Removed file is still accessible by collaborators in Google Drive. How I can delete it completely?

Question

When I am deleting a file from Google drive which someone else shared with me, it showed me a message like "one removed file is still accessible by collaborators".

It no longer appears in that folder, but will it be shown in "shared with me"? How can I delete it completely?

Solution 1

tl;dr
To completely delete file in gdrive of owner of the removed file:

1. Search for is:unorganized owner:me
2. Delete file
3. Remove it from trash (delete it permanently)

Explanation:
This is a common problem with Google Drive. Files removed from the Shared folder loses the location pointer and stays on the drive of the owner of the file with lost location property (cannot be accessible in standard way as we browse files in Google Drive). The removed file can be found by searching for it by name or content, or using suggested the search phrase is:unorganized owner:me.

A scenario that commonly causes this problem and fix:

• U (as you) and S(someone else) have shared folder with name Cats pictures
• U add cat.jpg (and U is an owner of this file then)
• S don't like this picture and use option Remove
• The message removed file are still accessible by collaborators pops up
• File cat.jpg is removed from shared folder Cats pictures
• S is happy and never see a cat.jpg in Cats pictures folder
• U cannot see this file either in Cats pictures folder but cat.jpg is still on U private Google Drive!
• If U search in Google Drive for cat.jpg it find the file, and it location will be - (file lost it's location in folder tree).
• The file found by U can be moved to Trash and then completely deleted 🎈

Solution 2

You mentioned you'd deleted the file from Google drive which was shared by someone else with you. After deleting you saw a message that stated, "one removed file is still accessible by collaborators". Perhaps the one who is sharing the file is one of the mentioned collaborators, or depending on how this document was shared, other members of the group.

Hope this helps!