Google Drive keeps trash bin stocked

On macOS, I’ve been seeing this bug for a couple of weeks:

• I empty the trash bin.
• Some times passes.
• One file reappears.

Other files are removed permanently, but one file keeps coming back, the same every time.

I installed the Google Drive app a couple of months back. I had been putting off installing it on my newest machine because the Drive app has been lousy over the years. Eventually I gave in, but I still didn’t trust it. With reason, it turns out.

Today I emptied the bin and this time I noticed the Google Drive icon at the top of the screen begin to animate. After a few seconds it stopped. Opening the trash folder I can see that that file has returned.

The penny drops and hits the ground with a sigh.

Checking https://drive.google.com/drive/trash I can see that file. Google Drive is noticing that I’ve removed it from my local trash folder and is dutifully, mindlessly, copying it back from its trash folder in the cloud.

Google has a reputation for having no customer support, no humans to talk to when there’s a problem. Maybe there are no humans at all. Maybe there’s already a paperclip maximiser at the helm.