When Google Cloud Search receives a request to delete an item, it doesn't
immediately remove the entire item. Instead, Cloud Search
performs a *soft delete* by marking the item as deleted and removing a subset
of information, such as ACLs, content, and metadata. Other information, like
the item version, is retained.

If a reindexing request provides a version greater than the existing value
while the item is in a soft delete state, Cloud Search restores
the item.

Cloud Search keeps an item marked as deleted for 7-10 days
before performing a *hard delete* to permanently remove it. After a hard
delete, the item ceases to exist and its version number no longer refers to it.

## Maintain consistent item versions

Your content connector should handle item versioning. However, if you delete an
item outside of your connector logic using
[`items.delete`](https://developers.google.com/workspace/cloud-search/docs/reference/rest/v1/indexing.datasources.items/delete),
ensure successful reindexing by doing one of the following:

- Reindex your content *after* the hard delete (7-10 days).
- When manually deleting an item, use the actual item version obtained using [`items.get`](https://developers.google.com/workspace/cloud-search/docs/reference/rest/v1/indexing.datasources.items/get).

Failure to follow these suggestions results in indexing errors.