Check Cloud Storage protections before counting deletion savings
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This check is due for a source refresh. Confirm the current documentation before you rely on provider-specific details.
Check versioning, soft delete, and bucket retention before counting deletion savings, because retained data can keep storage charges accruing or block deletion. Ask the bucket owner which protections are still required before proposing any change.
What you need first
- Tool
- Google Cloud console is Google's web interface for cloud resources. Start at the Cloud Storage Buckets page for bucket settings. Cloud Billing Reports, also in the console, provides filtered cost-history views.
- Access
- Bucket retention inspection requires storage.buckets.get; listing buckets requires storage.buckets.list. Ask an authorized colleague for documented read-only results when your approved scope is not covered.
- If you do not use that tool
- Send a storage colleague the approved project and bucket names. Request versioning status, soft delete duration, retention period, and lock status. Send a billing colleague the projects and date range; request a shared Cloud Storage cost view with filters and units.
Why this is worth a look
Skipping this review can leave retained data stored and billed after deletion. Object Versioning keeps older noncurrent copies, and disabling it leaves existing versions intact. Deleting those versions can move them into soft delete. Changing the soft delete duration does not shorten the retention wait for objects already deleted.
Bucket retention can reject deletion until objects reach the required age. A locked policy cannot be removed or shortened during the bucket's lifetime.
Run this check
CHECKLISTUse the Google Cloud console or an authorized colleague handoff to record bucket protections and project or service cost context. Do not change resources or policies.
Scope and access
[ ] List the approved projects, bucket names, billing account, and billing start and end dates.
[ ] Record the review date. Settings are a current snapshot, not history for the billing period.
[ ] For bucket retention inspection, confirm storage.buckets.get; bucket listing requires storage.buckets.list. Request read-only results from an authorized storage colleague if needed.
[ ] Request cost results from an authorized billing colleague if you cannot view the approved billing scope.
Bucket settings
[ ] Use the Cloud Storage Buckets page to identify the approved buckets, or send the bucket list to the storage colleague.
[ ] Obtain each bucket's current Object Versioning status, soft delete duration, bucket retention period, and retention lock status.
[ ] Record durations with time units. Mark missing results as unknown, not disabled.
[ ] Ask the owner which buckets primarily contain short-lived temporary objects. Flag those with soft delete enabled.
Cost context
[ ] Obtain a Cloud Billing Reports view of Cloud Storage costs for the approved projects and date range, directly or through the billing colleague.
[ ] Record the report period, filters, grouping, and displayed cost units. Save or request a shared report view.
[ ] Use costs to prioritize review. Do not assign a project or service total to one bucket or its retained copies.
Owner decision
[ ] Ask which protections and durations are still required for recovery or compliance.
[ ] Record whether to keep the settings or investigate a change. Do not propose shortening or removing a locked retention policy.
[ ] Leave objects and policies unchanged during this review. Do not delete, restore, edit, or lock anything.How to confirm it
- 01
Choose the scope
List the projects and buckets to review, then choose a billing date range. Give that scope to authorized storage and billing colleagues if you need them to return read-only results.
- 02
Record each protection separately
Record versioning status, soft delete duration, and bucket retention period with lock status. Include time units and the review date. Treat missing settings as unknown, not as permission to delete.
- 03
Prioritize temporary data
Flag buckets that mainly hold short-lived temporary objects and have soft delete enabled. Use Cloud Storage costs for the selected projects and period to prioritize discussion, not to estimate savings from retained copies.
- 04
Get an owner decision
Ask the owner whether the flagged protections are still needed for recovery or compliance. Record what needs further review before any change. Rule out shortening or removing a locked bucket retention policy.
Before making changes
Do not treat this review as a savings estimate. It assumes an approved bucket list and authorized settings and cost results; it does not count retained-copy bytes or isolate their charges. Current settings may not match those active during the billing period. Changing settings alone does not establish when charges will fall.