One Drive Problem.

Question

One Drive Problem.

Glenn Ginoza 0

My onedrive was full at 5 GB so I emptied it and it deleted all my pictures after I emptied the recycle bin.

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Answer 1

EmilyS726 251.7K Independent Advisor

Hello

When you deleted anything in OneDrive, if you didn't turn off the folder sync and unlink the OneDrive app, the deletion can sync to all devices running OneDrive.

Is this a personal account or a work/school account?

If it is personal account, unfortunately once deleted from Recycle Bin, it is gone. It works as it is designed to do, the files cannot be recovered.

If this is a work/school account, it might be recoverable, depending on each organization's retention policy. Reach out to your organization's IT support team, they would know what the retention policy is for your organization and can recover for you if it is still within the defined retention period.

Glenn Ginoza 0 Reputation points

2026-07-18T01:37:15.1133333+00:00

I was under the impression that the pictures folder is stored locally. This is why I deleted them on One drive to make room and I wanted to not use One Drive anymore.
EmilyS726 251.7K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-07-18T01:38:54.1166667+00:00

Yes, your pictures could be stored locally. However, if OneDrive app was running, and you didn't stop the folder sync and unlink OneDrive app, deletion from one location can sync across all devices.