"When I woke up in the morning, Gemini's sidebar was completely white..." "All my past conversations were gone!" -- Since around February 19, 2026, Google Gemini users have been complaining like this one after another.

In conclusion, It is highly likely that the conversation data itself has not disappeared. According to Google's official announcement, the cause was a "display failure of conversation metadata," and the history was simply not displayed in the sidebar due to a background processing glitch. In other words, the data remains but is no longer visible.

In this article, if your Gemini conversation history disappears, we will explain Three recovery methods you can try now and explain why this happened in the first place. This is the latest information as of February 2026.

What happened? Major bug in February 2026

On February 19, 2026 (Japan time), it was reported worldwide that the conversation history in the sidebar suddenly became blank in a wide range of accounts, including not only free Gemini users but also Gemini Advanced, Business, and Google Workspace paid plans.

The symptoms are summarized as follows.

  • Conversation list in sidebar is completely blank
  • No past conversations are displayed
  • You can start a new conversation normally, but it disappears again when you close it
  • Same symptoms occur on PC (gemini.google.com) and smartphone app

Google became aware of the issue on Google Workspace Status Dashboard and announced the cause, stating that "a background process was causing the user's conversation metadata to be missing." This process has been stopped and recovery efforts are underway (as of February 20, 2026).

Roughly speaking, The content of the conversation has not been deleted, but the data that corresponds to the "Conversation Table of Contents" has failed to be loaded. Therefore, past conversations may be found through searches and activities.

Method 1: Search for keywords using Gemini's search function

The first thing to try is to use the search window (magnifying glass mark) at the top of Gemini.

Steps (common to PC and smartphone):

  1. gemini.google.com or open the Gemini app
  2. Tap the magnifying glass mark (search icon) at the top of the screen
  3. Search by entering keywords used in past conversations
  4. If you find a matching conversation, tap to open it

Many users have reported that they can access past conversations from the search function even though they are not listed in the sidebar. Try using keywords (parts of prompts or topic names) that are part of the conversation you're looking for.

However, not all conversations can be found through search. If you can't find it, try the next method.

Method 2: Check in Gemini Apps Activity (My Activity)

Google has a feature called "My Activity" that records all Gemini operations in chronological order. You can check past interactions here.

Steps (PC):

  1. Visit myactivity.google.com/product/gemini
  2. Log in with your Google account
  3. Gemini prompts (questions) are listed by date
  4. When you find the desired question, note down the keyword

Steps (smartphone):

  1. Open Gemini app
  2. Tap the profile icon on the top right
  3. Select "Gemini App Activities"

What I would like to note here is that what is displayed in My Activity is mainly the question (prompt) that you sent, and the text of Gemini's answer will not be displayed in its entirety. It is best to use it as a clue to remember ``what kind of conversation we had'' and wait for Gemini to recover before restoring the text.

Method 3: Log in again using a different browser or incognito mode

This problem is most likely a "display issue," so there are also cases where the page is not displayed correctly due to browser cache or cookies.

Things to try:

  • Go to gemini.google.com and log in in Incognito mode (Ctrl+Shift+N / Cmd+Shift+N in Chrome)
  • Log in with another browser (Firefox, Edge, Safari, etc.)
  • Switch between smartphone and PC (Even if it disappears on the PC, it may be displayed on the smartphone app)
  • Clear your browser's cache and try again

In fact, there are reports that ``when I opened it again a few hours later, it returned to normal,'' so it is also effective to check again after a while.

Prepare for the future! How to backup Gemini conversations

What we can learn from this case is that conversation data from cloud AI services can disappear at any time. It is a good idea to back up important conversations yourself.

Recommended backup method:

  • Using Google Takeout: If you check "Gemini Apps" and export from takeout.google.com, you can download past conversation data all at once
  • Save important answers by copying and pasting: Especially for research results and code generation results used at work, it is best to copy them on the spot to Notion, Google Docs, etc.
  • Create a shared link: Gemini conversations can generate a link from the "Share" button. Save links to important conversations so you can still access them even if they disappear from the sidebar

The same risks exist with other AI services such as ChatGPT and Claude, so it is a good idea to get into the habit of saving important conversations with AI yourself.

FAQ

Am I the only one whose Gemini conversation history disappeared?

No, this is a major bug that occurred on February 19, 2026, and users around the world are reporting the same symptoms. Not only free users were affected, but also paid users of Gemini Advanced and Business plans. Google officially acknowledges this on Workspace Status Dashboard.

Was the disappeared conversation data completely deleted?

According to Google's official announcement, the cause is "display failure of conversation metadata." In other words, the data itself is likely to remain and has not been completely deleted. However, there is no guarantee of 100% recovery, so we recommend backing up important conversations in the future.

Is it strange that history disappears even though it is a paid plan of Gemini Advanced?

As you said, there are many complaints about the same effect on paid plans. This issue was caused by an issue with Gemini's backend, regardless of the plan type. Google is proceeding with restoration work, but the completion date is undecided as of February 21, 2026.

Can't restore if Gemini's "Web and App Activity" is turned off?

Yes, according to Google's official help, if "Web & App Activity" is turned off, conversations are automatically deleted after a certain amount of time. In this case, it is difficult to restore from My Activities. We recommend keeping this setting turned on for future reference.

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