Yes, it is often possible to recover deleted photos from a device’s gallery. When a photo is deleted from a device, the file itself is not necessarily erased right away. The deletion typically just removes the photo from the gallery view and disassociates it from the device’s index. The actual photo data may still reside on the device’s memory until it gets overwritten by new data. This means deleted photos can be recovered using data recovery software or tools, provided the storage space has not been overwritten since deletion.
How are deleted photos recovered?
There are a few different ways deleted photos can be recovered from a device:
- Using data recovery software – Specialized data recovery programs can scan a device’s storage and find files that have been deleted but not yet overwritten. This allows recovering deleted photos even if they are no longer showing in the gallery.
- Using backup files – If backups exist of the device’s storage from before the photos were deleted, the photos may be retrievable from the backup files.
- Via cloud synced files – If the photos were synced to a cloud service before deletion, they can potentially be recovered by restoring from the cloud files.
- Checking the trash folder – On some devices, “deleted” files go to a trash or recycle bin folder, allowing them to be restored if they have not been manually emptied from the trash.
Data recovery software provides the most flexible recovery options, as it does not rely on any other files or services and attempts to recover data directly from the device’s storage. However, backup files or cloud synced files can also be valuable sources for recovering deleted photos if available.
What types of files can be recovered?
In general, common image and photo file formats like JPG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, RAW, and more can be recovered using data recovery tools. Other types of deleted files like documents, audio files, video files, archives, and more may also be recoverable in some cases.
The ability to recover a deleted file depends more on whether the file’s data still resides intact on the device’s storage rather than just the file type. However, data recovery software is designed to recognize and restore common file formats.
Does the device or operating system impact photo recovery?
The device and operating system can impact the ability to recover deleted photos in a few ways:
- Overwriting speed – Some operating systems or device settings are more aggressive about overwriting deleted files than others, giving less time to recover them.
- Encrypted storage – Encrypted storage makes it much more difficult to recover deleted files, as the data is scrambled.
- TRIM command support – TRIM tells SSD storage to immediately dispose of deleted data, reducing recoverability on those devices.
- Rooting/jailbreaking – Gaining root or admin access on some mobile devices allows using more powerful data recovery tools.
In general, mobile devices like Android phones and iPhones recover deleted photos best shortly after deletion, before much else has been stored. Quick action is recommended for any device.
Can you recover photos without software?
It is very difficult to recover deleted photos without using any type of data recovery software or tools. Some options that may work without dedicated recovery software include:
- Restoring from backups – If backups of the device exist from before deletion.
- Using cloud photo sync services – If the photos were synced to a cloud service.
- Checking the trash/recycle bin – And restoring if photos are still there.
- Connecting the storage media to a computer – And scanning it with the operating system’s native utilities.
However, these options are limited compared to specialized data recovery software and may not find photos that were not backed up or synced elsewhere. For the best results, use of recovery software is recommended.
Does phone brand or model impact ability to recover photos?
Phone brand and model can impact the ability to recover deleted photos in a few ways:
- Storage format – Some brands use storage formats that are easier or harder for data recovery software to access and scan.
- TRIM support – As mentioned above, TRIM commands negatively impact data recovery on SSD storage.
- System aggressiveness – Some brands quickly overwrite storage space as a security measure, while others maintain deleted files longer.
- Rooting/ROMs – The ability to root or flash custom ROMs impacts the recovery tools usable.
However, almost any modern smartphone should allow deleted photo recovery if acted quickly and using quality data recovery software. Significant differences today mostly come down to storage formatting and TRIM support.
Can photos be recovered after a factory reset?
Recovering photos after a factory reset is difficult but sometimes possible. When a device is factory reset, all user data and media are supposed to be erased or overwritten. However, remnants often still remain that recovery software can find.
The odds of recovering photos after a factory reset depend on:
- How much new data has been added after the reset – The more usage, the more original data is overwritten.
- The thoroughness of the reset procedure – Some devices do more thorough wiping than others.
- The storage technology – Solid state drives with TRIM make recovery harder than traditional hard disks.
For the best chance of recovering post-reset photos, the device should be factory reset again as soon as possible and scanned by data recovery software before any new data is stored.
What are the best free data recovery apps?
Some top free photo and file recovery apps include:
| App | Platform | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Recuva | Windows | Deep scan modes, secure delete |
| PhotoRec | Windows/Mac/Linux | Powerful tool for image recovery |
| Disk Drill | Mac OS | Recovers 500MB data free |
| DigDeep | Android | Recovers photos, videos, files |
These free utilities can recover lost media and documents from hard disks, memory cards, USB drives, and more. Each has different strengths like deeply scanning storage, integration with operating systems, or focus on photo recovery.
What are the top paid recovery apps?
Some top premium paid recovery apps include:
| App | Platform | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Stellar Photo Recovery | Windows/Mac | Specialized in photo recovery |
| EaseUS | Windows/Mac | Full featured with deep scan modes |
| Ontrack EasyRecovery | Windows/Mac | Powerful advanced scanning |
| Disk Drill | Mac OS | Intuitive interface; recovers all file types |
Paid recovery apps provide additional features like more versatile scanning, deeper recovery capabilities, broader file format support, advanced RAID recovery, and better performance optimization.
How can you prevent photo deletion in the first place?
Some tips to avoid accidentally deleting important photos include:
- Enable the “trash” function rather than permanent delete if available.
- Be very careful when selecting multiple photos to delete.
- Enable cloud auto-syncing or auto-backup to preserve copies of photos.
- Designate certain photos as “favorites” that cannot be easily deleted.
- Add protections like passcodes, Face ID, or permission restrictions to prevent others from deleting photos.
- Regularly backup photos to another device or storage medium.
Enabling some type of versioning, like cloud syncing or periodic backups, provides protection from accidental or malicious deletion. With backups, photos stay recoverable even after deletion from a device.
Can permanently deleted photos be recovered from Google Photos?
If photos were uploaded to Google Photos before permanent deletion, it may be possible to recover them by:
- Logging into Google Photos on the web at photos.google.com.
- Checking the trash folder for any photos backed up before device deletion.
- Searching carefully for any traces of the deleted photos.
- Using the Google Takeout tool to export an archive of all Google Photos data.
However, if no traces remain in Google Photos, the photos were likely not synced prior to local deletion. In that case, recovery would require scanning the device storage directly using data recovery tools.
What happens when you permanently delete photos on iPhone?
When photos are permanently deleted on an iPhone:
- They are immediately removed from the Photos app.
- Indexing links and metadata associated with the photos are erased.
- The storage space used by the photo data then becomes marked as available to overwrite.
- New data stored on the device will start overwriting the space previously used by deleted photos.
However, the actual photo data may still exist intact until it gets overwritten. So recovery is possible if acted quickly before new data overwrites the deleted photos’ space.
Can you recover permanently deleted photos from iCloud?
If photos were synced to iCloud before being permanently deleted from an iPhone, they may be recoverable for up to 30 days by:
- Logging into iCloud.com and accessing photos.
- Looking in the Recently Deleted folder for any photos deleted from a device.
- Using the iCloud Restore feature to restore the iCloud Photos library from a date before permanent deletion.
However, if more than 30 days have passed or the photos were never synced, they cannot be recovered through iCloud. Scanning the iPhone’s storage directly would then be necessary.
What is the best free photo recovery software?
Some of the best free photo recovery software options include:
- Recuva – Allows deep scan for photos and has a user-friendly interface.
- PhotoRec – Powerful open source program focused specifically on photo recovery.
- Disk Drill – Recovers up to 500MB of data free, including photos.
- Pandora Recovery – Retrieves photo, video, and multimedia files.
These free tools can recover common photo, image, and media formats from hard disks, external drives, memory cards, and other storage devices. Advanced options may require upgrading to a paid version.
Should you overwrite deleted photos when selling phone?
When selling or disposing of a used phone, it is highly recommended to overwrite any deleted photos still residing in the phone’s storage. This prevents the photos from being recovered by whoever acquires the device next.
To overwrite deleted photos when selling/disposing of a phone:
- Do a factory reset to wipe main user data and media.
- Fill the storage with innocuous content like movies or music.
- Do another factory reset to overwrite any previous remnants.
Following this process will make recovery extremely difficult to impossible for the average user. However, keep in mind a professional forensic data recovery service may still be able to extract traces of deleted data.
Can photos be recovered after formatting SD card?
In many cases, photos can be recovered even after formatting an SD card or memory card. The formatting process erases file system data and markers on the card, but does not automatically erase the actual files themselves.
Photo recovery after formatting is possible until the storage space is overwritten with new content. Quick action with data recovery software offers the best chance of retrieving photos from a formatted memory card.
Conclusion
Recovering deleted photos is often possible with the right tools and techniques. However, time is of the essence – the sooner deleted photos can be recovered, before any new data overwrites them, the better. Using quality data recovery software soon after accidental or malicious deletion gives the best chance of getting photos back intact. Maintaining backups and archives provides an additional layer of protection against permanent loss.