
You are bewildered because you removed a file from your docs, stored and synced in Google Drive cloud, but the deleted file appears again in view. Breathe fresh air relaxedly as this article puzzles out this riddle, with clear-cut steps, and assist you to fix this issue.
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Table Of Contents
Why do deleted google docs reappear?
If you are the owner of the document, and after you delete it, the file is moved to “Trash”. The problem mostly occurs when you delete a shared document and you are not the owner of the document. But there are various reasons for deleted docs appearing again in view. We will unfold various reasons and ways to overcome and remove them from view.
Are you the owner of the file?
The documents on https://www.docs.google.com must be either owned by you or shared with you from other accounts. When you are the owner of the docs, please try the following fixes to oust the document from view on Google Docs.
- Change your view: After you delete the document but if it appears again in your view Google Docs, you can try changing your view to the alternate view. If you are in Grid view, change to List view or if you are viewing in the list, view them in Grid. Now you can no longer see the deleted docs.

- Try another browser: The problem most likely occurs in the Google Chrome web browser. Try deleting docs from a different browser like Firefox, Opera and likes to get rid of the problem.
- Clear browser cache: Whenever you access files and documents through the browser, the store cache and it is possible to show the deleted docs on view when it is cached. So clearing browser cache will eradicate our problem.

- Remove from Trash: Though you remove the docs, the file still prevails in the “Trash” in your Google Drive account. Open your drive and delete the document from the trash. On the left side is the list of menus and navigate to the “Trash” by clicking on the “Trash” menu. Find the document and by right-clicking on it, it shows two options, “Restore”, “Delete forever”. Please select the “Delete forever” option to open the alert popover. Proceed through the “Delete forever” option and you no longer find your docs on view.
Why do deleted docs reappear in search results on google docs?
You might have removed your document by using the “Remove” option. But it just deletes the link to your “shared with me” and not the actual file, which is stored in the cloud from the owner’s Google account. The document even reappears in your view on Google Docs. You can still find the “deleted” file in search results also. When you open the file again, it will appear again.
In order to fix this issue, one has to delete the document properly. Deleting the document as usually is done using the “Remove” option, that you find with the right click on the document, alone, is not enough to get rid of the document entirely. The document can still be accessed from the links shared with you for accessing the document.
How to remove yourself from Google Docs?
Find out the privilege you are assigned to, in order to access the document, by the owner who shared the document. The owner can assign any of the “Viewer”, “Commenter”, or “Editor” privileges.
You can find the privilege you are assigned to by opening the document, and at the top right you can see “👤+ Share”. Click on this button.

It opens a popover where It shows the list of users currently having access to the document along with their privileges.
If you are accessing the document with the “Editor” privilege, you can see “Share with people and groups” at the top of the popover.
In the disclosed list of users with their name and email, find your account and press “Editor”, you can see four options Editor, Viewer, commenter, and Remove. At the bottom of the list, find Remove.

- Tap the “Remove” button, and it alerts you, “Update permission? This will change your permission. You won’t be able to share.” with “Yes” and “No” button options. Tap the “Yes” button and it is successfully removed from your docs. You can no longer find the removed docs in view.

How to remove from View only on Google Docs?
- If you are assigned “Viewer” privilege and when you tap “👤+ Share”, it displays an alert, “Ask the owner to share” and “You’re a viewer and can’t share”.

- Similarly, if you are let to access the document with the “Commenter” privilege, it throws“Ask the owner to share” and “You’re a commenter and can’t share”.

- The shared users can’t remove themselves from the shared users list if they are assigned the “Viewer” or “Commenter” privilege. You can find the owner of the file in the shared list. You can alert them by sending an email to remove you from the document.
- Now if you are spammed with a document with “Viewer” or “Commenter” privilege by unknown sources, you can straightaway block them. You can no longer find the document.
- You can block the specific user accounts in your “Manage your Google Account” section. You can tap your account icon at the right top and below your name and mail id, you can find “Manage your Google Account”. In this section, you can find a list of menus and among them, Go to the “People & sharing” section and you can block the user under Contacts → Blocked.


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We hope you are engaged throughout the article and found enlightening ideas to try and fix your “Google Docs can’t remove from view”!