How to delete and restore synced files

Proton Drive makes it easy to manage your files. In case you no longer need a file or you need to free up storage, you can delete files using the web app or our Windows app

Files stored in the Photos(neues Fenster) section of Proton Drive can’t be deleted or restored from the Windows or macOS apps. To manage photos, please use the web app or one of our mobile apps.

Deleting files

Web app

1. Visit the Proton Drive web app at drive.proton.me(neues Fenster) and sign in with your Proton Account.
2. Select the file you want to delete.
3. Click the Move to Trash button.

Trashed files and folders are sent to the Trash(neues Fenster) tab. They are not permanently and still count toward your Proton Drive storage.

Windows or Mac app

1. Open File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac).
2. Go to the Proton Drive folder.
3. Right-click (Windows) or secondary-click (Mac) the files you want to delete.
4. Select Delete (Windows, or the trash icon on Windows 11) or Move to Trash (Mac).

What happens next depends on whether the file has been downloaded to your device:

• Online-only files: You’ll see a warning that the file will be removed from your device without being placed in the recycle bin / trash can. The file will still be moved to your Proton Drive trash.
• Downloaded files: The file will be moved both to your device’s recycle bin and to the Proton Drive trash in the web app.

You can restore the file from either location, but restoring it from your computer’s recycle bin / trash will re-upload it as a new file. This leaves you with two copies in Proton Drive: the restored version and the original still in the trash. Items in Proton Drive’s trash count toward your storage limit, so we recommend restoring from the Proton Drive trash whenever possible.

Android or iOS app

1. Open the Proton Drive app on Android(neues Fenster) or iOS(neues Fenster).
2. Find the file or files you want to delete.

Delete a single file

Tap the vertical ellipsis ⋮ (Android) or horizontal ellipsis … (iOS) next to it, then select Move to trash.

Delete multiple files

Long-press a file to enter multi-selection mode. Select all the files you want to delete, and then:

• On iOS, tap the Trash 🗑 button in the lower-left corner and then Remove files to confirm.

• On Android, tap the vertical ellipsis ⋮ button in the top-right corner and select Move to trash.

Restoring deleted files

Web app

Here’s how to restore deleted files using the Proton Drive web app:

1. Visit the Proton Drive web app at drive.proton.me(neues Fenster) and sign in with your Proton Account.
2. Go to the Trash(neues Fenster) tab.
3. Right-click a file and select Restore from trash.

Windows or Mac app

Here’s how to restore Proton Drive deleted files on Windows and Mac. This option only works for files that were downloaded to your device before deletion:

1. Open File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac).
2. Open the Recycle Bin (Windows) or Trash (Mac).
3. Right-click a file and select Restore (Windows) or Put Back (Mac).

The file will be re-uploaded as a new item, so you may end up with a duplicate if the original is still in the Proton Drive trash.

Android or iOS app

1. Open the Proton Drive mobile app.
2. Tap the menu ☰ button and open Trash.

• To restore a single file, tap the vertical ellipsis ⋮ button (Android) or horizontal ellipsis … (iOS) next to the file and choose Restore (Android ) or Restore file (iOS).

• On iOS, you can also restore multiple files at once: Long-press a file to start selecting, select the files you want to restore, then tap Restore.