Losing photos on your iPhone can be frustrating, but there are several ways you may be able to retrieve them. Here are some quick answers to common questions about retrieving lost iPhone photos:
Can I recover deleted photos on iPhone without backup?
Yes, it is possible to recover deleted photos from your iPhone without a backup in some cases. If the photos were recently deleted and have not been overwritten by new data, recovery software can scan your iPhone and restore deleted photos.
How do I find lost photos on my iPhone?
A few options to find lost photos on your iPhone include:
- Check the Recently Deleted album – Photos are stored here for 30 days after deletion
- Use the Photos search function to search for specific people, places, dates, etc
- Check other albums like Screenshots, Hidden, etc
- Use a photo recovery app to scan for deleted photos
- Restore from an iTunes or iCloud backup if photos were lost due to OS issues or device reset
How can I recover permanently deleted photos on iPhone?
If your photos have been permanently deleted from the Recently Deleted album, your options are more limited but recovery may still be possible:
- Use professional data recovery services – They can attempt to recover deleted data from the iPhone’s storage
- Restore from your most recent iCloud or iTunes backup, if it contains the lost photos
Can apps recover deleted photos on iPhone?
Yes, there are both free and paid apps available that can scan your iPhone and attempt to recover deleted photos and videos. Some examples include:
| App | Details |
|---|---|
| Disk Drill | Recovers up to 500MB of data for free, paid plans available |
| iMyFone D-Back | Free trial recovers limited data, paid plans for full recovery |
| FoneDog Toolkit | Free trial allows preview of recoverable files |
Can Apple help recover lost photos?
Apple does not directly help customers recover lost photos or data. However, you can take your iPhone to an Apple Store and they can advise you on recovery options based on your specific situation. This may involve restoring from a backup or recommending third party apps or services.
How far back can you recover deleted photos on iPhone?
How far back you can recover deleted iPhone photos depends on the method:
- Recently Deleted album – Recovers photos deleted up to 30 days ago
- iCloud backup – Recovers photos present at time of last backup
- iTunes backup – Recovers photos present at time of last backup
- Data recovery apps – Varies, may recover photos deleted months/years ago if space not overwritten
Can deleted photos be recovered after factory reset iPhone?
If you have performed a factory reset on your iPhone, recovering deleted photos becomes much more difficult. The only options are:
- Use a data recovery service – They can scan the phone’s storage for traces of deleted data
- Restore from your most recent iCloud or iTunes backup if it occurred before the reset
Performing a factory reset erases all data on the iPhone, so photos cannot be recovered through the Photos app and recovery apps will likely not find anything.
How do I backup photos on my iPhone?
To keep your iPhone photos safe in case of accidental deletion, it is essential to maintain regular backups. You have a few options:
- iCloud Photos – Enabling this in Settings will automatically backup all photos and videos to iCloud
- iTunes backup – Connect iPhone to computer and backup to iTunes manually or automatically
- iCloud Backup – Toggle on in iCloud settings to backup iPhone data including photos
- External storage – Use wireless drives or SD card readers to manually backup photos
Can you recover permanently deleted photos from iCloud?
If you have iCloud Photo Library enabled, your deleted photos remain in iCloud for 40 days after being deleted from your devices and can be recovered:
- Open photos.app.com on a browser
- Sign in with your Apple ID
- Navigate to the Recently Deleted folder
- Select the photos you want to recover
- Click Recover to restore them to your Photo Library
However, if the retention period has passed, permanently deleted photos cannot be recovered from iCloud.
Can iPhone deleted photos be recovered after update?
If photos were accidentally deleted during or after an iOS update, recovery options include:
- Restore from iTunes or iCloud backup made prior to update
- Use data recovery software to scan for deleted photos
- Check if photos are still in the Recently Deleted album
- Contact Apple Support to see if they can recommend anything
Updating your iPhone does not directly cause photo loss, but can sometimes corrupt files leading to accidental deletion that requires restoration from backup.
Is there any free photo recovery software for iPhone?
Yes, there are a few free data recovery apps for iOS devices that can retrieve deleted photos:
- Disk Drill – Recovers up to 500MB of data for free
- iMyFone iFree iPhone Data Recovery – Restores limited amount of photos for free
- Primo iPhone Data Recovery – Has free trial that previews recoverable files
While paid versions offer unlimited recovery capabilities, the free versions can still help restore some deleted photos.
How can I recover permanently deleted photos from iPhone without computer?
If you need to restore permanently deleted iPhone photos without access to a computer, you have limited options:
- Use a cloud recovery app like iMyFone D-Port Pro to extract iCloud backup data without PC or Mac
- Jailbreak your iPhone and use data recovery apps like Dr. Fone for iOS
- Take your iPhone to a repair service to attempt recovery
Without a computer backup or wired connection, over-the-air cloud backup and repair services are typically the only ways. Recovery success depends on backup availability and state of the deleted photos.
Can iPhone deleted photos be recovered from iCloud after 30 days?
Unfortunately no, iCloud permanently deletes photos after 30 days from the Recently Deleted folder. Once this occurs, there is no way to recover the deleted photos from iCloud.
To avoid permanent deletion from iCloud:
- Restore accidentally deleted photos from Recently Deleted within 30 days
- Download photos to a local storage like your computer before they are deleted
Always maintain timely local backups of iPhone photos you want to keep safe in case of accidental permanent deletion.
What happens if I delete photos from Recently Deleted on iPhone?
When you delete photos from the Recently Deleted album on your iPhone, they are permanently erased after 30 days and cannot be recovered through any built-in tools.
Immediately after deletion from Recently Deleted, third party apps or services may still be able to recover them, but after 30 days all traces are removed and recovery is usually impossible.
To avoid permanent loss, be sure to only permanently erase photos you are certain you want to delete. Consider backing up the Recently Deleted album itself before emptying it.
Is there an app to backup deleted iPhone photos?
Some apps can automatically save your deleted iPhone photos to a separate cloud account or external storage:
- iDrive – Automatically backs up photos then stores deleted files for recovery
- iDELETED – Stores deleted files in encrypted cloud storage as a backup
- DeleteForever – Backs up then erases deleted photos permanently after custom time
Using an app like these ensures you’ll always have a copy of your deleted photos, as iOS does not natively retain or backup deleted files.
Can you recover photos deleted from iCloud storage?
If you delete photos from your iCloud storage, there is a limited window to recover them before permanent loss:
- Sign into iCloud.com and check Recently Deleted – 30 days max to restore
- Restore from your previous device or iCloud backup if it retains the photos
If 30 days have passed since deletion from iCloud, the photos are unrecoverable through Apple’s interfaces. You would need an advanced data recovery service to attempt restoration.
What are some tips to prevent losing photos on iPhone?
Here are some best practices to avoid losing your precious iPhone photos:
- Enable iCloud Photos for automatic backups
- Manually back up to iTunes periodically
- Use external storage like cloud drives or SD cards for backups
- Delete photos intentionally only after backing up
- Download photos to a computer or external device for safe keeping
- Don’t overwrite your device storage capacity
- Check Recently Deleted before emptying it
Following precautions like these will help ensure you always have multiple copies of photos and can recover from accidental deletion.
Conclusion
In summary, there are various methods you can use to attempt recovery of lost photos on your iPhone. The options vary depending on the specifics of how, when and why photos were deleted or lost. Maintaining timely backups is always the best way to protect important memories stored on your devices.
Hopefully these tips will help you either proactively backup your iPhone photos or successfully recover them in the event of accidental deletion. Just be sure to act quickly and leverage available backup sources for the best chance of restoring lost iPhone photos.