If you manage Google Ads accounts and haven't checked your historical reporting data recently, here's something you need to know: on June 1, 2026, Google permanently deleted large chunks of historical reporting data without warning to most advertisers.
This isn't a UI change. The data is gone from the system.
What Was Deleted
Google's updated data retention policy removed:
- Search terms report: data older than 18 months (previously kept indefinitely)
- Auction insights: data older than 13 months
- Placement report (Display/YouTube): data older than 24 months
- Custom column history: affected by the above
If you're comparing performance from early 2024 and earlier, you're working with a gap now.
What Still Remains
The deletion was selective:
- Campaign-level performance metrics (impressions, clicks, cost, conversions) remain unaffected
- Keyword performance data is intact
- Ad group and ad-level data is intact
- Audience segment reporting is intact
What Google removed is the query-level detail - the specific search terms that triggered your ads and the specific competitors/placements that appeared alongside you. That's the strategically valuable historical context that's now gone.
Why Most Advertisers Are Finding Out Late
The policy update was announced in Google Ads Help documentation, but there was no in-product notification or email to account managers. Most advertisers found out when they tried to pull a year-over-year search terms comparison and noticed pre-2025 data missing.
For agencies managing multiple accounts, this compounds quickly.
What You Can Do Now
Immediate:
Export any remaining data you care about now. In Google Ads, go to Reports > Predefined reports > Search terms, set the date range to maximum available, and download. Do the same for Auction Insights and Placement reports.
Looker Studio:
If you had Looker Studio reports pulling this data, check whether cached/stored report data survived. Some do, depending on how the connector was configured.
BigQuery Data Transfer:
The most future-proof solution is setting up the Google Ads BigQuery Data Transfer. Once configured, it streams daily snapshots of your Google Ads data into BigQuery where you control retention.
Setup overview:
- Enable BigQuery API in Google Cloud Console
- Go to BigQuery > Data Transfers > Create Transfer
- Source: Google Ads
- Connect your MCC or individual account
- Set destination dataset and schedule
This won't recover deleted data, but it prevents future losses.
Third-party tools:
If you use Optmyzr, WordStream, or similar platforms, check whether they cached your historical search term data before June 1. Some retention policies vary by tool.
The Practical Impact
For most ongoing account management, this change doesn't affect daily operations. Campaigns, keywords, and audience data are intact.
Where it hurts:
- Year-over-year seasonal analysis using specific search terms
- Competitor tracking via auction insights history going back 2+ years
- Display campaign placement analysis beyond 24 months
- Ad copy and landing page audit trails tied to specific search queries
For accounts with clean BigQuery integration already in place, this is a minor inconvenience. For accounts that relied entirely on the Google Ads interface for historical queries, it's a more significant gap.
Full Documentation
For a complete breakdown of what was deleted, what remains, new retention windows by report type, and a step-by-step BigQuery setup guide, see the full article: Google Ads Deleted Your Reporting Data on June 1, 2026
Have you already set up BigQuery Data Transfer for your Google Ads accounts? What's your current solution for long-term ads data retention? Let me know in the comments.
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