Recovering photos and videos that were deleted from Google Photos over two years ago can be challenging, but is possible in some cases. Here are a few methods you can try to restore your lost media.
Check the Trash Folder
When you delete photos or videos in Google Photos, they are moved to the Trash folder where they are stored for 60 days before being permanently deleted. So if the deletion happened less than 60 days ago, you may be able to restore the files by going to the Trash folder and clicking “Restore”.
The Trash folder can be accessed from the Google Photos website – just click on the hamburger menu in the top left corner and select Trash. If you use the Google Photos app, go to the Library tab and scroll down to find the Trash folder.
If the deletion occurred over 60 days ago, the files will no longer be in the Trash folder unfortunately.
Try Finding the Files in Google Takeout
Google Takeout allows you to download an archive of your Google account data, including photos and videos from Google Photos. Media deleted from Google Photos can remain in your Google Takeout archive for a while before being removed.
To use Takeout to find deleted Google Photos files:
- Go to takeout.google.com and sign in to your Google account
- Deselect all data types except for Google Photos
- Choose export format as “.zip” and delivery method as “Export once”
- Click on “Create Export”
- Wait for the export to be compiled and downloaded as a zip file to your computer (this can take hours or days depending on how much data is involved)
- Unzip the archive and browse for your deleted photos and videos in the various folders
If you don’t find your deleted files in the Takeout archive, it likely means Google has already permanently removed them from their servers.
Try Google Photo Recovery Software
If your deleted Google Photos are no longer in the Trash or Takeout archives, your last option is to try third party software designed to recover deleted Google Photos files.
These tools work by scanning your Google account online and attempting to rebuild photos that have been deleted. Because the actual files are gone from Google’s servers, what these tools recover are recreations of your photos – the quality depends on how much data can be pieced back together.
Some Google Photo recovery software options to research include:
- Disk Drill
- Recoverit Google Photos Recovery
- Photorec
Make sure to choose a reputable paid recovery tool for best results. Free software typically offers limited functionality.
The recovery success rate also depends on how long ago the files were deleted. The longer ago the deletion occurred, the lower the chance of data reconstruction.
Prevent Future Deletions with Google Photos Settings
To avoid having to recover deleted Google Photos again in the future, you can adjust some settings:
- Turn on the trash feature – By default, deleted photos bypass the trash and are permanently deleted. Enable the trash option in Settings.
- Increase trash retention period – Extend the number of days deleted files stay in the trash before being removed for good.
- Create backups – Download your Google Photos to another storage device or cloud service periodically.
- Turn off auto-delete – Disable the auto-delete options for photos once a storage limit is reached.
Try Checking Other Devices and Services
In some cases, your “deleted” Google Photos may still exist in other places:
- Old phones/cameras – Photos may still be stored locally on devices you used to take or upload the photos if they didn’t delete them.
- Other cloud services – If you had auto-syncing turned on, the photos may have been backed up to another cloud storage provider like Dropbox.
- Email attachments – Check old emails to see if any of the photos were emailed as attachments.
- Friends/family devices – If you had shared the photos, the recipients may still have them on their own devices.
Use Google’s Delete Prediction Tool
Google offers a “Delete Prediction” tool within Google Takeout that attempts to determine which deleted files can no longer be recovered via Takeout exports. This can help you identify photos that have been permanently deleted from Google’s servers.
To use it:
- Go to takeout.google.com and login
- At the very bottom, enable the “Show deleted data” option
- Create a new export request for just Google Photos
- Review the “Deleted data” section in the archives – these are files Google considers unrecoverable
If the photos you are searching for appear under “Deleted data”, it will be difficult to find them through Takeout exports moving forward.
Contact Google Support as a Last Resort
If you have exhausted all other options, you can try reaching out to Google support to see if they can assist in recovering your photos and videos.
Keep in mind that contacting support should be a last ditch effort, as their agents likely do not have any more capabilities for data recovery beyond what is provided through the Trash folder and Takeout. But in some rare cases, they may be able to assist.
To contact Google Photos support:
- Go to support.google.com/photos
- Click the blue “Contact Us” button in the top right
- Choose the appropriate contact option – likely need “Get account help”
- Explain your situation and what photos you are trying to recover
- Follow up on any further troubleshooting suggestions they provide
The chances of Google directly restoring your deleted photos for you are low. But it’s worth a shot in case a support agent takes pity on you and decides to investigate further.
Consider Restoring From a Backup
If you had enabled the Google Photos partner program, your photos may have been backed up to a third-party cloud storage provider like Dropbox. It’s worth checking these other services to see if they still retain copies of the deleted photos.
For example, with Dropbox:
- Login to your Dropbox account online
- Check the “Recover deleted files” option to view deleted content
- Search for the Google Photos folder
- See if your deleted photos exist in this folder
- Restore any recovered photos by clicking the circular arrow icon
Other services like Microsoft OneDrive or Amazon Photos may have similar recovery capabilities if you had setup auto-syncing and backups appropriately when the photos originally existed.
Use Photo Recovery Software
Specialty photo recovery software tools may be able to restore your deleted Google Photos by scanning your hard drive and connected devices deeply for trace remnants of the image and video files.
Some top-rated photo recovery programs to consider include:
- Stellar Photo Recovery
- EaseUS Photo Recovery
- Remo Photo Recovery
- Disk Drill Photo Recovery
These tools can dig into your computer’s hard drive, attached external drives, USB devices, and memory cards to find previously deleted media files that might still have recoverable data fragments left behind. This works best if you recover from the same device the files were originally deleted from.
Photo recovery software often comes with filters to narrow your results to only photo and video file formats from your various devices. Be sure to thoroughly scan each relevant device one by one.
Tips for Using Photo Recovery Software
- Don’t overwrite the device you are recovering from with any new data prior to scanning it, as this makes permanent data deletion more likely.
- Have patience – an in-depth scan can take hours depending on how large the storage volume is.
- Save the recovered files to a different drive than the one you are scanning to prevent rewriting the deleted data.
- Sort through the recovered files carefully to find your lost photos and videos from the mix.
Seek Help from Data Recovery Experts
For very valuable or irreplaceable photos that you’ve exhausted all self-service methods for recovering, consider turning to professional data recovery experts as a last resort.
Data recovery specialists have access to advanced tools and techniques that can retrieve deleted files from even severely damaged drives and devices.
For your situation of recovering long deleted Google Photos, a few options include:
- Secure Data Recovery Services
- DriveSavers
- DATA Clinic
- Ontrack
The recovery process typically involves:
- Physically shipping your device containing the deleted photos to the data recovery company.
- A clean room inspection by engineers to clone the drive and dig for recoverable data.
- An analysis of what files may be retrievable.
- Retrieval of the deleted photos if still possible.
- Return shipping of a new drive or access to a cloud folder with your recovered files.
Professional recovery services can cost several hundred to several thousand dollars, but may be worth it for restoring treasured photos you thought were gone forever.
Prevent Future Data Loss
To avoid needing to resort to data recovery methods for your Google Photos again, be sure to implement solid backup practices going forward:
- Enable the Google Photos trash feature so deletions go to a temporary trash first.
- Increase the trash retention period to 60 days or longer.
- Download your Google Photos to a local hard drive or alternative cloud storage periodically.
- Use third-party backup tools to automate periodic Google Photos backups.
With redundant backups in place, you’ll have peace of mind that your Google Photos remain safe even if accidental deletions occur down the road.
Accept the Data is Gone
If none of these Google Photo recovery methods succeed after extensive troubleshooting, then you may need to accept the deleted photos are likely gone for good unfortunately. As painful as data loss is, sometimes there comes a point where further recovery efforts are futile and your best course of action is to move on.
Take it as a lesson learned to implement better data security practices going forward, and be at peace knowing you did everything you could to get those photos back.
In the future, be vigilant about comprehensive cloud and local backups of precious memories and files. With the right backup system in place, temporary losses like this are reduced from catastrophes down to just minor annoyances.
Hopefully the photos you lost were not completely irreplaceable, and you still have most of those memories stored safely in other places. Cherish what you still have access to, and get started capturing new lifelong memories with your friends and loved ones today.