What is the Recently Deleted Folder?
The Recently Deleted folder in Mac OS is a temporary holding place for files that have been deleted from the Mac. When a file is deleted, it is not immediately erased from the hard drive. Instead, it is moved to this folder where it stays for 30 days before being permanently deleted [1].
The purpose of the Recently Deleted folder is to act as a safety net in case users accidentally delete something. It stores the deleted files for 30 days to allow users time to recover anything they may need. This prevents permanent data loss right away and gives users a chance to retrieve files that may have been deleted unintentionally or in error.
So in summary, the Recently Deleted folder stores deleted files temporarily before permanent erasure. It serves as a recycle bin of sorts for macOS, allowing for easy data recovery within 30 days.
Why Files Go to Recently Deleted
When a file is deleted on a Mac, it is not immediately erased from the system. Instead, deleted files are moved to a special folder called Recently Deleted, which serves as a temporary holding place.
The main purpose of the Recently Deleted folder is to give users a chance to recover files that were accidentally or unintentionally deleted. For example, if you delete an important document thinking it was a duplicate copy, you may realize your mistake shortly after and be able to restore it from Recently Deleted.
Files that are placed in Recently Deleted remain there for 30 days by default before being permanently erased from the system. This 30 day period gives users ample time to notice a file’s absence and recover it if needed [1].
So in summary, the Recently Deleted folder serves as a temporary holding place for deleted files, giving users a chance to reverse mistakes or accidental deletions before the files are permanently gone.
Recovering Files from Recently Deleted
The Recently Deleted folder acts as a temporary holding place for files that have been deleted from the device. Any photos, videos, documents or other files that are deleted will be moved to this folder and remain there for 30 days by default before being permanently erased.
To recover and restore files that are in Recently Deleted:
- Open the Photos app and select the Albums tab at the bottom
- Scroll down to the bottom of the albums list and tap on ‘Recently Deleted’
- This will open the folder and display all of the deleted files that are still recoverable
- Tap and hold on a file, then choose ‘Recover’ to move it back to the Camera Roll or any other album
- You can also tap Select at the top right to select multiple files, then choose Recover to restore them
Alternatively, you can use the Restore option:
- With Recently Deleted open, tap Select at the top right
- Choose the files you want to restore
- Tap Restore to move the selected files back to their original location before deletion
This restores the files right to where they were before for a seamless recovery.[1]
Permanent Deletion
Files that end up in the Recently Deleted folder on an iPhone are not immediately erased. They remain recoverable for 30 days before being permanently deleted. After 30 days have passed, the files are automatically removed from the Recently Deleted folder and can no longer be recovered [1].
Users can also manually delete photos and videos from the Recently Deleted folder. Doing this will immediately and permanently erase them, without waiting for the 30 day period to elapse. Once manually deleted from Recently Deleted, there is no way to recover the files [2].
So in summary, deleted iPhone media is permanently erased after 30 days automatically or if manually removed from the Recently Deleted folder before then. Permanently deleted files cannot be recovered by any means.
Changing 30 Day Default Duration
The default duration that recently deleted files are kept in the folder before being permanently deleted is 30 days. However, you can customize this duration in Mac OS if you want files kept for longer or shorter before permanent deletion.
To change the duration that deleted files are kept:
- Open System Preferences on your Mac
- Click on Dock & Finder
- Under the Finder section, click on the Advanced tab
- You will see the Delete items as you move them to the Trash option. Click on the dropdown menu next to it.
- Select the duration you want deleted files kept before being permanently erased. The options range from Immediately to Never.
Once you select the duration, deleted files will now be kept for that time period before being permanently deleted from your Recently Deleted folder and Trash. This allows you to customize how long you have to recover files after deletion based on your needs.
Recovering After 30 Days
Recovering files after 30 days in the Recently Deleted folder is very difficult and not guaranteed. This is because after 30 days, iOS does a permanent purge of the contents in Recently Deleted.
To recover files after the 30 day period, you need to use third party file recovery software like EaseUS MobiSaver or Stellar Photo Recovery. These tools scan the iPhone storage and attempt to recover deleted files.
However, the possibility of recovering a file depends on whether the storage space has been overwritten with new data. If the space was reused and written over, it becomes practically impossible to recover the original deleted files.
Therefore, for the best chance of recovering files after 30 days, it’s critical to stop adding new data to the iPhone immediately after deletion, and use file recovery software as soon as possible.
Precautions Before Permanent Deletion
When photos, videos, and other files end up in the Recently Deleted folder, it’s easy to quickly and permanently erase them without thinking twice. However, it’s important to take precautions before permanently deleting anything.
First, make sure you have backups of all your important files stored in other locations, such as on an external hard drive or cloud storage. This way, if you do accidentally erase something critical from the Recently Deleted folder, you’ll still have another copy of it.
Additionally, before emptying the Recently Deleted folder, carefully review its contents one final time. It can be helpful to sort by date, size, or file type to ensure you haven’t missed anything you may want to recover. There are often ways to salvage deleted files, but once they are permanently erased, it becomes much more difficult and expensive.
In general, exercise caution whenever permanently deleting files using any app or device. While the Recently Deleted folder does provide a safety net, once that contents are emptied, they are gone for good. Having backups and double checking before deletion can prevent regrets later on.
Alternatives to Recovering Deleted Files
If you are unable to recover deleted files from the Recently Deleted folder or after the 30 day window, there are some alternatives to try to retrieve your lost data:
1. Time Machine or other backups: Having a regular backup system like Apple’s Time Machine for Mac is the best way to protect your files in case of accidental deletion. Time Machine and other backup software store previous versions of your data that you may be able to restore. Always maintain a good backup system to guard against permanent data loss.
2. Cloud storage: If you have cloud storage like iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. enabled on your device, deleted files may be retained in the cloud. You can check your cloud account to see if you can recover deleted files from there. However, synchronization to the cloud can overwrite deleted files, so don’t rely solely on this method.
3. Third party software: There are software tools like EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard that can scan your drive and retrieve deleted files beyond the Recycle Bin. While they may not work in every case, these specialized utilities are often able to find remnants of deleted data. Just be sure to avoid writing new data to the drive before running data recovery software.
While difficult, recovering deleted files through backups, cloud storage, or recovery software is sometimes possible as an alternative to Recent Deleted. Just act quickly before deleted data is permanently overwritten.
When Data Cannot be Recovered
In some cases, deleted files are gone for good and cannot be recovered through any method. The main situations where data is permanently deleted include:
If the storage space containing the deleted files has been overwritten with new data, then the original files are no longer recoverable. For example, if you delete a photo from your iPhone and then take new photos which save to that same space, the deleted photo’s data gets overwritten and is essentially gone (Apple).
Lack of backups also leads to permanent data loss. If a file is deleted and no backups exist, such as on an external hard drive or cloud storage, then there are no other copies to retrieve it from. Performing regular backups is crucial for protecting against permanent deletion.
After 30 days in the Recently Deleted folder on iOS devices, files are automatically permanently deleted. Once this happens, they cannot be recovered through any means. The only option is to restore a backup made prior to the file’s deletion (Apple Discussions).
In these cases, no amount of data recovery software can bring the files back. The only options are to recreate the lost data manually, if possible, or to accept the permanent data loss.
Summary
In summary, files deleted from the Recents Deleted folder are not permanently deleted right away. They remain recoverable for 30 days by default before being permanently erased. You can recover deleted files by finding them in the Recently Deleted folder and restoring them. To extend your window for recovery, you can change the duration before permanent deletion in your device settings.
The key takeaways are:
- Deleted files go to the Recently Deleted folder and can be recovered within 30 days.
- After 30 days, deleted files are permanently erased and can’t be recovered.
- You can change the 30 day default duration in your device settings.
- Recover files before 30 days elapse if you want to restore them.
- Permanently deleted data is irrecoverable unless you have backups.
Knowing this can help you avoid permanently losing important files and determine if recovery is possible for deleted data.