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Check the Recently Deleted Folder First
When you delete a photo on iPhone, it isn’t gone immediately. iOS moves it to the “Recently Deleted” folder where it stays for 30 days before being permanently removed. Most deleted photos can be recovered from here in seconds.
- Open the Photos app.
- Tap “Albums” at the bottom of the screen.
- Scroll down to the “Utilities” section and tap “Recently Deleted.”
- Authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode (this folder is locked by default on iOS 16 and later).
- Browse the deleted photos. Each one shows how many days remain before permanent deletion.
- Tap “Select” in the top right corner.
- Select the photos you want to recover, then tap “Recover” in the bottom right.
- The photos return to their original albums.
If the photos you’re looking for aren’t in Recently Deleted, they were either deleted more than 30 days ago or the folder was emptied manually. Move to the next recovery methods.
Recover From iCloud Photos
If you have iCloud Photos enabled, your photos sync across all your Apple devices and to icloud.com. Even if a photo was permanently deleted from your iPhone, it may still be recoverable from iCloud’s own Recently Deleted folder, which has a separate 30-day timer.
- Go to icloud.com on any computer or phone browser.
- Sign in with your Apple ID.
- Click “Photos.”
- Click “Recently Deleted” in the sidebar.
- Select the photos you want to recover and click “Recover.”
The recovered photos sync back to your iPhone automatically if iCloud Photos is enabled. This method works even if you’ve already emptied the Recently Deleted folder on your iPhone, as long as iCloud hasn’t purged them yet (the timers can be slightly different).
To check if iCloud Photos is enabled on your iPhone, go to Settings, tap your name at the top, then iCloud, then Photos. If “Sync this iPhone” is on, your photos are backed up to iCloud.
Recover From an iTunes or Finder Backup
If you regularly back up your iPhone to your computer using iTunes (Windows) or Finder (Mac), you can restore photos from a backup. The catch is that restoring a backup replaces your iPhone’s current data with the backup’s data, which means you could lose photos taken after the backup was created.
Looking for more? We have a dedicated guide on how to pair Sony headphones to iphone?.
- Connect your iPhone to your computer with a USB cable.
- Open iTunes (Windows) or Finder (Mac).
- Select your iPhone when it appears.
- Click “Restore Backup.”
- Choose the backup that was created before you deleted the photos (check the dates).
- Click “Restore” and wait for the process to complete.
Before restoring, back up your iPhone’s current state first (click “Back Up Now”) so you can return to it if the restore doesn’t contain the photos you need or if you lose more recent data than expected.
A less destructive option is using a third-party tool to extract specific photos from an iTunes backup without doing a full restore (covered below).
Recover From iCloud Backup
If you use iCloud Backup (different from iCloud Photos), your iPhone’s data is backed up to iCloud periodically. You can restore from an iCloud backup, but it requires erasing your iPhone first.
- Go to Settings, then General, then Transfer or Reset iPhone, then Erase All Content and Settings.
- Your iPhone restarts and shows the setup screen.
- Follow the setup steps until you reach “Apps & Data.”
- Select “Restore from iCloud Backup.”
- Sign in with your Apple ID and choose the backup that predates the photo deletion.
- Wait for the restore to complete (this can take a while depending on backup size and internet speed).
This is a drastic step because it erases your phone before restoring. Only do this if the photos are important enough to justify the hassle. Back up your current iPhone state to a computer first so you have a fallback.
Third-Party Recovery Tools
If the photos aren’t in Recently Deleted, iCloud, or any backup, third-party recovery tools can sometimes find them by scanning your iPhone’s storage for file remnants. These tools work because deleted files aren’t immediately overwritten – the storage space is marked as available but the data may still exist until new data takes its place.
| Tool | Platform | Scans iPhone Directly | Extracts From Backups | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iMobie PhoneRescue | Mac / Windows | Yes | Yes | $50 to $60 |
| Tenorshare UltData | Mac / Windows | Yes | Yes | $50 to $60 |
| Dr.Fone by Wondershare | Mac / Windows | Yes | Yes | $60 to $80 |
These tools can scan your iPhone directly (connecting via USB) or extract photos from iTunes/iCloud backups without doing a full restore. The backup extraction feature is especially useful – it lets you pull out specific photos from a backup while leaving your current iPhone data untouched.
We also cover how to backup iPhone in a separate article worth checking out.
Recovery success depends on how long ago the photos were deleted and how much new data has been written to your iPhone since. The sooner you attempt recovery, the better the chances. If you’ve been actively using your phone for weeks since the deletion, the storage space may have been overwritten.
How to Prevent Future Photo Loss
Enable iCloud Photos (Settings, then your name, then iCloud, then Photos, then “Sync this iPhone”). This backs up every photo automatically and keeps them accessible even if your phone is lost, stolen, or damaged. The free iCloud tier includes 5 GB of storage, which fills up quickly with photos. The 50 GB plan costs $0.99/month and the 200 GB plan costs $2.99/month.
Google Photos is a free alternative that backs up photos at slightly compressed quality (or original quality counting against your 15 GB free Google storage). Install the Google Photos app, enable backup, and your photos are safe regardless of what happens to your iPhone.
Can I recover permanently deleted photos?
Sometimes. Photos permanently removed from Recently Deleted may still exist on the storage chip until overwritten. Third-party tools can sometimes recover them, but success rates drop significantly after a few weeks of phone use. If iCloud Photos or a backup contains the photos, recovery is reliable. Without a backup, recovery is possible but not guaranteed.
Why can’t I find Recently Deleted on my iPhone?
The Recently Deleted album moved in iOS 16. It’s now under Albums, then Utilities (scroll to the bottom of the Albums tab). It’s also locked behind Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode by default. If the album appears empty, either the photos were deleted more than 30 days ago or someone manually emptied the folder.
Does iCloud keep deleted photos forever?
No. iCloud’s Recently Deleted folder keeps photos for 30 days, matching the iPhone’s behavior. After 30 days, photos are permanently removed from iCloud as well. If iCloud Backup contains a backup from before the deletion, the photos exist in that backup until the backup is replaced by a newer one (iCloud keeps the three most recent backups).
Sources
Apple – Recover Deleted Photos | Apple – iPhone Storage
