Google Photos is a cloud storage service where users can upload, store, search, browse, and share photos. It provides unlimited free storage for photos up to 16MP and videos up to 1080p resolution. Photos and videos uploaded to Google Photos are automatically organized using AI and backed up in Google’s cloud servers.
While Google Photos offers reliable cloud storage, there are instances where photos can be accidentally or unintentionally deleted by users. Reasons photos disappear include clearing the trash or cache, sync errors, or logging out of the service improperly. When photos are deleted from Google Photos, they are often recoverable through various methods if acted on quickly.
Check Google Photos Trash
When you delete photos from Google Photos, they are moved to the trash folder rather than being permanently erased. According to Google’s support documentation, “Backed up photos and videos you delete will stay in your trash for 60 days before they are permanently deleted forever.” [1]
Therefore, if you accidentally deleted photos within the last 60 days, your best bet is to check the trash folder in Google Photos. The trash can be accessed in the Google Photos app by tapping on the hamburger menu icon in the top left corner and selecting Trash. You can also find the trash in the side menu on photos.google.com.
Browse through the contents of the trash folder to see if your missing photos are still there. If so, you can restore them to your main Google Photos library by selecting the photos and tapping “Restore.” This will pull the photos out of the trash and back into your regular albums and folders. Act quickly though, as photos are purged from the trash after 60 days.
Checking the trash first gives you a good chance to recover deleted photos before they are permanently erased. Just be sure to act within the 60 day window.
[1] https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6128858?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid
Download Google Takeout
Google Takeout is a tool that allows users to download an archive of the data they have stored across Google services like Google Photos, Google Drive, Gmail, etc. This can be useful for recovering deleted photos from Google Photos.
To use Google Takeout to recover deleted Google Photos:
- Go to takeout.google.com and sign in to your Google account.
- Deselect all Google services except for Google Photos.
- Choose export format as ZIP.
- Select frequency as one-time export.
- Click on All photo albums included to ensure all photos are downloaded.
- Click Export.
Google will prepare an archive of your Google Photos data and notify you via email when it is ready to download. The archive will contain your photos in their original quality.
Once downloaded, you can browse the archive folders to find your deleted photos and restore them to another storage location.
Restore from Google Drive Backup
If you had Google Photos syncing to your Google Drive account, then any photos you delete from Google Photos may still be recoverable from the Google Drive trash for up to 30 days. To restore deleted photos from Google Drive:
1. Open the Google Drive website and click on the Trash icon on the left sidebar. This will show all deleted files.
2. Locate the deleted photos you want to restore and click the checkbox next to them. Then click “Restore” to move the photos back to your Drive storage.
3. Once restored to Drive, open Google Photos and make sure syncing with Drive is enabled under Settings. The restored photos should reappear in Google Photos after syncing.
If the deleted photos don’t show up in the Drive trash, it’s likely the 30 day period has passed and permanent deletion has occurred. Unfortunately, the photos cannot be recovered through Drive after this point.
To avoid permanent deletion in the future, consider changing Google Drive and Google Photos settings to send deleted items to the trash rather than permanent deletion. You can also download Google Takeout periodically as a backup.
Source: https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2375102?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop
Use a File Recovery Tool
There are dedicated photo recovery apps designed to restore deleted files from Google Photos or other cloud storage by thoroughly scanning your accounts. These tools dig deep to recover permanently deleted photos, even ones lost long ago.
Some top recommendations include:
- DigDeep Image Recovery – Powerful Android app that can restore deleted photos from your internal storage, SD card, and cloud accounts like Google Photos.
- Recoverit by Wondershare – Widely used Windows and Mac software with advanced algorithms to recover deleted or lost photos from Google Photos and other sources.
- iMyFone D-Back – Recovers deleted Google Photos across Android devices and allows previewing files before recovery.
The key is to use a dedicated photo recovery tool that can deeply scan your Google cloud storage and find traces of deleted image files. Their advanced data recovery algorithms make it possible to restore photos even if you emptied the trash long ago.
Recover from Local Storage
If your photos were synced to a local folder on your computer or external drive before being deleted, you may be able to recover them using a file recovery tool designed to salvage deleted files. Some popular free file recovery tools include:
Recuva – This free tool from Piriform can scan your drives and recover various file types including JPEGs from your photos. It has deep scan capabilities to locate files marked as deleted.
Intel Data Recovery Software – Intel offers this free file recovery tool that can restore deleted photos and other file types from hard drives and removable media like SD cards.
These tools scan your local storage and allow you to preview recoverable photos before restoring them. As long as the storage space hasn’t been overwritten, they can often recover deleted files. For best results, use the tool as soon as possible after deletion and avoid saving new data to the same drive.
Contact Google Support
If you are unable to recover your photos through the other methods, you can contact Google Support directly for help. Google provides several options for contacting their support team about a Google Account:
You can fill out the Google Account recovery form. Here you can explain your situation and request help recovering data from your Google Account.
Another option is to call Google Support by phone. Their phone number for account recovery assistance is 1-800-419-0157. When you call, explain to the support agent that you are seeking help recovering photos from your Google cloud storage.
You can also try contacting support through live chat on the Google support site. The chat allows you to explain your situation to an agent and get personalized help recovering your photos.
When contacting Google Support, it helps to provide as many details as possible, such as when the photos were lost, what troubleshooting you’ve already tried, and any other identifying details about the account. The more information you can provide, the better able support will be to assist you.
With help from Google’s knowledgeable support team, you have a good chance of recovering your lost Google Photos cloud data. Just be sure to reach out to them through one of their official support channels.
Enable Photo Recovery Options
Google Photos offers a few settings that can make it easier to recover deleted photos if you accidentally delete something important. Here are some options to enable:
Enable the Google Photos trash
The Google Photos trash holds any photos you delete for up to 60 days before being permanently deleted. To enable it:
- Open the Google Photos app or photos.google.com
- Click on the Settings icon (shaped like a gear)
- Under the General tab, check the box for “Move items to trash bin instead of deleting forever”
With this setting enabled, any deleted photos will go to the trash where you have a window to recover them before they are gone forever. Just go to the trash tab to restore deleted photos.
Sync photos to Google Drive
Any photos you upload to Google Photos can also be synced and stored in Google Drive. This gives you another place to potentially recover deleted files. To enable this:
- Go to the Settings icon in Google Photos
- Under the “Back up & sync” tab, click on “Backup device folders”
- Choose Google Drive as a location to sync your Google Photos to
Now your Google Photos library will also exist in Google Drive, giving you another potential recovery source.
Add recovery email/phone
You can add a recovery email and phone number to your Google Account. Google will send a notification to these contacts if you request to permanently delete photos from your Google Photos library. This gives you a short window where you could potentially recover those photos by cancelling the deletion:
- Go to your Google Account
- Under “Security,” choose “Recovery options”
- Enter a recovery email and/or phone number
Enabling these Google Photos settings can make it much easier to recover deleted photos quickly, before they are permanently gone.
Back Up your Photos
It’s critical to emphasize regularly backing up photos to an external location like an external hard drive or cloud storage to avoid permanent data loss if something happens to the photos on your phone or computer. According to Google’s support article, you can choose the backup quality for photos and videos in Google Photos – “Original” quality will count towards your Google Account storage quota, while “Storage Saver” compresses photos and videos to save space (source).
Some tips for effective photo backup include:
- Use the Google Photos app to automatically back up photos from your mobile device (source).
- Connect an external hard drive to your computer and use backup software to schedule regular backups.
- Store a copy of your photo archives in cloud storage services like Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.
- Consider a dual backup approach – backing up locally and to the cloud for maximum protection.
- Back up your photos regularly, such as once a month.
Regularly backing up your photo archives is the best way to avoid losing your precious photos and memories forever. Be sure to use redundant backup destinations like external drives and the cloud for maximum protection.
Conclusion
There are various options to recover deleted Google Photos depending on your specific situation. First, check the Google Photos trash and/or download your Google Takeout archive to restore deleted photos. If you previously backed up your photos to Google Drive, you may be able to restore from there. File recovery software can help extract cached photo files or thumbnails from your devices. Reaching out to Google Support directly is another avenue if other methods don’t work.
To avoid losing photos in the future, be sure to regularly back up your Google Photos library and enable options like “Recover storage” that keeps deleted items for 60 days. Storing a secondary copy of your photos on an external hard drive or another cloud service can also protect you from permanent data loss. With multiple backups and recovery options in place, you can rest assured knowing your Google Photos collection is safe.