No, deleted photos on an iPhone are not necessarily gone forever. There are several ways to potentially recover deleted photos on an iPhone.
Can you recover deleted photos on iPhone?
Yes, it is often possible to recover deleted photos on an iPhone, as long as you act quickly and do not overwrite the storage space where the deleted photos were stored. When you delete photos on an iPhone, they are not immediately removed from the device’s storage. Instead, the space they occupied is marked as available to be overwritten by new data. As long as that space has not been overwritten, recovery software can scan the iPhone’s storage and find the deleted photo data.
How does iPhone photo deletion work?
When you delete a photo on your iPhone, either by pressing the delete button on the photo itself or by selecting “Delete Photo” after tapping the Edit button, the photo’s entry in the Photos app library is removed. However, the actual photo file remains saved in the iPhone’s storage until that space is needed for new data and overwritten. This allows deleted photos to be recovered, as long as they have not yet been overwritten.
What happens when you empty Recently Deleted folder?
The Photos app on an iPhone has a Recently Deleted folder that contains photos deleted within the past 30 days. If you manually empty the Recently Deleted folder, those photos are permanently deleted and cannot be recovered through the Photos app. However, the actual photo files may still exist on the device’s storage until overwritten. So third-party recovery software can potentially recover them.
How to recover permanently deleted photos on iPhone
Here are some options for recovering photos that you have permanently deleted from your iPhone:
Use a third-party recovery app
There are various third-party iOS data recovery apps that can scan your iPhone’s storage and recover deleted photos and other files. Some examples include iMyFone D-Back, Fonelab, and EaseUS MobiSaver.
Restore from an iTunes or iCloud backup
If you have an iTunes or iCloud backup that contains the deleted photos, you can restore that backup to your iPhone to get the photos back. However, this will also overwrite all other data on your iPhone with the backup data.
Retrieve from iCloud recently deleted folder
If you have iCloud Photos enabled, your deleted iPhone photos are stored in the iCloud Recently Deleted folder for 40 days before being permanently deleted. You may be able to recover photos from there.
Use data recovery software on a backup
Connect your iPhone to your computer and back up the device (encrypted backups may limit recovery). Then use data recovery software to scan the backup files and retrieve deleted photos.
Retrieve from iTunes backup
Connect your iPhone to your computer, back up to iTunes, then browse the backup files to find deleted photo files that may be recoverable.
How to recover deleted photos from iPhone without backup
If you don’t have a backup of your deleted iPhone photos, your options for recovery are more limited. But it may still be possible in some cases.
Use a third-party recovery app
Your best bet is to use a dedicated iOS data recovery app that can scan for deleted files on your iPhone’s storage. The sooner you run the recovery app after deletion, the better.
Recover from iCloud
If you have iCloud Photos enabled, check the iCloud Recently Deleted folder on icloud.com to see if your photos were synced there before deletion on your device.
Retrieve from iTunes sync
If you happened to sync your iPhone with iTunes between deleting the photos and now, there’s a chance the photos may have been cached on your computer. Check in iTunes sync-related folders for any leftover data.
Contact Apple Support
In some limited cases, Apple may be able to provide assistance in recovering deleted iPhone photos. But there is no guarantee and generally you need a current backup for them to work with.
Tips to avoid losing iPhone photos
To reduce the risk of losing your iPhone photos forever due to deletion, here are some tips to implement:
- Enable iCloud Photos to automatically back up your photos to the cloud.
- Manually back up your iPhone regularly via iTunes or iCloud.
- Avoid taking photos you want to keep solely on your iPhone – transfer them to a computer or cloud storage.
- Be careful when deleting photos – double check they have been backed up.
- Don’t delete photos directly from your iPhone camera roll – use the Recently Deleted folder.
- Install a trusted third-party iOS recovery app for emergency photo recovery.
Back up your photos
The most important precaution is to routinely back up your iPhone photos. iCloud Photos, iTunes sync, or simply manually transferring photos to a computer or cloud service can all help protect your memories in case of deletion.
Avoid permanent deletion
When possible, avoid permanently deleting photos from your iPhone camera roll. Use the Recently Deleted folder so you have time to recover them if they were accidentally deleted.
Act quickly after deletion
If you do permanently delete photos by emptying Recently Deleted, your chances of recovery decrease over time. Use data recovery software as soon as possible.
How deleted photos are recovered from iPhone storage
When attempting to recover deleted photos directly from iPhone internal storage, whether using dedicated recovery apps or data recovery tools on iPhone backup files, the process typically involves these general steps:
- The software scans the raw storage media on an iOS device or in a backup file system for signatures related to common photo, video and media file formats.
- Pointers to any matches are added to a table of contents of recoverable files.
- The actual stored data for those matched file signatures is then reconstructed into usable image, video and audio files.
- The reconstructed media files can then be saved to another location.
Advanced recovery tools have sophisticated algorithms to maximize their ability to reconstruct fragmented file data. But complete recoveries are never guaranteed, especially for severely corrupted or overwritten files.
Can you recover permanently deleted photos without software?
Trying to recover deleted iPhone photos without dedicated data recovery software or professional help is typically ineffective. Here is why manual methods don’t work:
Browsing device storage
You cannot directly access the raw iPhone storage media to manually browse for deleted files. And even if you could, photos and other files are fragmented across the media.
Photorec and other DIY methods
Some try recovery apps like Photorec on iPhone backup files. But these are complex for average users and ineffective on fragmented iOS file systems.
Enlisting Apple support
Apple will not directly help extract deleted files from an iPhone, only suggest restoring from backup, which most don’t have once photos are permanently deleted.
Overall, DIY methods are extremely limited compared to commercial recovery apps designed specifically for iOS file system forensics.
Can deleted photos be recovered after iPhone reset?
If you reset your iPhone to factory default settings, it becomes much more difficult to recover deleted photos, but still may be possible in some cases:
| Reset Type | Photo Recovery Chances |
|---|---|
| Soft reset (reboot device) | No effect – Easy |
| Hard reset (Erase all content and settings) | Fair – If not overwritten |
| Restore to factory in iTunes/Finder | Very Low – Device wiped |
As long as the reset does not actually wipe the storage media, potential for recovery remains. But restoring the device firmware essentially overwrites your entire phone with a clean slate.
Soft reset recovery
If you simply reboot your iPhone, such as after a crash, this has no effect on deleted files. They remain in place for recovery.
Hard reset and restore recovery
Resetting your device or restoring firmware has a high chance of overwriting deleted photos through reformatting and reloading your phone. But fragments may remain that specialized tools could reconstruct.
Does iPhone store deleted photos?
No, iPhones do not have a protected area or Recycle Bin folder where deleted photos are stored after deletion like on a computer. However, deleted photos may remain intact in the raw storage until being overwritten by new data.
How iPhone storage works
iPhone storage consists of flash memory chips with a file management system that tells where data is written. When photos are deleted only file indexing is removed – the data remains in place.
Garbage collection and overwriting
To optimize storage space, the iPhone OS performs garbage collection to flag unused photo data blocks for overwriting with new data. But this takes time, allowing potential recovery in the meantime.
How long are deleted photos recoverable?
There is no precise timeframe for how long deleted iPhone photos remain recoverable. It depends on factors like how much use and data transfer occurs after deletion that could overwrite the data. In general, the sooner you run recovery software after deletion, the greater your chances of retrieving your photos.
After initial deletion
Immediately after you delete photos from your Camera Roll or empty the Recently Deleted folder, recoverability is very high, exceeding 90% in most cases if you act fast.
After days/weeks
If your iPhone remains relatively untouched for a few days or weeks after deletion, recoverability remains decent. However, likelihood drops steadily with each day as background processes gradually overwrite storage space.
After continued heavy use
Using your iPhone heavily after deletion with new photos, apps, files and system updates will progressively overwrite the deleted data. The more storage activity, the less recoverable deleted files become.
Does deleting photos free up space on iPhone?
Yes, deleting photos will immediately free up used storage space on your iPhone. However, that storage is not necessarily wiped clean or unusable. Until the space is overwritten, deleted photos can still be recovered from it.
Storage space is reclaimed
When you delete iPhone photos, either from your Camera Roll or Recently Deleted folder, the amount of space those photos were consuming is marked as available and added back into your total free space.
But data may remain intact
Even though storage space is freed up, the actual photo file data still physically remains on the iPhone’s storage chips until replaced by new data. So it can be recovered.
Can iPhone deleted photo recovery retrieve all data?
No recovery method can guarantee to retrieve 100% of deleted iPhone photos intact. Several factors affect chances and completeness of recovery:
- Amount of overwrite since deletion – more data written, less recoverability
- Effectiveness of specific recovery software used
- Integrity of storage media – damaged or corrupted media reduces recovery success
- Compression level of original photos – high compression = less recoverable data
- File system fragmentation – scattered data in pieces is harder to recover fully
Typically at least some deleted photos are irrecoverable in practice. Focus efforts on retrieving your most important lost photos when possible.
Prioritize important photos
When recovering deleted iPhone pictures, have the recovery app scan first for your most valued photos based on filename or metadata, as these have the lowest odds of coming back intact compared to focus on recovering all photos.
Manage expectations
Expect that you will likely not get back every single deleted image successfully. Set realistic goals for recovery success focused on your most treasured data.
Conclusion
While accidentally deleting photos on your iPhone can be devastating, in many cases recovery is possible. But time is critical – the sooner you take action, the better your chances. Research trusted iOS data recovery software and act quickly when needed to retrieve your lost iPhone photos before they are gone for good.