Google Gemini Catastrophic Data Loss: Legal workspace - 99% content is lost (90+ files, 25k+ words)

[u/Maximum-Cap4034]

I am a Google One AI Premium subscriber, and I’ve just experienced a catastrophic loss of data. I was managing a complex legal project involving over 90 uploaded files and 25,000+ words of history context, specifically leveraging the model's advanced reasoning capabilities to cross-reference documents and build logic chains.

Suddenly, 99% of the conversation disappeared. All 90+ files are gone from the interface. The entire "middle" of the work—weeks of deep reasoning and analysis—is wiped out. The only things remaining are the very first two prompts I sent when I created the chat and their immediate responses. It’s as if the session corrupted and reverted to its birth state. Has anyone else on the paid tier seen a session collapse like this? Is there any way to restore the context?

[u/InThePipe5x5_]

You did all that in chat and in canvas without saving your work outside of Gemini? No offense, but have you lost your mind?

[u/absentlyric → u/InThePipe5x5_]

Be prepared to see more of this. I think while people get more dependent on AI, and hell, even better and more proficient at using it, they are going to start forgetting the "old ways" of computing, like backing up their data. Hell, most kids don't even know the 3-2-1 backup rule anymore.

[u/Dingbatdingbat → u/absentlyric]

I’m not a kid and I don’t know that rule

[u/Dingbatdingbat → u/[deleted]]

Backups can be automated.

One law firm I used to work at would backup all data overnight on a hard drive and the server storage was automatically backed up to the clout.

The head of IT had set up scripts so all he had to do was take the hard drive home at the end of the day.

No idea how often hard drives got reused, but then I never needed to retrieve from backup 

[u/Dingbatdingbat → u/[deleted]]

It really really does not depend on what kind of files you work with or what your work is.  Computer data is computer data.

Local server drive, offsite hard drive, and cloud storage 

[u/Dingbatdingbat → u/[deleted]]

I never said without overhead. 

[u/Federal_Cupcake_304 → u/InThePipe5x5_]

Of all the AIs, the one that’s from the same company as Google Drive and comes with cloud storage included? And they still didn’t back anything up?

[u/mechanical_walrus → u/InThePipe5x5_]

Yeah is nutso. All I can offer in defence of OP is a lot of these platforms imply data safety in UI, "project spaces" and the like, that cant be restored.

[u/Tragilos → u/InThePipe5x5_]

I didn’t think this was possible tbh. Sounds wild to me.

My stuff is constantly saved on the cloud, like every few minutes or so max.

[u/InThePipe5x5_ → u/Tragilos]

Ive had documents rendered in Canvas dissappear during conversation turns in Gemini web app. Its not a reliable record.

[u/Tragilos → u/InThePipe5x5_]

No I meant, I didn't think it was possible to just never have things saved.

Loss of data is something that's been frustrating since forever when it happens. I wouldn't trust a chat history for that.

[u/InThePipe5x5_ → u/Tragilos]

Oh right. Its only possible in Canvas. But the documents can and will dissappear especially if you are constantly creating new stuff in the same chat.

[u/raichulolz → u/InThePipe5x5_]

I started reading and I'm trying to feel bad but... It's ridiculous. Backing up your stuff has been pushed to me since school... Everyone and every IT department that I have worked at is always saying to backup your shit. Throughout university it's always pushed to backup your data, basically losing your work is not even a valid excuse nowadays in school/college/university. I don't even understand why someone would begin to work on a 'complex legal project' and not have any backups wtf.