{"id":31746,"date":"2026-10-07T11:53:28","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T09:53:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mu.wedoback.com\/?page_id=31746"},"modified":"2026-10-07T12:22:39","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T10:22:39","slug":"how-to-back-up-google-workspace","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mu.wedoback.com\/en\/guides\/backup\/how-to-back-up-google-workspace\/","title":{"rendered":"How do you back up Google Workspace?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"31746\" class=\"elementor elementor-31746 elementor-31561\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cc149dd e-con-full wdb-g e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cc149dd\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2379bed e-con-full wdb-g-hero e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"2379bed\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1fb8441 e-con-full wdb-g-hero-in e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"1fb8441\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-be3df62 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"be3df62\" 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\/backup\/\">IT backup<\/a><\/p><p class=\"wdb-g-pill\" style=\"--pill:#01adb9\">IT backup<\/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-c39129a elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"c39129a\" 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\">How do 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-5558b8b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5558b8b\" 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\">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.<\/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-2bdb861 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2bdb861\" 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-cbcd68b e-con-full wdb-g-body e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cbcd68b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4140a32 e-con-full wdb-g-grid e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"4140a32\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9e9af0e e-con-full wdb-g-article e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"9e9af0e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-150be7d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"150be7d\" 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>A deleted user can be restored <strong>for 20 days<\/strong>; after that, their data is permanently lost.<\/li><li>Once a user has emptied their Drive trash, the administrator has <strong>25 days<\/strong> to recover the files.<\/li><li>Google says so itself: <strong>Vault is not designed as a backup<\/strong> or archiving tool.<\/li><li>Include Gmail, My Drive, <strong>shared drives<\/strong>, Calendar and Contacts, as well as generic accounts.<\/li><li>Run a test restore of a mailbox and a Drive folder <strong>at least twice a year<\/strong>.<\/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-fbad4fc elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"fbad4fc\" 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 Google lets you recover, and for how long<\/h2><p>The \u201cshould you do it\u201d question and the limits of the subscription are covered in <a href=\"\/en\/guides\/cloud-email\/does-google-workspace-include-backup\/\">Does Google Workspace really include a backup?<\/a>. The time limits documented by Google are short:<\/p><table><thead><tr><th>Situation<\/th><th>Native recovery by the administrator<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Deleted user account<\/td><td>20 days, after which the data is lost<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Drive files after the trash is emptied<\/td><td>25 days, after which Google purges them<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Data of a deleted user in Vault<\/td><td>Deleted with the account; no more search or export<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><p>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.<\/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-d4a11df elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d4a11df\" 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 to include<\/h2><ul><li><strong>Gmail<\/strong>: messages, labels, attachments. Group mailboxes and generic accounts (<code>contact@<\/code>, <code>billing@<\/code>) as much as individuals.<\/li><li><strong>Drive<\/strong>: each user&#8217;s My Drive and the shared drives, which often hold the team&#8217;s documents.<\/li><li><strong>Calendar<\/strong> and <strong>Contacts<\/strong>, if the business depends on them (professional firms, sales, support).<\/li><li>Suspended or recently deleted accounts: Google gives an administrator only 20 days to restore a user. An external copy must have been made beforehand.<\/li><\/ul><p>Data that lives in Marketplace applications, outside Gmail and Drive, is not backed up by a standard \u201cWorkspace\u201d tool. It must be listed separately.<\/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-5a88bdb elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5a88bdb\" 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>The method<\/h2><ol><li>Record the number of accounts, the Drive volume and the shared drives. Volume, more than the number of messages, determines storage.<\/li><li>Authorise a tool through the domain&#8217;s administration account, with delegation limited to reading the services to be backed up, and strong authentication on that administration account.<\/li><li>Choose the frequency. Once a day is the minimum for an SME. The RPO for email equals this interval.<\/li><li>Choose the retention in days, not \u201cforever\u201d by default. Messages contain personal data.<\/li><li>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.<\/li><li>At least twice a year, restore a mailbox and a Drive folder to a test location, and measure the time taken.<\/li><\/ol>\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-f1425d7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f1425d7\" 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>Points specific to Google<\/h2><ul><li>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.<\/li><li>Drive synchronisation on computers (Drive for desktop) can propagate the encryption of local files to the cloud. Google&#8217;s version history helps, up to a point. The dated external copy is the way back.<\/li><li>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&#8217;s Google administrators. To keep a former employee&#8217;s data, Google recommends an archived user licence rather than deleting the account.<\/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-0d36f19 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0d36f19\" 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>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 <a href=\"\/en\/smart-offer\/\">SMART<\/a> or <a href=\"\/en\/integral-offer\/\">INTEGRAL<\/a>. 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 <a href=\"\/en\/guides\/cloud-email\/back-up-business-gmail\/\">Backing up business Gmail<\/a> and <a href=\"\/en\/guides\/cloud-email\/back-up-business-google-drive\/\">Backing up business Google Drive<\/a>.<\/p><div class=\"wdb-g-btns\"><a class=\"wdb-g-btn wdb-g-btn-primary\" href=\"\/en\/offers-and-prices\/\">See offers and prices<\/a><a class=\"wdb-g-btn wdb-g-btn-ghost\" href=\"\/en\/quotation\/\">Request a quote<\/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-8ec2008 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"8ec2008\" 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>Is Google Vault a backup?<\/summary><p>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.<\/p><\/details><details><summary>How do you keep the data of an employee who leaves the company?<\/summary><p>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.<\/p><\/details><details><summary>Does Drive synchronisation on computers protect against ransomware?<\/summary><p>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.<\/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-5936568 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5936568\" 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\/should-you-back-up-google-workspace\/\"><small>Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace<\/small>Should you back up Google Workspace?<\/a><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\/what-to-do-if\/a-mailbox-was-emptied-or-hacked\/\"><small>What to do if\u2026<\/small>A mailbox has been emptied or hacked<\/a><a href=\"\/en\/guides\/backup\/how-to-back-up-microsoft-365\/\"><small>IT backup<\/small>How do you back up Microsoft 365?<\/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-187a749 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"187a749\" 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\/a\/answer\/1397578\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Restore a recently deleted user<\/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\/vault\/answer\/2539616\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Vault FAQ<\/a> \u2014 Google Vault Help<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/dataprotection.govmu.org\/Pages\/Downloads\/Publications%20and%20Guidelines\/Guidelines.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Introductory Guide to the Data Protection Act 2017<\/a> \u2014 Data Protection Office (Mauritius)<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wedoback.com\/offres-et-tarifs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Offers and prices<\/a> \u2014 WeDoBack<\/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-2a1cd81 e-con-full wdb-g-aside e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"2a1cd81\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-506933f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"506933f\" 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-c2f0e96 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c2f0e96\" 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-be9ec11 e-con-full wdb-g-cta e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"be9ec11\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b8769db e-con-full wdb-g-cta-in e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"b8769db\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-378aeb3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"378aeb3\" 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":31721,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"How to back up Google Workspace: the method | WeDoBack","_seopress_titles_desc":"Copy Gmail, Drive, Calendar and shared drives outside the Google domain, with a version history independent of the recycle bins and 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