Prevent loss of data or files!

In addition to following the steps listed below, you are encouraged to watch the replay of a webinar held on Tuesday September 10th that will walk you through the process in detail. There were dozens of questions asked during the webinar; we've saved them for you, they might be helpful.

Our goal is to protect your important institutional content from being deleted. To continue reduction efforts, we will begin removing accounts and content owned by former UC Berkeley students and former employees between September 17th and November 1, 2024. In order to retain access to any essential content, data, or files shared with you from these accounts, you must take immediate action. 

Use the following steps to identify these files, then move them into a Google Shared Drive, make copies when necessary, or explore other options.

FIND CONTENT: Search for items that are at risk of deletion

The following are direct links to Google Drive advanced search results you can do at any time:

  • Click to review content owned by former students and evaluate content in your folders owned by former students. When you open a Google document, you will see the following label. (Note that non-Google documents will not display a label but will be included in your search results.)

Google file is labeled as being owned by an expired account

Google file is labeled as being owned by an expired account

Once you have search results, it can be helpful to look at the file or folder location path so you can find associated documents and evaluate them as a group.

Find the folder path by highlighting a file or folder with one click without opening it. Note that if you are looking at search results the path tends to be at the bottom. Once you click into a folder location, the path will be at the top. 

If you see content you need to keep, choose from the following options to obtain ownership. Learn more about advanced Google Drive searching and using labels by watching  this video tutorial.

CLAIM YOUR CONTENT: You have three options for claiming content you should own

Involving the content owner:

Move the content if owner is inactive:

Make A Copy

  • If none of the above is possible, make a copy of the file and, if appropriate, move it to a different location.

VIDEO TUTORIALS: Short videos to show you how to find and claim Google content

Using Google Shared Drives for Effective File Sharing, Collaboration and Data Loss Prevention

2024 09 10 NPN Webinar edited

The New Professionals Network, in partnership with Berkeley bConnected, invites you to Using Google Shared Drives for Effective File Sharing, Collaboration and Data Loss Prevention, a Zoom webinar on Tuesday, September 10th at 2 p.m. This session is open to all Berkeley faculty and staff, to assist in the effort to reduce and redistribute Berkeley's digital storage in order to mitigate the impact of Google’s change in storage costs for higher education.

Topics covered:

*Preventing data loss when your team members or former students change or leave
*When to use My Drive vs. Shared Drives vs. Shared with Me
*Moving content from an individual account to a Shared Drive
*Understanding Shared Drive membership roles and permissions
*Best practices for external collaboration

Advanced Searching and Using Labels

Advanced Searching and Using Labels in Google Drive

Moving Content Into A Shared Drive

Moving Content Into Shared Drive Part 1

More Information and Help

You can find more details about the new limits and other planned changes at the project website, and if you still have questions or need help please contact us.