Google: Locating and Moving "To be deleted" files

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As part of the Google Account Lifecycle process, UDIT now removes accounts belonging to individuals that no longer have an association with the University. When an account is removed, all files owned by that account will be deleted.

Accounts that are marked for removal are renamed to Deleting-[name] to signify that the account and its files are at risk of deletion. The new name of the account also includes the date and time the account was marked for deletion. The account will be removed two years after this date. To ensure that you maintain access to any necessary files owned by an account that will be deleted, follow the steps to find and manage content at risk for deletion.

To reduce the backlog of accounts owned by individuals who had left the University, UD first announced and then completed a one-time cleanup effort in June 2024. The removed accounts included:

Accounts created in 2021 and prior that have not been accessed since 2021.

Accounts created in 2021 and prior for people that did not retire or graduate from UD.


If you have questions about whether an account has been deleted,
submit this form.

UDIT strongly recommends storing important, shared data in Google Shared drives. Data stored in a shared drive is not deleted when an individual account is deleted. Also, other people can be granted access to the shared drive, which negates the need to move files.

Find and manage content at risk of deletion

Note: these steps should be done in a web browser.

Step 1: Identify content that will be deleted

First, you should search for files at risk for deletion. These search results show all content that you have access to that will be deleted as part of the Account Lifecycle process. Files owned by Deleting-[name] will be deleted when the inactive account is deleted.

UDIT recommends that you check the above link periodically in order to identify files that are at risk of being deleted. 

Additionally, a badge label titled “Marked for Deletion” will display on any Google Files (Docs, Sheets, or Slides) owned by a Deleting-[name] account for ease of identification. 

The Google "Marked for Deletion" label is displayed

Badge labels will not display on non-Google files (Word, Excel, PDF, etc.). In this case, the label will appear in the files Label pane. 

Step 2: Manage content that will be deleted

Once you have identified which files are at risk, you will need to manage any files that you would like to maintain access to. There are a few options for managing these files. 

Note: If you do not want or need a file pending deletion, you do not need to do anything—the file will be deleted.

Option 1: Move files to a Google Shared Drive
If you have edit access to the files, you can move the files to a Shared Google Drive. When a file is moved to a Shared Drive, the file is safe from being deleted. Files in a Google Shared Drive will not be lost when old accounts are removed. 
Note: If you are moving a large number of files, check out these considerations before starting the moving process. 
 
Option 2: Copy files

It is highly recommended to move files to a Shared Drive to protect them from being deleted in the future. However, if you are unable to migrate the file to a Shared Drive, you can copy the file to your My Drive. Copying files that are shared with multiple people will not maintain the sharing permissions of the original file, and changes made in a copied file will not be reflected in the original file. If this is a collaborative file, coordinate with others who have permissions to relocate the file to an appropriate collaborative space.

To copy files to your My Drive
  1. Select the file(s) you want to copy. 
  2. Click the the three vertical dots icon  at the top of the menu.
  3. Select Make a copy from the drop-down menu.
  4. A copy of the file is created in your My Drive. You can move and rename the file as needed.
 
Option 3: Re-home the account (for supervisors only)

To re-home the files for an entire account, a request must be submitted or approved by the former employee's supervisor. UDIT will obtain, from HR and Labor Relations, the needed approval to move the data, and may ask for additional information from the requester.

Re-homing an account will result in the ownership of files being transferred to the requested user. The entire Google My Drive contents of the source account will be copied to the new owner. This may result in the new owner exceeding their storage limit. If the new owner’s storage limit is exceeded, their account will go read-only. If this happens, the owner will need to request a two-week storage limit extension. After two weeks, the original storage limit will be reinstated, and, if the account is still over its limit, it will return to a read-only state. 

Direct transfers of data in accounts owned by past staff to Shared Drives are not supported by UDIT. Any transfers to Shared Drives should be handled prior to staff termination.

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