Microsoft Safeguards your deleted files for 93 days
Here is how to restore deleted items from the SharePoint’s online recycle bin
Microsoft does the safekeeping for 93 days
Files that you delete from your SharePoint or OneDrive, are stored in your site recycle bin (also called the first stage Recycle Bin). These are stored for 93 days facilitating restoration of the deleted files in case you need them. If you delete the files from the site recycle bin, they will then be stored, for the remainder or 93 days, in the site collection Recycle Bin (second-stage Recycle Bin). However, after 93 days these files will be purged from the recycle bin permanently. Restore an item from the SharePoint Online site collection Recycle Bin
- Go to the site, and in the left pane, choose Recycle Bin
- Choose Recycle Bin on left navigation.
- If you don’t see the Recycle Bin, follow these steps:
- Click
Settings button from SharePoint Online and then click “Site settings“. If you don’t see Site settings, click Site information and then click “View all site settings“. Some pages might require you to select “Site contents“, and then Site settings. - Click “Recycle bin“under Site Collection Administration.
- Settings under Site Collection admin heading with Recycle highlighted.
- Click
- At the bottom of the Recycle Bin page, click “second-stage recycle bin“.
- SharePoint online recycle bin with Second-level link highlighted
- Note: You need administrator or owner permissions to use the site collection Recycle Bin. If you don’t see it, it might have been disabled or you don’t have permission to access it.
- Point to the items you want to restore, click the check icon to the right of each one, and then click “Restore“.
- SharePoint Online Restore button highlighted
- If you restore an item that was originally located in a deleted folder, the folder is recreated in its original location and the item is restored in that folder.
If you need help retrieving files from Microsoft’s online recycle bin or with any other Microsoft 365 products,