Deleting photos from your iPhone can be a frustrating experience, especially when you realize later that you still needed those photos. The good news is, even after deletion, iPhone keeps deleted photos in the device’s storage for up to 40 days. So you have a decent chance to recover recently deleted photos before they are permanently erased.
In this article, we will walk you through some proven methods to recover deleted photos from iPhone, even without backup.
Can You Recover Deleted Photos on iPhone?
Yes, it is possible to recover recently deleted photos on your iPhone if you act quickly and use the right tools. When you delete photos on iPhone, they are not immediately erased from the device storage. Instead, iOS marks the storage space occupied by the deleted photos as available for overwrite. So until that storage space is reused by new data, the deleted photos remain recoverable.
The duration for which deleted photos remain recoverable depends on various factors like –
- How much free storage space you have on your iPhone currently
- How many new apps/data you add after deleting the photos
- Whether your iPhone is synced to iCloud for backup
Based on these factors, deleted photos may remain recoverable for a few hours up to 30-40 days. The sooner you attempt recovery, the higher the chances.
How iPhone Storage Works
To understand why deleted photos remain recoverable for some time, you need to know a bit about how iPhone storage works.
All data on your iPhone including photos, messages, apps etc. is stored in the phone’s internal NAND flash storage. This is a non-volatile storage, which means data persists even when the phone is switched off.
Now when you delete photos from the Photos app on your iPhone, it simply removes the access pointers to those photos. The storage space occupied by the deleted photos is marked as available for new data. But the photo data itself remains in place until that storage space is reused.
So the deleted photos continue to reside in iPhone storage, without any access pointers. That’s what allows recovery software to retrieve deleted photos by scanning the iPhone flash storage directly.
Factors That Determine Recoverability of Deleted Photos
While iPhone keeps deleted photos for some time, their recoverability depends on –
- Time since deletion – The sooner you attempt recovery, the better. As time passes, more deleted data may get overwritten by new data reducing chances of recovery.
- Available storage space – If your iPhone has ample free space, deleted photos will remain recoverable for longer than a nearly full iPhone.
- New data added – Using more apps and capturing more photos/videos after deletion overwrites old deleted data faster.
- iCloud backup – If you have iCloud Photo Library enabled, soon after deletion the photos get removed from iPhone during an iCloud backup.
Keeping these factors in mind, ideally you should attempt to recover deleted photos within 24-48 hours. The more new data you add, the less likely recovery becomes.
How to Recover Deleted Photos on iPhone
Now let’s get into the actual methods and tools you can use to recover recently deleted photos on your iPhone.
Method 1: Restore from iCloud Backup
If you had enabled iCloud backup for your iPhone, you might be able to restore the deleted photos from iCloud.
Go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Manage Storage > Backups to check when your last iCloud backup was taken. If it was taken before the photos were deleted, restoring from this backup retrieves the deleted photos.
To restore, follow these steps:
- Reset your iPhone to factory settings. This will erase all data and settings.
- During the reset process, tap on Restore from iCloud Backup and sign in with your Apple ID.
- On the next screen, select the desired backup containing the deleted photos.
- Wait for the restore process to complete. Once done, your iPhone will reboot and restore your data and settings from the backup you selected.
This process will recover the deleted photos. However, all data and changes made after the backup will be lost. So iCloud restore is good if the photos were deleted soon after the last backup.
Method 2: Retrieve from Recently Deleted Album
If you have iOS 8 or later version, your iPhone has a Recently Deleted album where deleted photos are kept for up to 40 days. You might find your photos in there.
To view Recently Deleted album:
- Open the Photos app
- Scroll down on the Albums tab to find the Recently Deleted album
- Tap the album to view deleted photos stored in there
- Tap Select > Recover to restore photos from this album back to Camera Roll or other albums
The Recently Deleted album allows quick, one-tap recovery of deleted photos. But it only stores the last 30 days of deletions. If your photos were deleted earlier, they would not be found here.
Method 3: Use a iPhone Data Recovery Software
A reliable data recovery app can scan your iPhone storage directly to extract deleted photos from it. This method does not require any backups and lets you recover photos deleted months ago.
We recommend using dr.fone – Recover (iOS). It is a highly rated iPhone recovery software used by millions worldwide. You can use dr.fone to:
- Get back photos deleted from iPhone directly or through iTunes/iCloud backup.
- Retrieve photos lost due to device damage, forgotten passcode, factory reset etc.
- Recover data selectively by previewing contents before recovery.
- Support all iPhone models including latest iPhone XR/XS/XS Max running latest iOS.
Let’s see how to use dr.fone to recover deleted photos from iPhone quickly:
Step 1: Connect iPhone to Computer
Launch dr.fone on your computer and connect the iPhone using a USB cable. dr.fone will automatically detect the connected device.
Step 2: Scan iPhone for Deleted Photos
On the dr.fone home, select ‘Recover’ among the various data recovery tools. Next, pick the ‘Deleted Photos’ recovery option.
dr.fone will provide two options to scan for deleted photos – Scan for deleted photos directly on the iPhone storage, or scan from an iTunes or iCloud backup.
To recover deleted photos directly from iPhone storage, select ‘Deleted Photos’ and click ‘Start’. dr.fone will now scan the iPhone to extract recoverable photos. This will take a few minutes.
Step 3: Preview and Recover Deleted Photos
Once the scan is complete, dr.fone will show you a gallery view of all recoverable deleted photos. You can preview the photos and select the ones you want to get back.
Finally, click on ‘Recover’ to restore the selected deleted photos to your computer. You can now transfer them back to iPhone if needed.
Using dr.fone, you can easily recover photos deleted from iPhone – directly from storage, without any backups. It supports the latest iPhone models and iOS versions.
Tips to Avoid Losing Photos on iPhone
While recovery is possible in case photos are accidentally deleted, it is always better to avoid deletion in the first place. Here are some handy tips to prevent losing photos on your iPhone:
- Enable iCloud Photo Library to automatically back up all device photos over internet.
- Sync your iPhone photos to computer periodically via iTunes.
- Use Google Photos to back up photos – it provides unlimited storage for free.
- Avoid clearing Camera Roll frequently. Store photos you want to delete in a separate album first before deleting.
- Install a private photos vault app to hide sensitive photos instead of deleting them.
Following these tips will minimize the chances of permanently losing important photos stored on your iPhone.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How long are deleted photos stored on iPhone?
Deleted photos remain recoverable from iPhone storage for up to 30-40 days after deletion. However, recoverability reduces over time as deleted data gets overwritten by new data. Ideally you should attempt recovery within 1-2 days.
2. Can you recover permanently deleted photos from iPhone without backup?
Yes, using data recovery software like dr.fone you can restore photos deleted from iPhone – directly from the storage, without needing any backup.
3. What happens when you delete photos from Recently Deleted album?
The Recently Deleted album keeps deleted photos for 30 days after which they are permanently lost. So if you manually delete photos from Recently Deleted, they cannot be recovered anymore.
4. How do I recover deleted photos from iCloud backup?
You can use dr.fone to selectively restore deleted photos from your iCloud backups. Just choose ‘Recover from iCloud Backup’ option and select the desired backup to scan and recover deleted photos from it.
5. Can system restore recover deleted photos on iPhone?
Yes, system restore using iTunes or iCloud can retrieve deleted iPhone photos IF the restore is done from a backup taken before the photos were deleted originally. Full system restore also erases all other iPhone data.
Conclusion
Knowing how to recover deleted photos from iPhone comes handy in case of accidental or unintended deletion. As we saw, you can restore deleted iPhone photos using data recovery software, iCloud backup and the Recently Deleted album.
Among these methods, using dedicated recovery apps like dr.fone offer the maximum flexibility. You can retrieve photos deleted months ago, without requiring any backups. But it’s always better to regularly back up important photos, and avoid unnecessary deletions from the Photos app.
Following the guide above, you can easily recover any photos, videos and other data that may have been deleted from your iPhone due to any reason.
