehand.
Data that lives in Marketplace applications, outside Gmail and Drive, is not backed up by a standard “Workspace” tool. It must be listed separately.
The method
- Record the number of accounts, the Drive volume and the shared drives. Volume, more than the number of messages, determines storage.
- Authorise a tool through the domain’s administration account, with delegation limited to reading the services to be backed up, and strong authentication on that administration account.
- Choose the frequency. Once a day is the minimum for an SME. The RPO for email equals this interval.
- Choose the retention in days, not “forever” by default. Messages contain personal data.
- Send the copy outside Google, encrypted, with a period during which it cannot be erased. The Data Protection Act 2017 (section 31) requires appropriate security measures against the loss or destruction of data: keep at least one backup at a separate site, protected to the same level as the original data.
- At least twice a year, restore a mailbox and a Drive folder to a test location, and measure the time taken.
Points specific to Google
- A user who empties their trash, followed by an administrator who deletes the account, results in two successive destructions that only an earlier external copy truly covers.
- Drive synchronisation on computers (Drive for desktop) can propagate the encryption of local files to the cloud. Google’s version history helps, up to a point. The dated external copy is the way back.
- Vault is used to retain and search data for litigation. It does not restore a domain, and it remains under the control of the customer’s Google administrators. To keep a former employee’s data, Google recommends an archived user licence rather than deleting the account.
At WeDoBack
Google Workspace is in the same scope as Microsoft 365: emails, calendars, contacts and Google Drive. The public price list provides for one agent per address, plus storage for the volume with SMART or INTEGRAL. Copies are encrypted before sending, with a key held by the customer, and stored outside the Google domain, on servers dedicated to backup. Backups are monitored 24/7; support can be reached on +33 9 72 50 78 28 from 9 am to 1 pm and from 2 pm to 5:30 pm (Paris time), i.e. from 11 am to 3 pm and from 4 pm to 7:30 pm Mauritius time during European summer time, one hour later during European winter time. Gmail and Drive are covered in detail in the pages Backing up business Gmail and Backing up business Google Drive.
Frequently asked questions
Is Google Vault a backup?
No. Google states that Vault is not designed to be a backup or archiving tool: its exports are not suited to large volumes, it performs neither differential backups nor automated restores, and it does not cover Calendar or Contacts. Above all, if you delete a user, their data also disappears from Vault.
How do you keep the data of an employee who leaves the company?
Back up their mailbox and Drive before any deletion, or transfer their files to another account. Google also offers an archived user licence to keep the data without an active account. Deleting the account outright leaves only 20 days to change your mind.
Does Drive synchronisation on computers protect against ransomware?
No, it can even propagate the encryption: files encrypted on the computer are synchronised to the cloud. Version history helps, up to a point. A dated external copy remains the real way back.
Further reading
Sources
Documents consulted in October 2026.
- Restore a recently deleted user — Google Workspace Admin Help
- Recover deleted files and folders for Drive users — Google Workspace Admin Help
- Google Vault FAQ — Google Vault Help
- Introductory Guide to the Data Protection Act 2017 — Data Protection Office (Mauritius)
- Offers and prices — WeDoBack
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