# Request to restore an old AnkiWeb server backup **URL:** \ **Category:** Syncing & AnkiWeb\ **Created:** [September 13, 2026, 6:37am UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/request-to-restore-an-old-ankiweb-server-backup/71013 "2026-09-13T06:37:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nargesnana69.ns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8e8cbc/32.png) [@nargesnana69.ns](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/nargesnana69.ns)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2026, 6:37am UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/request-to-restore-an-old-ankiweb-server-backup/71013/1 "2026-09-13T06:37:52Z")
Hello, I recently logged back into my old AnkiWeb account after a long period of inactivity. My AnkiWeb collection is now empty and only the Default deck is shown. I am certain this is the same AnkiWeb account I used previously, and I had many decks and cards synced with this account. I checked the available AnkiDroid backups, but they only contain the current empty collection. Could you please check whether you have any older server-side backup of my AnkiWeb collection and restore the most recent backup that contains my old decks and cards? Thank you very much. ---
**Author:** ![Danika\_Dakika](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/forums.ankiweb.net/danika_dakika/32/17815_2.png) [@Danika\_Dakika](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/Danika_Dakika)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2026, 7:00am UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/request-to-restore-an-old-ankiweb-server-backup/71013/2 "2026-09-13T07:00:37Z")
I’m looking at the account connected to the email address you used to post here. The data was removed from this account in October 2022, after it had been inactive for at least 6 months. We delete the data from accounts in our system that aren’t being used for syncing or studying, so AnkiWeb isn’t suitable for long-term storage of your inactive collection – [AnkiWeb account removal - Anki FAQs](https://faqs.ankiweb.net/ankiweb-account-removal.html) . However that policy only affects the data on our servers. If you still have a local copy of your collection on _any devices_ where you used Anki / AnkiMobile / AnkiDroid, you can upload your collection to AnkiWeb and resume syncing. You should really check all of your devices, because your collection should still be on any mobile device where you haven’t uninstalled the app – and on any desktop device, even if you did uninstall the app. Generally when data is removed from an account, that includes the server-side backups. However there is one that was retained in your account – from May 2022. [Just like a local automatic backup, that does not include any media attached to your collection.] I expect that version of your collection is older than whatever you have on your device(s), but _ **if you want me to restore it to your AnkiWeb account, please confirm.** _ * * * Other things you can do right now – - Make sure the email address you’re using for your AnkiWeb account is one that you have permanent access to. If you lose touch with that email, you won’t get important emails from us – like notification that your data is pending deletion. And if you can’t re-verify your email address annually, you might not be able to access AnkiWeb at all. - If you know you’re going to take a long break from studying, you can [create your own COLPKG backup](https://docs.ankiweb.net/backups.html#creating-1) of your collection and store that in a separate place (e.g., another device, a cloud storage account). ---
**Author:** ![nargesnana69.ns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8e8cbc/32.png) [@nargesnana69.ns](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/nargesnana69.ns)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2026, 7:29am UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/request-to-restore-an-old-ankiweb-server-backup/71013/3 "2026-09-13T07:29:38Z")
Yes, please restore the May 2022 backup to my AnkiWeb account. Thank you very much! ---
**Author:** ![Danika\_Dakika](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/forums.ankiweb.net/danika_dakika/32/17815_2.png) [@Danika\_Dakika](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/Danika_Dakika)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2026, 5:39pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/request-to-restore-an-old-ankiweb-server-backup/71013/4 "2026-09-13T17:39:03Z")
I have restored that. On your next sync, click **download from AnkiWeb** (or that you want to keep the collection on AnkiWeb). ---
**Author:** ![nargesnana69.ns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8e8cbc/32.png) [@nargesnana69.ns](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/nargesnana69.ns)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 2:39am UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/request-to-restore-an-old-ankiweb-server-backup/71013/5 "2026-09-14T02:39:42Z")
Yes, please restore the backup from May 2022 to my AnkiWeb account. I understand that the backup may not include any media files attached to the collection. Thank you very much for checking and helping me with this. I really appreciate it. ---
**Author:** ![Danika\_Dakika](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/forums.ankiweb.net/danika_dakika/32/17815_2.png) [@Danika\_Dakika](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/Danika_Dakika)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 4:25am UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/request-to-restore-an-old-ankiweb-server-backup/71013/6 "2026-09-14T04:25:02Z")
I restored it already, when I sent my prior message.