Losing photos that hold precious memories or important information can be devastating. Fortunately, if you use an iPhone, there are several ways to try to recover photos you’ve deleted from the Recently Deleted folder.
What is the Recently Deleted folder?
The Recently Deleted folder on an iPhone is designed to hold deleted photos for 30 days before they are permanently erased. This provides a safety net in case you accidentally delete a photo you wanted to keep. The Recently Deleted folder acts like a trash can – photos are sent there immediately after deletion.
To access the Recently Deleted folder, open the Photos app and select the Albums tab at the bottom. Scroll down and you will see an album named Recently Deleted. This contains all photos and videos you’ve deleted within the last 30 days.
Can you recover deleted photos from Recently Deleted?
Yes, you can recover deleted photos from the Recently Deleted folder as long as you act within 30 days. When you delete a photo, it is not immediately erased from your phone. Instead, it goes to the Recently Deleted folder where it stays for 30 days.
If you realize within 30 days that you still need a deleted photo, you can recover it from Recently Deleted. Tapping on a photo will bring up a Recover option to restore it to the Camera Roll. This gives you a month-long safety net to salvage photos deleted by accident.
What happens after 30 days in Recently Deleted?
After remaining in the Recently Deleted folder for 30 days, photos and videos are permanently erased from your iPhone. The content is no longer recoverable through iPhone tools once the 30 day period has passed.
On the 31st day after deletion, the photos are gone for good. At this point, you cannot get the photos back through Recently Deleted or other options built into your iPhone.
Can you recover photos after 30 days?
It is very difficult, but sometimes possible, to recover photos deleted over 30 days ago. However, this requires specialized data recovery software and often costs money. Results are not guaranteed.
Some potential options to recover longer-deleted photos include:
- iPhone data recovery software like Fonelab, iMyFone, Tenorshare, and EaseUS.
- Bringing your phone to a repair shop to see if experts can recover deleted data.
- Backing up your iPhone to iCloud or your computer. If you have an old backup, you may find deleted photos there.
However, there are no built-in iPhone tools that can recover photos deleted over a month ago. Third-party software or professional data recovery offer the only chances once 30 days have passed.
Can you recover deleted photos without backup?
It’s possible but difficult to recover deleted iPhone photos without a backup. The main built-in option is the Recently Deleted folder, which holds deleted photos for 30 days. This lets you recover photos during that window if you don’t have a backup.
However, once 30 days pass after deletion, Recently Deleted is no longer an option. At this point, backup-free recovery requires paid third-party software or professional help. Outcomes are uncertain and data may be unrecoverable.
Having a backup is the only sure-fire way to recover deleted photos. An iCloud or iTunes backup saves copies of your photos so you can retrieve them if lost. For best results, back up your iPhone regularly in case you ever need to access deleted photos.
Tips to recover Recently Deleted photos
If you need to restore photos from Recently Deleted, here are some useful tips:
- Act quickly – The sooner you restore the photo, the better. As time passes, data may be overwritten.
- Avoid taking new photos – Taking a lot of new photos could overwrite your deleted pictures.
- Turn on Airplane Mode – This prevents any data overwriting from iCloud syncing.
- Connect to power – Low battery could interrupt or corrupt the recovery process.
- Close other apps – This dedicates maximum resources to the photo restore process.
Can you recover permanently deleted photos?
If a photo has been permanently deleted from your iPhone (gone over 30 days or deleted directly from Camera Roll), recovery is difficult but sometimes possible. Here are a few options to potentially restore permanently deleted photos:
- iPhone backup – Check your iCloud or iTunes backups for missing photos.
- iCloud recently deleted – iCloud keeps deleted photos for 40 days in its Recently Deleted folder.
- Third party software – Data recovery apps may salvage deleted files, butsuccess is not guaranteed.
- Professional help – Repair shops use specialized tools to extract deleted data from a phone.
However, there is no built-in iPhone feature to recover photos deleted over 30 days ago. The best protection against permanent deletion is regular backups.
Can deleted photos be recovered if overwritten?
If deleted photos have been overwritten by new data, it becomes essentially impossible to get them back. Overwriting occurs when new content physically replaces old data on the device storage.
For example, taking a lot of new photos could overwrite your deleted pictures. In this case, the original deleted data is permanently gone. No recovery software can bring back photos that have been overwritten.
That’s why it’s crucial to avoid overwriting by not taking/saving too much new data after deletion. Also make sure to disable iCloud syncing which can overwrite deleted content.
How to prevent photo deletion
To avoid losing photos you want to keep, here are some tips to prevent accidental deletion:
- Enable Recently Deleted – This acts as a safety net if you do delete photos.
- Back up photos – Cloud or external storage preserves copies of your memories.
- Favorites album – Photos you specifically save here won’t auto-delete.
- Disable iCloud sync – This prevents remote deletions across devices.
- Confirm deletions – Gmail’s undo send is a great example of accident prevention.
You can also set your Camera Roll to manually manage space instead of automatic deletion. Go to Settings > Photos and disable Optimize iPhone Storage.
What apps can recover deleted photos?
Here are some of the top-rated apps for recovering deleted iPhone photos:
| App | Key Features |
|---|---|
| Disk Drill | – Deep scan for lost data – Filters by file types – Preview found files |
| iMyFone D-Back | – User-friendly interface – Flexible scan modes – Preview before recovery |
| FoneDog Toolkit | – Recover up to 20 lost files for free – Simple 3-click process – Supports various data types |
These apps tap advanced algorithms to scan your iPhone and extract lost or deleted files. Beware that paid services don’t guarantee recovery – but they offer the best shot compared to built-in options.
Can professionals recover deleted photos?
Yes, professionals may be able to recover deleted photos from your iPhone in situations where DIY options have failed.
Data recovery experts use sophisticated tools and techniques that aren’t available to the average consumer. For example, they can directly access the iPhone’s memory chips and low-level storage to pull data that is long gone from user view.
Professional iPhone photo recovery services are offered by repair shops like iResQ as well as dedicated data recovery companies like DriveSavers and Kroll. Prices range from $300 to over $1000 depending on the extent of recovery needed.
There are no guarantees – overwritten data cannot be recovered by anybody. However, if anyone can salvage deleted photos, it’s the pros.
Is iPhone photo recovery worth it?
Deciding if iPhone photo recovery is worth it depends on factors like:
- Sentimental value – Priceless memories merit spending on recovery.
- Number of photos – More lost photos mean higher motivation to get them back.
- Ease of recovery – Recently deleted photos are easier/cheaper to restore.
- Disposable income – Higher income individuals can afford expensive data recovery.
It also depends on the recovery method. Using Recently Deleted or backups is a free and easy restore. But advanced recovery through software or pros can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars.
In the end, only you can decide if recovering deleted iPhone photos justifies the time, effort and potential cost. Consider how much the photos mean to you.
Can you recover deleted photos from iCloud?
If you have iCloud Photos enabled, you may be able to recover deleted photos from iCloud for up to 40 days after deletion.
iCloud stores deleted photos in its Recently Deleted folder for 40 days before permanent erasure. So you have a bit longer than the iPhone’s 30 day window to restore trashed snapshots.
To recover deleted photos from iCloud online:
- Go to iCloud.com and sign in
- Open Photos
- Click Recently Deleted to view deleted photos
- Select photos to restore and click Recover
You can also restore deleted photos using the iCloud Photos app on your Mac or PC. Just check the Recently Deleted folder.
What’s the best iPhone recovery app?
Some top apps for recovering deleted photos and other files from an iPhone include:
- Disk Drill – Full-featured recovery app to restore lost media, messages, documents and more.
- iMyFone D-Back – User-friendly interface for salvaging lost iPhone photos and data.
- FoneDog Toolkit – Simple recovery solution focused specifically on retrieving deleted photos.
- iMazing – Powerful iOS device manager with options to recover camera roll photos.
The best app depends on your specific needs. Key factors to consider are price, ease of use, recovery capabilities, and file type support.
Can you recover permanently deleted photos from iCloud?
If photos were permanently deleted from your iPhone over 30 days ago, you may still be able to recover them from iCloud for up to 40 days after deletion.
While the iPhone Photos app only retains deleted photos for 30 days, iCloud’s Recently Deleted folder extends this to 40 days.
So if you permanently deleted photos from your iPhone over a month ago, check iCloud online or on your computer. You have up to 40 days from the initial deletion date to restore the photos.
However, this only applies to photos deleted on a device with iCloud Photos enabled. If iCloud sync was disabled, the photos will not be recoverable from iCloud.
Can you recover deleted photos with iTunes?
If you have an iTunes backup of your iPhone, you may be able to recover deleted photos through that backup. iTunes backups save copies of your photos and data.
To restore deleted photos using iTunes:
- Connect your iPhone to your computer and open iTunes
- Under Backups, select your device
- Right click (Ctrl click on Mac) and choose Restore from Backup
- Select desired backup and click Restore
This will roll your device back to the state captured in the backup, letting you access photos if they were deleted after that backup. It does not work for photos deleted before the backup.
Can professionals recover deleted Snapchat photos?
Professional data recovery services may be able to recover deleted Snapchat photos, but results are mixed.
The challenge is that Snapchat photos are designed to be ephemeral. They are automatically deleted shortly after being viewed. Snapchat also does not provide users access to a backup of snaps.
However, professionals can sometimes extract deleted Snapchat photos using low-level forensic data recovery techniques. This involves directly scanning the phone’s storage at the byte level.
Success depends on factors like how soon recovery is attempted after deletion. Overwriting can make Snapchat photos unrecoverable even by pros. So there are no guarantees.
Conclusion
It is possible to recover recently deleted photos from your iPhone’s Recently Deleted folder within 30 days. Beyond 30 days, recovery becomes very difficult but may be possible using third party software or professional help. The best protection against deletion is regular backups of your photos to iCloud or external storage.
