Google drive. Image: GETTY IMAGES
Dissatisfaction as some Google Cloud users unable to access their data.
Users of Google Drive have reacted strongly to a bug that prevents certain users from seeing files older than six months.
Google announced that it was looking into the problem that is impacting a small number of customers of its wildly popular cloud storage service.
A user initially reported the issue on November 22, claiming that their Drive was reset to a version from May 2023.
The number of impacted clients is unknown, however issues have been reported by people in several nations.
Google Workspace, a collection of programmes with over three billion users globally, including Drive.
On Google’s help page, users responded strongly. One person described it as “very devastating” and said, “the files are very important to me”.
Some reported losing data from the previous few months and expressed the worry this was giving them.
One person said, “This is crazy and not a reliable cloud service.” They said, “In a panic!”
Another user commented, saying, “I will take legal action if necessary and pay for this service each month. Abnormal and really vexing.”
The original poster, who was using Windows’ Drive for Desktop, claims that none of the Google patches have been successful thus far.
Google claimed they were looking into the claims and will “follow up with more updates” in their forum post.
They advise against deleting or moving the app data folder and against disconnecting your account from the Drive for desktop app.
If users are able, they also advise creating a duplicate of the folder.
Forrester analyst Enza Ianopollo, a specialist in data privacy, stated that Google was facing a “big deal” in this regard.
She stated that providing users with a comprehensive explanation of what transpired was “very, very necessary” for the tech giant.
“Not just in terms of ‘wait, your data will appear back,’ but really understanding what happened to the data” , she stated to the reporter.
According to Ms. Ianopollo, corporate clients in particular would need to be aware of precisely when and whether their files had been read or changed, as they would bear responsibility for any lost data instead of Google.