Pixel 7 Adobe deleted files by accident, how to recover

[R1945]

Had a long list of files in the Adobe Android Pixel 7 so I saved them to the Files app Doc Folder, and deleted them.

Now all the files are gone from my Pixel 7. First how can I recover them. I looked in Google Drive and files are not there.

In my opinion, Google needs to dump Adobe. It is a horrible app and solution for there phones. Everything should be handled by there Files app.

How can I get my files back. I had though when I saved them I could delete them.

 

[B. Diddy]

1. Which "Doc Folder"? Do you mean "Documents" category under the Categories section in the Files by Google app? Or the "Documents" directory if you go to Internal Storage (under "All storage")? The difference is that the Category is an aggregation of document types from any directory (not just the Documents directory), while the Directory is a discrete storage folder.

2. How did you delete the files? Do you mean you deleted them using the Adobe app? I don't use Adobe, but many apps like this will list files regardless of the directory they're in -- so if you delete a file using the Adobe app, it likely will delete it regardless of the directory it's in. Moving a file from one directory to another won't necessarily hide that file from the app.

3. If you deleted files using the Files by Google app, you can tap the 3-line menu button at the upper left and select Trash -- deleted files can be restored from there within 30 days. If you deleted the files using some other app (like Adobe), then I'm not sure if they can be recovered easily.

For future reference, if you want to back up a file safely, it's best to do it either to the cloud (e.g., your Google Drive, OneDrive, or whatever your cloud storage of choice is) or to external storage (e.g., a flash drive). Don't keep important files in one location only, since you never know if/when something bad might happen to the device or its storage.

 

[R1945]

I deleted them from inside the Abode app. I had a long list of old files stored wherever Adobe stores files on Android. There were a few I wanted to keep so I save them I to Android Files, and then deleted all files using the Adobe Android app. The files did not get saved, and are gone. For some reason they were not on Google Drive. Adobe is a horrible Android app, and should not be used if possible. The app stores files inside your Pixel 7, not easy to find, and limits how your use and control the files. What are the alternatives to Adobe, and can you remove it from your Pixel.

 

[B. Diddy]

I suspect that, as I mentioned before, the Adobe app probably shows you all accessible files on the phone's storage, regardless of what directory they're in -- so there's probably no specific "Adobe" directory. "Android Files" is not a specific location, but rather a file manager app. I think what happened was that you moved certain files to some other directory using the File app, thinking that this would hide them from the Adobe app, and then proceeded to delete all files listed in the Adobe app. But since the Adobe app aggregates all compatible files on the phone's storage, it still knew where you had moved that file and was still showing it in the list (and therefore deleted it).

Which Adobe app are you referring to? I just installed Adobe Acrobat, and in Acrobat's Files section under "On this device", it shows the name of the directory that files are located in (e.g., Documents, Download, etc.). Is that what you were looking at when you deleted files?

 

[R1945]

I am referring to Adobe Acrobat, and the files are all listed on that App; however, most of those Files were not on the Android files app. There were a lot of them some a year or more old so I thought inside the Acobat I would save a few I need and delete the rest. None of them got saved, and they are all gone, deleted, not to be found anywhere. Thanks

 

[B. Diddy]

Were you seeing those files in the Home section, or the Files section? The Home section has a file list that can show Recent, Starred, or On Device. Recent will also include any files that are saved to your Adobe cloud account (and therefore wouldn't show up in the phone's Files app).

If you have an Adobe cloud account, log in there and see if any of those files are there: www.adobe.com/files

 

[B. Diddy]

As for your question about alternatives to Adobe -- if you want to be able to display PDF files, there's no need for Adobe Acrobat in the first place. PDF files can be opened natively on Android devices using Google Drive (specifically, the Drive PDF Viewer).

 

[R1945]

How come Google Drive as no files for 2025, or 2024? There are only files for 2023. Why aren't those files in Google Drive. I must have something disabled.

 

[B. Diddy]

Where are you looking -- in the Google Drive app itself, or in the Adobe Acrobat app under the Files section?

Keep in mind that Google Drive won't automatically sync all of your files -- you have to make sure you're saving files to Google Drive in order for them to be kept safe in the cloud. For example, if you're saving files only to the Downloads or Documents folder of the phone's local storage, they won't be automatically backed up.

 

[R1945]

I was not aware that Google Drive does not back up files in the Android file app automatically.

So none of the files in File for over a year have not been backed up.

This seems really strange to my that Google drive does not sync and back up with the Android Google files.

I installed an app called Autosync.

 

[R1945]

Autosync does not work. Does not do automatic backup between Pixel 7 Files and Google drive.

How do you do this?

 

[R1945]

So how do I get the Files that are in the File App Android, docs, pictures, spreadsheets, etc, to show up on Google Drive.

For whatever reason, I show backups completed to Google drive, but those Android files do not show up on Google drive.

It should be simple to back up, and even sync. What am I missing?

 

[B. Diddy]

I was not aware that Google Drive does not back up files in the Android file app automatically.

So none of the files in File for over a year have not been backed up.

This seems really strange to my that Google drive does not sync and back up with the Android Google files.

I installed an app called Autosync.

This is how Google Drive has always worked on Android. It's up to the user to utilize Google Drive for things that they want to save and keep safe in the cloud. You just need to adjust your mindset to use Google Drive when saving a file that's important to you.

Autosync is a 3rd party app that I have no experience with. You can always email their support at this address: autosync@metactrl.com. They also have a website that might be useful: https://metactrl.com/

Keep in mind what I said before -- the Files app is not a location. It's a file manager app that scans your storage for files and shows you where they are. As long as files are in user-accessible directories, the Files app will show them.

Here are the steps for uploading files and folders to Google Drive: https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2424368?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform=Android&oco=1.

There are a couple of other methods as well. In the Files by Google app, if you long-press a file, you can tap the Share icon and Share it to Google Drive. Or you can tap the 3-dot menu button at the upper right, then "Back up to Google Drive."