Google AI Studio fakes data deletion. VRP auto-banned me in 60s for reporting it
A researcher claims that Google AI Studio's 'delete' function is a deceptive design that only moves files to Google Drive trash rather than purging them from backend storage. The author reports being banned from Google's Bug Hunter program after attempting to disclose this architectural flaw.
Why it matters
This raises significant concerns regarding data privacy, user control over sensitive information, and the transparency of corporate bug bounty programs.
Please read the technical steps before commenting or flagging. This is a reproducible architectural flaw (CWE-459), and Google’s Bug Hunter program just permanently banned me without human review to cover it up.
The Illusion of the “Delete” Button When you click “Delete permanently” in Google AI Studio, the UI explicitly warns you: “The item will be permanently deleted and cannot be recovered later. This action cannot be undone.”
But that is a complete lie. The system does not send a deletion cascade to Google’s backend (Interactions API / Project Storage). All it does is move a local .json pointer file into your Google Drive Trash.
The Reproducible Proof (Try it yourself):
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