Your data is never actually being deleted

There's a reasonable assumption most people make when they press a delete button: that the thing gets deleted. It doesn't, and this isn't some secret — it's just how cloud infrastructure works, and it's worth understanding before you invite a robot that moves and listens into your home. When you delete a file from Google Drive, or a message from any cloud service, what actually happens is that the pointer to that file gets removed from your interface. The data itself stays on the server. The rea