How to Recover Deleted Draft in Gmail?

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How to Recover Deleted Draft in Gmail

Deleted drafts on Gmail do not go to the Trash folder like deleted emails. You need to be aware of that information for the times you accidentally deleted your email. Before sending an email, it is sensible to create a draft first. Your email will look professional and well-written if you take a few moments to create a draft and re-check it first.

If you want to know how to recover deleted draft in Gmail, keep on reading. If you can recover the deleted draft within the first 10 seconds, you can find the deleted draft safely. It gets more complicated after that.

Keep on reading to find out how to recover deleted draft in Gmail after those 10 seconds.

You might also be interested in: How to Send Draft Email in Gmail?

Quick Summary

You can recover deleted draft in Gmail by: 1. Using the undo button. 2. Saving a copy from another synced device. 3. Recovering it from trash. 4. Using the HxD software. 5. By using Google vaults as Google Workspace subscriber.

How to Recover Deleted Draft in Gmail?

Deleted drafts are not complete mail, so it doesn’t go to the trash folder once deleted. However, there are a few ways to recover deleted draft in Gmail if you deleted the draft for some reason. They are:

  • Use the Undo button
  • Recover From Trash
  • Save a copy from another synced device
  • Use HxD software
  • Use Google Vaults as a Google Workspace subscriber

1. Use the Undo button

As we’ve mentioned already that the first ten seconds would be the easiest time for you to recover deleted draft in Gmail. So, when you delete the draft, you will see a notification pop-up that says that your draft is discarded. You have to press the Undo button in the first 10 seconds of pressing the Delete button.

How to Recover Deleted Draft in Gmail

Just press the ‘Undo’ button to re-open your deleted draft.

2. Recover From Trash

One of the easiest ways you can recover deleted draft in Gmail if you deleted them in 30 days time frame is by recovering them from the trash. When you delete a draft in Gmail, it’ll be stored in the ‘Trash’ section of your Gmail account. So, you can just navigate there and restore it back. To do so, follow the given steps:

  1. Open Gmail and log into your account.
  2. Tap on the ‘Hamburger icon‘ at the top.How to Recover Deleted Draft in Gmail?
  3. Select the ‘Trash‘ option.How to Recover Deleted Draft in Gmail?
  4. There, you wish to find the list of emails you deleted. Press and hold on to the draft you wish to recover to select it.How to Recover Deleted Draft in Gmail?
  5. Tap on the ‘Three dots‘ option that appears.How to Recover Deleted Draft in Gmail?
  6. Click on ‘Move to‘.How to Recover Deleted Draft in Gmail?
  7. Select where you wish to move the draft by restoring it.How to Recover Deleted Draft in Gmail?

In this way, you can recover deleted draft in Gmail easily if you deleted them anywhere within 30 days time frame. You can do so using Gmail on your phones as well as computer devices.

3. Save a copy from another synced device

You’d have at least one more device that you’ve synced your Gmail account with, right? You’ll be using that device just in case you couldn’t undo the deletion. If you have done so, to recover deleted draft in Gmail, jump quickly into these next steps:

1. Press ‘Airplane Mode’ or turn off Wi-fi on the device.

How to Recover Deleted Draft in Gmail

2. Tap ‘Drafts’ and find your draft email.

How to Recover Deleted Draft in Gmail

3. Open the email, copy its content, and paste it on your device’s notepad.

How to Recover Deleted Draft in Gmail

4. Use HxD Software

HxD software is free software that you can use to recover your deleted Gmail draft. You’d have to open your Gmail account on your browser while you use this software. Go to the ‘Task manager’, and then to processes on your laptop click on the process and press ‘Go to details’. Note down the PID for the process.

You have to click on the program which is consuming the most memory. Google Chrome and Gmail consume a lot of memory, so the program with the highest number of memory will get you to your deleted draft detail.

Now go back to the HxD window and click on ‘Open main memory’ and find the Chrome program with the same ‘Process ID’. Use the shortcut ‘Ctrl+F’ and type a portion of your deleted draft email.

The HxD window will show the text you typed in. Then you can copy and paste the text to your notepad.

5. Use Google Vaults as a Google Workspace subscriber

You can search for the archived text even if you deleted the draft by accident. But, for that, you’d have to be a paid member of Google Workspace. Being a paid member allows you to access ‘Google Vaults’.

Then you can find your deleted text in an archived form. As you are a paid member, Google keeps all of your emails safe in the Google vault for you to access- including the deleted ones. Hence, in this way as well, you can recover deleted draft in Gmail.

Final Thoughts

This is how to recover deleted draft in Gmail. If you accidentally delete your drafts, there are a few ways around recovering them. Just do not forget that your deleted draft emails won’t be stored in the Trash folder. So, you’ll have to be careful.

But even if you slip up and accidentally delete your draft email, now you have a few options to consider. Your mail could be a free account or a paid account, but you do have some options available.

If you have any queries, please let us know in the comments. We hope this article helped.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can I recover a draft after permanently deleting it?

Gmail itself does not provide you an option to recover the drafts if you have cleared it permanently even from the trash section. However, you can do so if you have your Gmail backed up or by using the HxD software and Google Vaults.

How to prevent accidentally deleting drafts in Gmail?

You can prevent deleting the drafts accidentally in Gmail by backing up your Gmail account from time to time, saving a copy of the drafts that are important on your device, starring the drafts so they are stored in a secured location, and being careful while clearing the trash.

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