Gmail is one of the most famous email platforms. It was launched by Google in 2004. Gmail supports all email clients through POP3 and IMAP protocols. Although it has a lot of competitors like Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, Windows Live Mail, and Inbox.Com, Gmail has out-beaten everyone with around 1.5 billion active users as of 2019. You can access Gmail’s services either through your web browser or the official mobile application. When it started in 2004, it provided 1 GB of individual storage space to all users. But now, Gmail has increased this space to 15 GB per user. While each user can receive emails up to 50 MB in size, they can only send emails that are lesser than 25 MB in size. This includes text, images, links, attachments, documents, and even signatures.
Gmail provides you a special feature called Drafts. Using this feature, you can temporarily store a rough copy of your email before sending them. When you are constructing your email through Gmail, you have an option to save your email as a draft. In this way, you can just save a draft copy of your email if you are not ready to send it as such. Also, if you exit Gmail while you are writing your email, or if Gmail closes automatically due to a technical glitch, you need not worry. Gmail stores a copy of your current status in the Draft section.
However, at times, you may delete your drafts and want them back for some reason. If you are searching for a solution to this problem, then you are in the right place. We have listed a few methods to get back your deleted drafts. Keep reading to find the perfect solution –
Method 1 – Recover Gmail Draft Using the Undo Button
Gmail provides a backup option if you accidentally delete your draft. There is an undo button that brings back your deleted drafts immediately. But this button appears for only like 10 seconds since you have deleted your draft and disappears after that. So, if you want to recover your draft as soon as you delete it, you can use this method. Click on Undo that appears in a pop-up as soon as you delete your draft.
However, this method cannot be used if you can’t act fast. The Undo button disappears after a short time (nearly 10 seconds) since you deleted your draft. So, if it has been longer than that, this method cannot be used to get back your draft. Keep reading to find the next perfect method.
Method 2 – Recovering Draft Through your Mobile Phone
As mentioned before, Gmail can be accessed through your web browser and your mobile phone. Though your mobile app is updated periodically, it takes a little bit of time to load the changes made. So, if you have deleted your draft on your PC or in any of your web browsers, then you can try this method. Here is how you do it –
As soon as you have deleted your draft from your web browser, switch off the internet connection from your mobile phone. Now open the Gmail Application. The changes won’t be reflected and a cached version of your account will be fetched. If the last sync was made when your draft was not deleted, then your cached version will still contain your draft. Open the draft, start editing it, and switch on the internet connection when your draft is ready to send. If you don’t want to send your draft and want it to remain in the draft section, then copy the entire content of the draft, switch on your internet and then paste the content into a new draft.
In this way, you won’t lose your draft. However, this method will not always work. If you have deleted your draft from your mobile phone, or if your application synced after your draft was deleted, or if the internet was not connected during the creation of the draft, or if it has been too long since you deleted your draft, then you won’t find your draft in your mobile application. In such cases, keep reading the article. There is one other method that may help you get back your draft.
Method 3 – Contacting Google Support
If you have deleted a really important email draft and want it back, then you have no other option than to contact Google Support. Unlike other emails, the draft emails do not go to the trash or bin folder. Unfortunately, Google does not provide any other option to get back your discarded drafts. So, your only way is to contact Google. Don’t put your entire hopes in this method as there is no guarantee of getting back your drafts. However, it is worth a try and you can submit a request to Google. Here is how you do it –
- Visit the Google Drive Help page.
- Scroll down and choose Contact Us under the Need more help? section.
- Google will take you to a new page with a form. You need to fill up the given form.
- Under the Let’s get started tab, type in Missing or Deleted Files. Click on Next Step.
- A number of options will be listed in the next tab. Choose your appropriate issue. In the current case, click on Permanently deleted my file.
- Google will list you a number of articles that you can refer. Read them out and follow the instructions mentioned below.
- If nothing suits your problem, click on Next Step given below.
- In the next page, click on Email to send an email request to Google.
Once you send a request, the Google support team analyzes your request. If it finds the reason to be genuine, a member of the Google Support Team will contact you shortly. They will provide you with further instructions to sort out your problems.
