Deleting in Bloom is a two-step affair by design: references go to the trash first, and only leave for good later. Accidents are recoverable.
What happens when you delete
Deleted references move to Recently deleted — Bloom's trash. They're out of your library and off your boards, but they're not gone. They stay recoverable for a window that depends on your plan, then are removed permanently.
Restoring
Open Recently deleted and restore anything inside the recovery window. You can restore references individually, or select several and restore them in bulk — useful when a multi-select delete took more with it than you meant.
Recovery windows by plan
How long deleted references stay recoverable:
- Basic — 7 days
- Starter — 14 days
- Pro — 30 days
- Team — 60 days
After the window passes, references are permanently removed. See Plans & limits for how recovery windows fit into each plan.
Emptying the trash
If you want deleted references gone now — say, to be tidy or to clear things out deliberately — use Empty trash to permanently remove everything in Recently deleted at once. Workspace admins additionally have a Delete forever option for permanently removing items ahead of the window.
Good to know: Permanent deletion is the one action in Bloom you can't undo. Before emptying the trash, skim what's in there — bulk restore is one click away, but nothing comes back after a permanent delete.
If something seems missing
Before assuming a reference was deleted, check the obvious hiding spots: it may simply be off-board (look in the Unsorted view), filtered out by an active source or contributor filter, or findable by describing it in search. If it's genuinely gone and outside your recovery window, see Troubleshooting or reach out via Contact & support.