HubSpot’s record recovery and recycle bin help you restore recently deleted items or manually revert changes on a case‑by‑case basis. backHUB is designed for governed, point‑in‑time restores across HubSpot data, assets and settings. Use HubSpot tools for small, recent fixes, and use backHUB when you need faster, auditable recovery at scale.
HubSpot record recovery and the recycle bin are best for undoing small, recent issues such as restoring a deleted contact or reverting a page where version history exists. A point‑in‑time restore with backHUB recovers your entire HubSpot environment to a specific timestamp, including data, assets and settings, with evidence of who changed what and when. If business continuity matters, rely on a governed restore path that meets your Recovery Point Objective, RPO, and Recovery Time Objective, RTO.
This article is for senior leaders and operators who must keep HubSpot running during change and error. Growth‑focused executives will learn how to reduce continuity risk and answer board questions credibly. Operations and IT leaders will see how to achieve predictable, auditable recovery that aligns with policy. Functional managers will learn a practical way to correct day‑to‑day mistakes quickly without prolonged manual rework.
Record recovery means returning a specific item to a previous state, often by reviewing history. The recycle bin is a time‑limited area where deleted items can be restored. Version history is an asset‑level log that allows rollbacks within limits where supported. A point‑in‑time restore returns data, assets and settings to a precise timestamp so the system behaves as it did before the incident. RPO is the maximum acceptable data loss between backups, and RTO is the maximum acceptable time to restore operations. Role‑based access control, RBAC, limits who can back up and restore. The General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR, and the Data Processing Agreement, DPA, define legal duties for retention, erasure and evidence. backHUB is a solution that backs up HubSpot data, assets and settings with change tracking and access control so you can perform governed, point‑in‑time restores.
HubSpot allows you to restore recently deleted records from the recycle bin within a defined window that varies by object and edition. In many areas you can review property history or asset versions and manually revert to a previous state. These native tools are ideal for undoing a small batch of accidental deletions, reverting a handful of property values after an error or rolling back a page or workflow version where supported. Because these steps are native to HubSpot, they are quick to access and require no additional tooling for limited, recent issues.
HubSpot’s record recovery and recycle bin are constrained by retention windows, variable coverage and manual effort. Once the recycle bin window closes, deleted items may no longer be recoverable. Relationships and configuration are not restored consistently through manual reversions, so linked data can remain inconsistent and automations or reports can behave unexpectedly. There is no full portal rollback to a specific timestamp using native tools alone. For incidents affecting many records, multiple objects or configuration, a governed, point‑in‑time restore is necessary to re‑establish a coherent system state quickly and safely.
A backHUB point‑in‑time restore begins with a complete, governed backup that includes HubSpot data, assets and settings. You can recover to a precise timestamp that aligns with your agreed RPO, and you can choose the scope from a single record to a whole object segment or an environment‑wide rollback. This selectivity lets you fix only what is broken and limits disruption for live users. Change tracking shows who altered what and when, and restore records form an evidence pack for internal reviews and audits. With RBAC and clear approvals in place, the process is predictable, repeatable and aligned to governance.
Coverage favours point‑in‑time restore because it brings back data, assets and settings with relationships preserved, whereas native recovery mainly handles recent deletes and selected versioned assets. Recovery speed is typically faster with a governed restore because it avoids manual re‑imports and extensive hand checks. Integrity is higher because associations and configuration return to a consistent state, while manual reversions often leave gaps. Governance is stronger because restore logs and approvals create a clear evidence trail, while native steps tend to leave scattered artefacts. Overall effort and risk are lower with a governed restore because fewer manual corrections are required and inconsistencies are less likely.
Use HubSpot record recovery or the recycle bin when the incident is small, recent and limited to a few records or a single asset, and when there are no strict RPO or RTO commitments. Use a backHUB point‑in‑time restore when you have defined RPO and RTO targets, when several teams or integrations make frequent changes, when you need auditable, selective or bulk recovery, or when the incident spans data, assets and settings. If you are unsure, treat any event that touches relationships, configuration or large record sets as a candidate for a point‑in‑time restore.
If a list of contacts is deleted accidentally, HubSpot can restore those contacts from the recycle bin within the time window, but you must still reconcile related companies, deals and lists. A backHUB point‑in‑time restore brings back the affected contacts and their relationships and confirms that segments and reports behave as expected. If a workflow update triggers unintended actions, HubSpot may allow you to revert via version history, otherwise you will rebuild manually. A backHUB restore recovers workflow configuration and enrolment rules to a known good state and addresses impacted records. If an integration loop writes bad values across several objects, HubSpot filtering and re‑importing is possible but demands extensive checking. A backHUB restore returns affected objects and related records to the timestamp before the incident, then you restart the integration after a short reconciliation step. If a change to a page or portal setting breaks live experiences, HubSpot rollbacks work only where version history exists, while a backHUB restore returns assets and related settings with clear traceability of changes.
Backup and restore should be limited to approved users through RBAC, and production restores should require dual approval. Change tracking should record who changed what and when, and restore records should be kept for audit. Retention schedules and data handling should align with policy and GDPR, with DPA references recorded. Encryption should protect data in transit and at rest, and backup storage should be in approved regions that meet data residency rules. Standardised runbooks and evidence templates help teams follow the same steps and produce consistent artefacts.
You should confirm in writing what the recycle bin currently covers in your portal and the retention windows that apply, then add these values to your runbooks. You should agree RPO and RTO with business owners and document them in your continuity plan. You should define roles for requester, executor, validator and approver for any restore action. You should run a sandbox point‑in‑time restore drill and keep an evidence pack with logs, approvals, screenshots and timings. You should train teams on when to use native recovery features and when to escalate to a governed restore, and you should review restore records after each exercise to improve procedures.
Record recovery and the recycle bin are designed to undo small, recent issues for specific items within a time‑limited window. A point‑in‑time restore recovers your HubSpot environment to a precise timestamp and can include data, assets and settings in one governed process with clear evidence and approvals.
Version history and recovery support vary by object, feature and edition, so teams should confirm current behaviour in their portal, document it in internal runbooks and review it regularly. This preparation helps users act within time windows and avoid gaps during manual reversions.
The recycle bin retains deleted items for a limited period that varies by object and edition, so teams should check current limits, record the values in procedures and act within the allowed window to recover items before they are purged.
A single record can be restored without affecting other records or settings by using a targeted restore. This approach reduces disruption for live users and shortens validation work because only the affected item or items are changed.
Clear evidence comes from change tracking, approvals and restore records stored in a tamper‑evident location. An evidence pack should show timestamps, owners, scope, validation steps and results, and it should be presented in leadership and audit reviews to demonstrate control.
A point‑in‑time restore can be targeted to limit impact to specific items. For broader rollbacks, a short change freeze and clear communication help teams plan around the window, and a validation step ensures that users return to a stable system after recovery.