Check activity & file versions

Access changes made to your files in Drive and keep track of who made those changes. You might notice changes when someone:

• Edits or comments in a file
• Renames a file or folder
• Moves or removes a file or folder
• Uploads a new file to a folder
• Shares or unshares an item

Important: Version history for Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides is different than history for .pdf files, images, and other files stored in Drive. Learn how to access the history of changes for Google files. 

Access past activity

1. On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
2. On the left click My Drive.
3. In the upper right, click Info .
4. Select an option. To access:
   • Recent changes, select an option:
     1. Click Activity.
     2. Scroll down the right side.
   • The activity of a specific file or folder, click the file or folder.

Save and restore recent versions

Only the most recent versions of past documents will be saved, unless you click Keep forever.

Find out when a file was added to Drive

To check when a specific file was added to Drive, you can:

1. On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
2. Right-click your selected file.
3. Click File information Click Details.
4. To locate the Created date, scroll through the side panel.

Keep forever & download a version

A version might be permanently deleted after 30 days or if there are 100 newer versions. You can pin and download older versions of your files in Google Drive:

1. On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
2. Select the file you want to download a version of.
3. In the top right, click More Manage versions.
4. Next to the version you want to save, click More Keep forever.
   • A checkmark confirms that the selected version won't be deleted.
5. To save a copy to your computer, click More Download.

Upload a new version

1. On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
2. Click the file you want to replace.
3. At the top right, click More   Manage versions  Upload new version.

Tip: If you upload a new version of a file owned by someone else, the original owner remains the same.

Delete a previous version

1. On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
2. Click on the file you want to replace.
3. At the top right, click More Manage versions.
4. Next to the version you want to delete, click More Delete.

Version history

Version history for Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides is different than file versions in Google Drive. Learn how to access the history of changes for Google files.