Deleted chats in Google AI Studio remain fully accessible and functional for 32 days (video proof) – no actual deletion happening

Google AI Studio
1

I am reporting a critical issue in Google AI Studio that appears to be a system‑level architectural failure rather than a simple bug.

I have full video evidence proving that chats marked as “deleted” remain fully accessible, fully functional, and fully processable for 32 days after deletion. This is not a UI delay and not a backend delay. This is no deletion happening at all.

Verified facts:

  • A “deleted” chat can still be opened through its direct URL.

  • The entire conversation loads exactly as before deletion.

  • The system continues to tokenize the supposedly deleted content.

  • The model continues to respond to the deleted conversation.

  • The share link of a deleted chat still works and loads the full content.

  • This behavior is consistent across multiple tests and multiple deleted chats.

This means the “Delete” button only hides the chat from the UI.
The backend keeps everything intact.

This contradicts:

  • the expected behavior of a Delete function

  • Google’s own product expectations

  • basic privacy principles

  • GDPR requirements for actual erasure

Video evidence (2 videos):

This is not a minor issue.
This is a fundamental architectural problem where “Delete” does not delete anything.

Given the severity of this issue, and the fact that user‑deleted data remains accessible, functional, and processed for 32 days, I am preparing to escalate this matter through formal legal channels if no official clarification or fix is provided.

Users deserve real deletion, not a UI illusion.

I request an official explanation from Google:

  • Why are deleted chats still accessible?

  • Why do share links still work after deletion?

  • Why does the system continue to process data that the user explicitly deleted?

  • Is this intentional behavior or a design failure?

This requires an official response.

In addition to the technical issues described above, I want to state clearly that I have already taken formal steps outside this forum.

I have sent a registered, return‑receipt (RRR) letter to Google LLC’s Legal Department in the United States, and I have also contacted Google’s Data Protection Officer directly. Despite this, I have received no response for more than six months.

During this period I have sent several thousand messages and submissions, none of which received any meaningful reply.
This prolonged silence from Google, especially in a GDPR‑related matter, is itself a serious compliance concern.

If this continues, I will proceed with formal legal escalation.

For reference, this issue was originally discussed in the following thread: https://discuss.ai.google.dev/t/deleted-chats-remain-accessible-via-direct-url-in-google-ai-studio/79557

2

This is from personal experience but Google AI Studio for me stores the data in the Google Drive connected to your account.

For my work when deleting a chat in Google AI Studio it deletes that file from the Google AI Studio folder in Google Drive. By delete I mean it puts it in the recycle folder of Google Drive. Which I think takes around 30 days or so to clear without manual action.

From my personal experience when I clear the recycle bin in Google Drive of that file I have been unable to recover it in the manner you have been. I welcome correction or if this does not relate to your process.

3

Your experience only applies to the Google Drive trash, not to what I was talking about.
I never said I restored anything by emptying the Drive recycle bin — that’s a misunderstanding.
If you delete the file and then empty the Drive trash, your prompt is gone permanently. There is no fix, no recovery, and I cannot help with that.

Google’s own developers have explained that the file in Drive is NOT the actual chat, only a JSON with special metadata.
They wrote:
'When you save a chat in Google AI Studio, it is stored in GDrive as a JSON file without a .json extension and is marked with special metadata.
If you download and re-upload it, the metadata is lost, so GDrive treats it as a new file. As a result, AI Studio no longer recognizes it as part of your chat history.’

This means the Drive file is only a UI-level representation.
If you delete it and empty the trash, the metadata is gone forever and the chat cannot be restored.

My post is about this being a misleading commercial practice: the ‘Delete prompt’ button suggests real deletion, but Google’s TOS does not explain whether prompt data is actually deleted, how long it is retained, or what happens to it in the backend.
That’s why I can’t perform miracles, and that’s why I can’t answer questions that are based on a misunderstanding.

And just to be clear: I never emptied the Google Drive trash. I only used the Delete button in AI Studio, which moves the file into the trash. That’s why I could recover it — if you empty the trash, the metadata is gone and the prompt is permanently dead

I even recorded the process on video — I never emptied the trash. The misunderstanding is not on my side.

I don’t care about the Google Drive trash. What matters to me is that the Google AI Studio interface lies to me. If a button says ‘Delete’, then it should delete — not hand the file over to Google Drive and start a 30‑day automatic trash‑deletion timer in another app. That is exactly what Google is doing, and that is the problem.