A fresh class action suit claims that Google tricks users into thinking their Drive files are safe from ever being wiped out. According to a report by Law360, the plaintiff, Devin Rose, argues that Drive files can actually be removed without notice, and Google doesn’t do enough to alert customers about that possibility.
The lawsuit notes that two years ago, Google said it would start clearing out data from unused or abandoned accounts, but news outlets reported at the time that paid accounts and active storage plans would be safe. However, Rose says that even though he has been paying for a subscription for four years, his files were automatically deleted without his permission.
The lawsuit claims that even now, the company continues to sell subscriptions without admitting that it might delete users’ files unexpectedly, prioritizing its own profits while causing real harm to the public, including Rose and the rest of the group. Rose aims to speak for a group of customers in California who paid for Google Drive, yet still had their data wiped out with no previous notice.
Users against Google Drive malpractice
The lawsuit states that Drive users had no idea their information might be wiped out. According to Law360, Rose claims the company never told users—even the ones paying for the service—that their data could vanish without them knowing.
The suit also suggests that people who bought subscriptions were counting on Google’s promises that their files would stay secure. As Law360 reports, the complaint argues that the defendants worked together on purpose to sell subscriptions while intentionally hiding the fact that automated systems could wipe out saved files.
Rose alleges that Google broke California laws regarding unfair competition and consumer legal remedies. He is asking for a trial by jury and wants the company to refund the group members or pay for the damages. Separately, Google just made a deal to pay $630 million to settle accusations from every state that it broke antitrust rules by dominating app sales and billing on the Play Store.
Mark D. Potter and James M. Treglio from the firm Potter Handy LLP are acting as the lawyers for the plaintiff. The case is filed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court under the name Rose, et al. v. Google LLC, with case number 25STCV36223.
File deletion and file Tracking
This is not the only time Google Drive has been under the microscope. Last September 2025, the company was sentenced to pay $425 millions. The jury said the tech giant broke the privacy rules for almost 100 million people who had specifically turned off the “Web & App Activity” setting to stop the tracking.
The group of eight jurors found that Google kept gathering personal information using a background software tool called Firebase, even after users flipped the switches that Google promised would protect their privacy. This payment is one of the biggest ever for a privacy case involving a tech company, but it is still much less than the $31 billion the people suing had originally asked for.
The jury decided Google was responsible for invading people’s privacy under California law, but they said the company was not guilty of computer fraud. People believed that switching off this Google setting would stop the company from collecting any of their data.
The button was built to stop Google from saving your activity to your personal account, but it did not stop a tool called Firebase from grabbing information from other apps you used. The main reason for the lawsuit was that the system did not work the way users expected it to. Google’s own files showed that their workers knew about this difference, yet the company still told everyone that the privacy tools protected them completely.
FAQs
Why did Google delete my stuff?
Google’s automated system deleted files because it thought the accounts were “abandoned”—yes, even for people who were still paying the subscription.
I pay monthly. Does this affect me?
It might. The man suing Google paid for four years and still lost his data. Search your Google Drive account carefully and see if something is missing.
What is the lawsuit asking for?
The plaintiff wants Google to pay back the money to California users who lost their files. It’s limited to this state for now.