Google Docs version history lets you open any earlier state of a Doc, Sheet or Slides file and roll back to it, or copy it out as a separate file. One warning first: restoring a spreadsheet wipes part of its edit trail, so in Sheets a copy is often the better choice.
The steps below are for a computer. All of them come from Google's help page, Find what's changed in a file, which covers Docs, Sheets, Slides and Vids.
You need edit access to see version history
If you can't find version history at all, check your permissions. Google's help page says you need permission to edit the file, and that without it you can't see version history. A view-only or comment-only user has to ask the owner for edit access, or ask an editor to restore the version for them.
To check who changed the file last, hover over Last edit (the Version history icon) at the top right. It shows who last updated the file and when. A blue dot on the icon means someone has updated the file since you last viewed it.
Find the version you want
- Open the file on a computer.
- Click Last edit at the top right.
- In Sheets only, click Show unmodified rows at the bottom right if you want to see every row. Sheets hides unmodified rows by default.
- Choose a version in the right panel. You'll see who updated the file and what they changed.
- Click Expand in the right panel to see grouped versions.
- Click Back at the top left to return to the current version without changing anything.
If a version you remember isn't in the list, check inside the grouped entries with Expand. Google's page says revisions "may occasionally be merged", and it doesn't say when or how. That's the reason to name important versions, covered below.
Restore an earlier version
- Click Last edit.
- Choose the earlier version in the right panel.
- At the top, click Restore this version, then Restore.
In Docs and Slides that's the whole job.
What restoring a Sheet erases
This is the part most guides leave out. According to Google's help page, restoring an earlier version of a spreadsheet clears the cell-by-cell edit history for any changes made before the restore. After that, right-clicking a cell won't show who typed what before the rollback.
If you might need to know who changed a cell (an audit, a disputed number, a shared budget), don't restore. Make a copy of the old version instead.
Copy an old version instead of restoring it
Copying leaves the current file and its history alone and gives you the old version as a new file.
- Click Last edit.
- Next to the version you want, click More, then Make a copy.
- Name the copy.
- Choose where to save it. Tick Share it with the same people if collaborators need it too.
- Click OK.
You can then paste just the lost paragraph or range back into the live file. In Sheets, if you'd rather link to the old data than paste it, IMPORTRANGE can pull it from the copy.
Name a version so it isn't merged away
Google says naming a version tracks your history and makes sure that version isn't merged.
- Click Last edit.
- Choose a previous version.
- Click More, then Name this version.
Turn on Only show named versions to filter the list down to the ones you've labelled.
There are limits. As of November 2026, Google's help page allows up to 40 named versions per document and up to 15 per spreadsheet. It doesn't give a limit for Slides. Name versions at real milestones ("Sent to client", "Before cleanup"), not every save.
See who changed a cell or a passage
In Sheets: right-click a cell and choose Show edit history. Some changes won't appear there, per Google:
- added or deleted rows and columns
- cell format changes
- changes made by formulas
- changes made before a past restore
That last item is the restore caveat again. If the history for a cell looks oddly short, someone may have restored an earlier version.
In Docs: select the text, right-click, and choose Show editors. Google lists this as available only on Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus and Education Plus. On other accounts, use Last edit and step through versions to see who changed what.
Delete version history (owners with personal accounts only)
Google's page says deleting version history is available only to the file's owner, only with a personal Google Account, and that it is permanent and can't be undone. Make a copy first if there's any chance you'll want an old version.
Delete all unnamed versions: click Last edit, then More in the panel, then Delete history, then Delete forever. This removes every version that hasn't been explicitly named.
Delete only older versions: select the newest version you want gone, click More next to it, then Delete this and older versions, then Delete forever. Named versions are kept.
On a phone
Google keeps separate help pages for mobile, such as the Android version of the same article. The steps above are for the desktop editors; if you're restoring something important, doing it from a computer lets you follow them exactly.
