Delete work forever

Delete forever removes the normal recovery path

Use Delete forever only when the team is sure the deleted work should not be restored. This action is intentionally stricter than restore because it permanently removes the item from normal Trash recovery.

If there is any doubt, restore the work first or leave it in Trash until the retention window ends. Permanent deletion is the wrong place for guesswork. A deleted project, canvas, dashboard, OKR session, or file can represent decisions, client work, billing artifacts, research, or audit context that someone else still needs.

For recovery actions, see Restore deleted work.

Who can delete forever

Permanent deletion is permission-sensitive and usually more restricted than restore. Workspace admins, owners, or item managers may have Delete forever where regular members do not. Guests and view-only collaborators should not expect to have permanent deletion actions.

If the Delete forever action is missing, your role probably does not allow it for that item. Ask an admin or owner to review the deletion. Do not work around the missing action by asking someone to empty Trash unless you understand the wider workspace impact.

For role details, see Members, guests, and external collaborators.

Before you permanently delete

Check the item type, title, deletion date, owner, and location. If the item is a project or canvas, consider whether it contains files, comments, decisions, tasks, or linked work that others may still need. If it is a file, confirm that the containing canvas no longer needs it and that a replacement exists if required.

Ask the owner or team if the work might be needed for a client, compliance, billing, legal, retrospective, or launch record. Permanent deletion should be boring because everyone already agrees it is safe.

If the goal is storage cleanup, read Files, storage, and quota. Permanent deletion can be part of cleanup, but it should follow a deliberate review.

Delete one item forever

Open Trash and choose the relevant resource tab. Find the deleted item, open its actions, and choose Delete forever when available. Read the confirmation carefully. Confirm only if you are sure the item should be permanently removed.

After deletion, the item should no longer appear in Trash. It should also not be restorable through ordinary ALLO controls. If the item still appears for a moment, refresh after the action finishes.

If the delete action fails, your permission may have changed, the item may already have been restored or deleted by someone else, or the item may be part of a larger deletion process. Refresh Trash and check the normal location before trying again.

Delete forever versus Empty Trash

Delete forever applies to a specific item. Empty Trash applies more broadly to the workspace Trash snapshot and is admin-only. Empty Trash can permanently remove many items, including items you have not loaded on screen yet.

Use Delete forever when you have reviewed one item and know it can be removed. Use Empty Trash only when an admin intentionally wants to clear the workspace Trash according to workspace policy. See Empty Trash.

Files and permanent deletion

When you permanently delete a file from Trash, you are deleting the normal recovery path for that file. The original file data and storage cleanup can have their own lifecycle, but the user-facing restore path is gone.

If the file was removed from the wrong canvas by mistake, restore it instead of deleting forever. If the parent canvas still exists, restoring the reference is the clearest fix. See Remove a file from a canvas.

If the parent canvas or project was also permanently deleted, file-reference recovery may no longer be possible.

What permanent deletion does not solve

Permanent deletion does not fix wrong-account access, a missing share, or a read-only role. Use Can't access work or Fix shared access for access problems.

Permanent deletion does not automatically teach teammates which files are safe to remove. If cleanup keeps deleting active work, fix the naming, project organization, and ownership process.

Permanent deletion does not replace export or records management. If the workspace needs a copy before deletion, export or preserve it before the item leaves Trash.

If you deleted forever by mistake

Act quickly, but be clear-eyed: normal Trash restore is no longer available after permanent deletion. Ask a workspace admin or support contact what options exist for the specific workspace and item type. Provide the workspace name, item type, title, deletion time, who deleted it forever, and why it needs recovery.

Do not create a new item with the same name and pretend it is the same work unless the team agrees. A recreated canvas or project will not automatically include the original comments, files, history, or links.