When Microsoft Word asks you not to save a file before closing it, there is a small chance that it will be deleted instead. A few precautions will save you from the bug.
“Save your changes to this file?” That’s the question Microsoft Word asks when you edit a document without saving it yourself. If you choose to save the file, a bug causes it to be deleted instead in some cases.
Microsoft acknowledges the problem, but does not yet offer a final solution. However, with a little caution, you can ensure that your hard work in Word does not suddenly disappear. After all, the bug only occurs in specific scenarios.
Careful with capital letters and hashtag
Do you manually save a document before you close, or does it state Automatic saving already enabled for the file, then you have nothing to fear. The problem only rears its head when you forget to save and Word asks the question itself.
Even then, you are not lost. Microsoft Word will primarily delete files whose title contains the extension in capital letters (.DOC or .RTF). Also, a # in the title can cause problems. If that is the case, be careful.
Workaround
There is another workaround possible: click through File on Options and select Save. There, check the box for Do not display backstage when files are opened or saved via keyboard shortcuts check. That setting would also mitigate the risk.
If it does go wrong, all is not lost. Normally, your file will be in the recycle garbage can. The bug affects Word in Microsoft 365 version 2409. Microsoft is still looking for the cause and a permanent fix.