Skip to main content

Deleted file recovery and version history

Lost documents, accidental edits, or deleted work? Dropbox helps you restore and recover your files.

A view of a deleted folder in Dropbox with the option to restore the folder
Easily recover deleted files

Accidentally delete an important file? Unexpectedly wipe out everything? Don't worry—Dropbox saves all your lost files for 30 days (or longer for users on Dropbox Professional and team plans). No other data recovery tools or file recovery software is required. There's no need to talk to tech support either—you can restore deleted files yourself at dropbox.com.

Data that is accidentally deleted from remote storage devices like USB flash drives, memory cards, and external hard drives can be difficult to retrieve. But with Dropbox file recovery, you can always get your data back.

User restoring a deleted folder
View version history for any file type

Accidental file changes and deletions happen. With Dropbox, they're easy to fix. All you have to do is access your version history and undo any changes that have been made.

From PDFs to Word docs, Dropbox keeps version history for all your files, so you can easily restore any file to an older version.

User restoring an earlier version of a file
Get notified about file changes

Any time a team member moves or deletes a file in a shared team folder, we’ll confirm with them to prevent files from being lost. And if they do accidentally delete or update a file in a shared folder, you’ll receive desktop and email notifications. You can then follow the file recovery process to bring your lost file back to life.

User notified of a shared file change and opening the file
Rewind your entire account

Undo accidental overwrites and edits, recover deleted files, or restore your files from virus attacks or ransomware threats. With Dropbox Rewind, you can take a whole folder or even your entire account back to any time in the last 30 days (or longer for users on Dropbox Professional and team plans).

You can also turn on computer backup so key folders on your Mac or Windows PC back up automatically.

User restoring a deleted folder using Dropbox Rewind

Frequently asked questions

File recovery is a way of restoring or recovering lost data because of accidental edits or deletions. Typically, you can restore deleted files or folders, pieces of lost data, or even an entire hard drive.

Yes, recovering or restoring deleted files from Dropbox is simple. On dropbox.com, navigate to the Deleted files page, select the recoverable files or folders you’d like to bring back, then click “Restore”.

Dropbox keeps your deleted files and edits for up to 180 days, depending on your plan.

Dropbox stores previous versions of your file for up to 180 days depending on your plan. Note: your file history doesn’t count toward your storage quota.

To see your file history on Dropbox, first search for the file name in your account on dropbox.com. Then, click "Version history” and select which version you’d like to preview. After you’ve seen the file edit history, you can choose to restore it or stay with the current version. This applies to all types of files.

Dropbox Rewind reverts your folders or even your entire account back to a specific time in the last 30 days (or longer for users on Dropbox Professional and team plans).

It restores everything in your Dropbox account to what your file system looked like before your mishap. Rewind makes it simple to fix big accidents or recover your files after a data disaster. Note: Rewind is not available for Basic users.

Computer backup applies to entire folders on your PC or Mac. When you enable computer backup, files saved in folders like Desktop, Documents, and Downloads are automatically and continuously synced to the cloud.

If you delete a file in your Desktop, Documents, and Downloads folders it will also be deleted from your cloud backup. You can use file recovery to restore that deleted file.

See more features

A Dropbox folder with a cloud icon

Cloud storage

Keep all your files safe with powerful online cloud storage

A Dropbox folder with files stored inside it

Online document storage

Manage documents online with simple and secure cloud storage

A file being backed up to the cloud

File backup

Back up your files simply and securely to protect against data loss

A user selecting a file permission setting

File permissions

Safeguard your work with powerful file permissions