Before you cancel Google Workspace.

What happens to the data when you cancel Google Workspace

1. Google warns that after you cancel a Google Workspace subscription, your users' Google Workspace data will be deleted and can't be restored, and tells you to download any user data you want to save (such as Gmail messages, Calendar events, Chat messages and Drive files) before you cancel. An email-verified subscription can instead choose to let users keep their data.

   Plans: all editions bought directly from Google (resellers, Gmail-address Business sign-ups, Essentials and app-store billing have separate cancel pages); email-verified subscriptions can choose to let users keep their data

   Google’s words

   Caution: After you cancel your Google Workspace subscription, your users' Google Workspace data will be deleted and can't be restored. Before you cancel your Google Workspace subscription, download any user data you want to save. This data might include Gmail messages, Google Calendar events, Google Chat messages, and files stored in Google Drive.

   knowledge.workspace.google.com, read October 29, 2026

2. On an email-verified subscription, choosing to delete users' data at cancellation deletes My Drive and shared drive data over a period of up to 90 days, and users cannot open Drive during that time.

   Plans: email-verified subscriptions only

   Google’s words

   Select Delete users' data. All user data in My Drive and organization data in shared drives will be deleted. Deletion can take up to 90 days, and users can't access Drive during this period.

   knowledge.workspace.google.com, read October 29, 2026

3. If you keep your organization's Google Account after canceling, you can resubscribe within 51 days and get back your user accounts, groups and organizational units; after that you have to wait until the cancellation process finishes at 84 days.

   Plans: all (organization keeps its Google Account)

   Google’s words

   If you keep your organization's Google Account, you can resubscribe to Google Workspace later and your user accounts, groups, and organizational units will still be available. You can add your new subscription within 51 days of canceling. Otherwise, you'll need to wait until after 84 days when the cancellation process finishes.

   knowledge.workspace.google.com, read October 29, 2026

4. An admin can restore a deleted user for up to 20 days after deletion; after 20 days the data is gone for good.

   Plans: all

   Google’s words

   You can restore a user account (including administrator accounts) up to 20 days after deleting it. After 20 days, the data is gone and you can't restore it.

   knowledge.workspace.google.com, read October 29, 2026

5. Restoring a deleted user within 20 days brings back some data, including their Gmail, any Drive files that were not transferred, and their primary and shared calendars.

   Plans: domain-verified organizations

   Google’s words

   You can restore a deleted account for up to 20 days. Some data is also restored, including their Gmail content and Drive files that weren't transferred, and their primary and shared calendars.

   knowledge.workspace.google.com, read October 29, 2026

6. Deleting a user ends any Vault holds or retention rules on their data, which can then be purged immediately and cannot be recovered even if you restore the user within 20 days.

   Plans: organizations using Google Vault

   Google’s words

   If your organization uses Google Vault, any retention rules or holds placed on the deleted user's data no longer apply. Data can be purged immediately. It can't be recovered even if you restore the user within 20 days.

   knowledge.workspace.google.com, read October 29, 2026

7. If Vault licenses go unpaid for 30 days they are terminated, retention rules stop being enforced, and the affected data is lost with no recovery option.

   Plans: editions with Vault licenses (included or add-on)

   Google’s words

   After 30 days of nonpayment, Vault licenses are terminated. As a result, retention rules aren't enforced and affected data is lost, with no recovery options.

   knowledge.workspace.google.com, read October 29, 2026

Who can export what, by plan

1. A super administrator exports the organization's data with the Data Export tool to a Google Cloud Storage archive for download; individual users can download their own data with Google Takeout if it is allowed for them.

   Plans: all editions (full export)

   Google’s words

   With the Data Export tool, you can export your organization's data to a Google Cloud Storage archive and download it. To let your users download their data, allow Google Takeout and refer users to How to download your Google data. ... You must be signed in as a super administrator for this task.

   knowledge.workspace.google.com, read October 29, 2026

2. The Data Export tool exports everything users could get through Takeout plus admin-only data, such as deleted data retained by Vault and organization-owned data like quarantined Gmail.

   Plans: all

   Google’s words

   The Data Export tool exports the same data that's available with Google Takeout for users. It also exports data that's available only to admins, such as deleted data that's retained by Vault and customer-owned data. Customer-owned data is owned by your organization rather than individual users, such as Gmail messages in admin quarantine.

   knowledge.workspace.google.com, read October 29, 2026

3. Filtered exports by organizational unit, group or up to 100 users are available only on Assured Controls, Assured Controls Plus, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard and Education Plus; every edition can export all of the organization's data or run a filtered export for a single user.

   Plans: as listed per edition

   Google’s words

   Export features by Google Workspace edition Your Google Workspace edition determines which exporting features are available to you. | Assured Controls, Assured Controls Plus | Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus | All other Google Workspace editions | Export all of your organization's data | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Run a filtered data export for a single user | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Run a filtered data export for an organizational unit, group, or up to 100 users | ✔ | ✔ |

   knowledge.workspace.google.com, read October 29, 2026

4. Google Vault, which can retain, search, hold and export users' Workspace data, is included in Business Plus, Enterprise Standard and Plus, Frontline Standard and Plus, all Education editions, Enterprise Essentials and Essentials Plus (domain-verified) and G Suite Business.

   Plans: Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Frontline Standard, Frontline Plus, all Education editions, Enterprise Essentials and Essentials Plus (domain-verified), G Suite Business; add-on for some others

   Google’s words

   If your organization's edition of Google Workspace doesn't include Vault, you may be able to buy Vault add-on licenses. After you assign Vault licenses to some or all users in your organization, you can retain, search, hold, and export their Google Workspace data. | Vault licenses included | Vault add-on licenses available Frontline Standard and Frontline Plus Business Plus Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus All Education editions Enterprise Essentials and Enterprise Essentials Plus (domain-verified only) G Suite Business

   knowledge.workspace.google.com, read October 29, 2026

5. To export from Vault, a person needs the Manage Matters, Manage Searches and Manage Exports privileges assigned by a Workspace administrator.

   Plans: editions with Vault

   Google’s words

   To search for and export data, your Google Workspace administrator must assign you the Manage Matters, Manage Searches, and Manage Exports privileges.

   knowledge.workspace.google.com, read October 29, 2026

What can stop or limit an export

1. To run the Data Export tool, the super admin account must be at least 30 days old (unless the whole organization is younger than 30 days) and must have 2-Step Verification turned on.

   Plans: all

   Google’s words

   Use a Google Workspace or Cloud Identity super administrator account that is at least 30 days old (unless you created your organizational account less than 30 days ago). Have 2-Step Verification (2SV) turned on for your account.

   knowledge.workspace.google.com, read October 29, 2026

2. Gmail, Drive and Chat data can only be exported while the Workspace subscription is active; a canceled or suspended subscription drops that data from the export.

   Plans: all

   Google’s words

   To export data from core Google Workspace services (such as Gmail, Drive, and Chat), your organization must have an active Google Workspace subscription. This data is excluded from the export if your Google Workspace subscription is canceled or suspended.

   knowledge.workspace.google.com, read October 29, 2026

3. An export is not available until at least 48 hours after you start it, usually takes 72 hours, and can take up to 14 days.

   Plans: all

   Google’s words

   The export is available no earlier than 48 hours after you start the export. This waiting period helps provide security for your organization's data. Data export typically takes 72 hours but can take up to 14 days, depending on the size of your data export.

   knowledge.workspace.google.com, read October 29, 2026

4. If you use the default Google-provided storage bucket, the exported data is deleted automatically 60 days after the export started, so download it before then.

   Plans: all (Google-provided bucket)

   Google’s words

   The exported data is automatically deleted 60 days from the beginning of the export.

   knowledge.workspace.google.com, read October 29, 2026

5. Outside Assured Controls, Assured Controls Plus, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard and Education Plus, Google requires at least 30 days between full data exports; those editions have no minimum interval.

   Plans: 30 days for all other Google Workspace editions; none for Assured Controls, Assured Controls Plus, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus

   Google’s words

   | Assured Controls, Assured Controls Plus | Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus | All other Google Workspace editions ... Minimum time interval between full data exports | None | None | 30 days

   knowledge.workspace.google.com, read October 29, 2026

6. Vault export files can be downloaded for 15 days after the export starts; after that they are deleted and the export has to be run again.

   Plans: editions with Vault

   Google’s words

   Export files are available for 15 days after you start the export. After 15 days, they're deleted and you must re-create the export if you need to access the data.

   knowledge.workspace.google.com, read October 29, 2026

7. A user's Takeout archive expires in about 7 days and can be downloaded at most 5 times.

   Plans: all (user Takeout)

   Google’s words

   Your archive expires in about 7 days. After that time, you'll want to create a new archive with your most up-to-date information. An expired archive doesn't mean your data has expired, and you won't experience any change in Google services as a result. Note: We only allow each archive to be downloaded 5 times; after that, please request another archive.

   support.google.com, read October 29, 2026

What the export looks like

1. The Data Export tool delivers the archive as zip files, with a folder for each user that holds a zip file of that user's data.

   Plans: all

   Google’s words

   Your exported data archive is available in compressed files called zip files. The root folder has a list of user folders that contain a zip file of that user's data.

   knowledge.workspace.google.com, read October 29, 2026

2. Vault exports Gmail, Google Groups and Google Chat messages as PST or mbox files, whichever you choose.

   Plans: editions with Vault

   Google’s words

   If you're exporting from Gmail, Google Groups, or Google Chat, choose the format for the message content files, PST or mbox.

   knowledge.workspace.google.com, read October 29, 2026

3. Vault converts exported Google Drive files to Office and other standard formats: Docs to DOCX, Sheets to XLSX, Forms to ZIP, Slides to PPTX, Drawings and Sites to PDF.

   Plans: editions with Vault

   Google’s words

   Exported Google files are converted as follows: Google Docs to DOCX Google Sheets to XLSX Google Forms to ZIP (HTML and CSV) Google Slides to PPTX Google Drawings to PDF Google Sites to PDF.

   knowledge.workspace.google.com, read October 29, 2026

4. Takeout archives for individual users come as zip or tgz files.

   Plans: all (user Takeout)

   Google’s words

   File type Zip files These files can be opened on almost any computer. Tgz files You may need additional software to open these files on Windows.

   support.google.com, read October 29, 2026

What is deleted while you still pay

1. Deleted Gmail messages sit in Trash for 30 days and are then permanently deleted with no way to recover them.

   Plans: all (Gmail Help, not edition-specific)

   Google’s words

   When you delete a message in Gmail, it's moved to Trash. Up to 30 days after deletion: You can find the message in Trash. You can recover the message from your trash and move it back to your inbox. You can also delete the message permanently. After that, you can't recover the message. After 30 days: The message is permanently deleted. You can't recover the message.

   support.google.com, read October 29, 2026

2. Drive permanently deletes anything left in the trash for more than 30 days, and once a user empties the trash an admin has only 25 days to recover the items.

   Plans: all

   Google’s words

   As an administrator, you can recover deleted items from Google Drive within 25 days after a user empties their trash. After that period, Google purges those items from its systems and they can't be recovered. ... If an item is in the trash for more than 30 days, Drive automatically permanently deletes it.

   knowledge.workspace.google.com, read October 29, 2026

What Google’s pages do not say

• Google's Workspace help pages we read do not give the number of days between canceling a domain-verified subscription and permanent deletion.