We’ve all been there – you delete a video from your iPhone that you didn’t mean to get rid of. Thankfully, even after deleting a video, there are still ways to try and recover it as long as you act quickly. In this guide, we’ll walk through the steps on how to recover deleted videos from an iPhone’s Recently Deleted folder.
Can You Recover Deleted Videos from Recently Deleted on iPhone?
The Recently Deleted folder on iPhones and iPads stores deleted photos and videos for up to 30 days before they are permanently erased. So if you’ve accidentally deleted a video from your Camera Roll, you may still be able to find and recover it from Recently Deleted as long as not too much time has passed.
When you delete media on an iPhone, it gets put into the Recently Deleted album for safekeeping. This acts as a safety net in case you change your mind and want to recover the deleted items. Media will remain in Recently Deleted for 30 days after being deleted.
During those 30 days, you have a chance to recover videos that have been deleted. But after 30 days, the contents of Recently Deleted are permanently erased. So the window of opportunity to salvage deleted videos is limited.
Recovering a video from Recently Deleted on an iPhone is possible, but you have to act fast. The sooner you can attempt video recovery, the better chances you’ll have of getting your videos back.
How iPhone’s Recently Deleted Folder Works
Before we get into the step-by-step guide on recovering videos, let’s first understand how the Recently Deleted folder works on iPhones:
- When you delete a video (or photo) on your iPhone, it is moved to the Recently Deleted folder.
- The deleted items will remain in Recently Deleted for 30 days from the date they were originally deleted.
- After 30 days have passed, the deleted videos and photos are permanently erased from your phone.
- You can recover and restore videos from Recently Deleted as long as they are still being stored there.
- The Recently Deleted folder has a limited storage capacity. If you continue deleting more videos, the oldest contents will be removed first to free up space.
- You cannot manually delete anything from the Recently Deleted folder. Items will automatically be erased over time.
- Erasing your iPhone or performing a restore will immediately clear out all contents from Recently Deleted.
Knowing how Recently Deleted works is key to understanding the window of opportunity you have for recovering deleted videos from an iPhone. Now let’s look at how to actually restore those videos.
How to Recover Deleted Videos from Recently Deleted on iPhone
If you need to salvage a video that you accidentally deleted from your iPhone’s Camera Roll, check Recently Deleted immediately. Here are the steps to recover deleted videos on an iPhone:
1. Open the Photos App
The first step is to open up the Photos app on your iPhone where all your pictures and videos are stored.
2. Navigate to Albums
At the bottom of the Photos app screen, tap on the Albums tab. This will display all your photo albums.
3. Open Recently Deleted
Scroll through the albums and tap on Recently Deleted. This contains all your deleted photos and videos.
4. Select the Video You Want to Recover
Browse through the deleted videos in your Recently Deleted folder until you find the one you want to retrieve. Tap on the video to select it.
5. Tap on Recover
With your deleted video selected, tap on the Recover button in the bottom right corner. This will restore the video back to your Camera Roll.
6. Check Camera Roll
Open up your Camera Roll album and make sure the recovered video is now back in your photos library and viewable.
And that’s all there is to it! As long as the deleted video still exists in Recently Deleted, you can restore it back to your iPhone’s camera roll using the steps above.
What To Do If Video Is Not in Recently Deleted
If you go through the steps to check Recently Deleted but cannot find the video you want to recover, that likely means the 30 day period has already passed and it has been permanently erased. When this happens, your options are more limited but you may still have a chance at video recovery:
- Use iPhone backup – Restore your iPhone to a previous backup when the video existed.
- Try third party software – Specialized tools may be able to recover deleted files even after the 30 days in Recently Deleted.
- Contact an expert – Data recovery services can attempt to rescue deleted videos, but this is expensive.
Recovering a deleted video beyond the Recently Deleted retention period takes more effort but in some cases may still be possible. Act quickly if the video is very important to you.
Mistakes to Avoid When Trying to Recover Deleted Videos
When attempting to restore deleted videos from Recently Deleted on an iPhone, there are some critical mistakes that could further reduce your chances of video recovery:
- Don’t delete other videos – If you delete additional videos, it pushes your desired video closer to being removed from Recently Deleted.
- Don’t restore your iPhone – Restoring from a backup or erasing your iPhone will wipe all Recently Deleted content.
- Don’t wait too long – Your chances decrease the longer the video lingers in Recently Deleted.
- Don’t save new videos – If you shoot lots of new videos, it can overwrite deleted files you want to recover.
Avoid these mistakes at all costs. Act quickly and only focus on recovering the deleted videos you want to rescue from the Recently Deleted folder.
How to Prevent Needing to Recover Deleted Videos
While it’s good to know how to recover recently deleted videos just in case, it’s also helpful to implement habits that prevent unwanted video deletions in the first place:
- Enable the Delete Confirmation – This makes your iPhone ask “Are you sure?” before deleting videos.
- Offload unused apps – This frees up space so Recently Deleted doesn’t empty too quickly.
- Review old videos frequently – Delete clips intentionally after saving copies you want to keep.
- Make use of cloud backup – iCloud retains copies of your videos for certain periods of time after deletion.
- Exercise caution when deleting – Go slow and double check whenever removing videos.
Staying cautious and deliberate when managing your iPhone’s videos can reduce cases of accidental deletion. But even so, the steps above to recover from Recently Deleted can save the day when needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many days are deleted videos stored in Recently Deleted?
Deleted videos remain in the Recently Deleted folder for 30 days before being permanently erased from your iPhone.
Can I recover permanently deleted videos from my iPhone?
If a video no longer appears in Recently Deleted, recovering it becomes very difficult. Your only options are using a backup, specialized third party software, or an expensive data recovery service.
Do deleted videos take up space on my iPhone?
Yes, deleted videos continue consuming storage space until they are ultimately erased from Recently Deleted after 30 days.
What happens if I run out of space in Recently Deleted?
If Recently Deleted fills up before the 30 day period, your iPhone will start removing the oldest deleted content first to free up space.
Can I choose what gets deleted from Recently Deleted?
No, you cannot manually delete or select specific items to remove from Recently Deleted. Your iPhone automatically manages what gets erased over time.
Conclusion
Hopefully this guide has shown that you can rescue deleted videos from the Recently Deleted folder on your iPhone as long as you act quickly. The key points to remember are:
- Deleted videos go to Recently Deleted where they stay for 30 days
- You can recover videos from Recently Deleted during those 30 days
- After 30 days deleted videos are permanently gone
- Avoid further deleting or overwriting files you want to recover
- Act fast for best chance of recovering deleted videos
So don’t panic if you’ve accidentally deleted an important video – check Recently Deleted right away. Just be sure to avoid any usage that would potentially remove files before you can recover them. With some care, it’s often possible to retrieve mistakenly deleted videos on your iPhone.
