I just noticed that every single email I had in Gmail from before 2020 is gone. I’m really upset about this because there was important stuff in those messages that I still need.
I tried using Gmail’s recovery tool but it was basically useless. It only asked me to click a button saying “Most of my emails are missing” and after like 10 seconds it told me the emails were deleted forever and they can’t restore them. They just said sorry and suggested I check my account security.
I only use Gmail through the web browser or the official app on my phone. I used to sync it with Apple Mail and Outlook before but all my old emails were still there back then.
I already checked everywhere - spam folder, all the other folders, trash, everything. I don’t have any filters set up or forwarding rules. When I look at All Mail the oldest stuff is some chat logs from 2008-2009 and then the oldest actual email is from May 25, 2020.
Does anyone know what could cause this? Is there any way to get these emails back? I’m thinking about switching to a different email provider because this is scary. Has this happened to other people or is it just me?
I experienced something similar about two years ago but mine was related to POP3 settings from an old email client configuration. Even though you mentioned using Apple Mail and Outlook previously, there might still be some residual settings affecting your account.
What really helped in my case was checking the “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” section in Gmail settings. Sometimes old POP configurations can cause emails to be marked as accessed and subsequently removed from the server without you realizing it. This could explain why your emails disappeared around a specific timeframe.
Also worth trying is logging into Gmail from an incognito browser window or clearing your browser cache completely. I know it sounds basic but sometimes the web interface doesn’t display everything correctly due to cached data conflicts.
Before switching providers entirely, you might want to contact Google support directly through their business support channels rather than just using the automated recovery tool. They sometimes have additional recovery options that aren’t available through the standard interface, especially if you can provide specific details about important emails you’re looking for.
yo, had a similar issue! sometimes emails get archived and u don’t notice. try checking under the ‘all mail’ section or maybe log in from a different device. also, check filter settings, they can mess with things. don’t give up just yet!
This happened to my colleague last year and it turned out Gmail had automatically deleted emails due to storage limits being reached. Even though you might think you have plenty of space, sometimes the system purges old emails when approaching capacity thresholds.
I would suggest checking your Google account storage usage across all services including Drive and Photos. If you were close to your limit around 2020, Gmail might have cleaned house automatically. You can also try searching for specific sender names or subjects from that time period using Gmail’s advanced search operators.
Another possibility is that your account was compromised at some point and someone deliberately deleted the emails. Check your account activity log in Google’s security settings to see if there were any suspicious logins around that timeframe. Unfortunately, if Gmail’s recovery tool already told you they’re permanently deleted, your options are quite limited.