How to Recover Photos on iPhone: A Comprehensive Guide

Losing precious photos on your iPhone can be a frustrating experience. Fortunately, there are several ways to recover deleted or missing photos. This guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to retrieve your lost images.

alt text: a person holding an iPhone with a photo recovery app open

Check the Recently Deleted Album

Accidentally deleted photos aren’t immediately lost forever. They’re moved to the Recently Deleted album, where they remain for 30 days before being permanently erased. This gives you a grace period to recover them.

Recovering from iPhone or iPad

1. Open the Photos app.
2. Swipe up and tap “Recently Deleted” in the Utilities section.
3. Use Face ID or Touch ID to unlock the album.
4. Tap a photo or video, then tap “Recover.” To recover multiple items, tap “Select,” choose your photos and videos, tap the “More” button (three dots), and then tap “Recover.”
5. Confirm your recovery selection.

Recovering from Mac

1. In macOS Ventura or later, open Photos and select “Recently Deleted” in the sidebar’s Utilities section.
2. Unlock the album using Touch ID or your password.
3. Click the photo or video you want to recover.
4. Click “Recover.”

Recovering from iCloud.com

1. Sign in to your Apple Account at iCloud.com.
2. Click on “Photos.”
3. Select “Recently Deleted” in the sidebar (if the sidebar isn’t visible, click the “Show Sidebar” button in the top-left corner).
4. Select the photo and click “Recover.”

Recovering from Apple Vision Pro

1. Open the Photos app and tap “Collections” in the sidebar.
2. Scroll down and tap “Recently Deleted” in the Utilities.
3. Unlock the album with Optic ID or your passcode.
4. Tap and hold a photo or video, then tap “Recover.” For multiple items, tap “Select,” choose your media, tap the “More” button and then tap “Recover.”
5. Tap “Recover” to confirm.

Look in the Hidden Album

If your photos aren’t in the Recently Deleted album, they might be hidden.

Unhiding on iPhone or iPad

1. Open the Photos app and swipe up.
2. Tap “Hidden” in the Utilities section.
3. Unlock the Hidden album using Face ID or Touch ID.
4. Select the photos or videos you want to unhide.
5. Tap the “More” button and then tap “Unhide.”

Unhiding on Mac

1. In Photos, click “View” in the menu bar and select “Show Hidden Photo Album.”
2. In the sidebar, select “Hidden” and click “View Album.”
3. Unlock the album with Touch ID or your password in macOS Ventura or later.
4. Select the photos or videos you want to unhide.
5. Control-click the photo and choose “Unhide Photo.” Alternatively, choose Image > “Unhide Photo” from the menu bar or press Command-L.

Unhiding on iCloud.com

1. Sign in to your Apple Account at iCloud.com.
2. Click “Photos.”
3. Select “Hidden” in the sidebar and click “Show Hidden Photos” (if you don’t see the sidebar, click the “Show Sidebar” button).
4. Select the photo, click the “More” button, and then click “Unhide.”

Unhiding on Apple Vision Pro

1. Open Photos and tap “Collections” in the sidebar.
2. Scroll down and tap “Hidden” in the Utilities section.
3. Use Optic ID or your passcode to unlock the Hidden album.
4. Tap and hold a thumbnail, then tap “Unhide.” To unhide multiple items, tap “Select,” choose your media, tap the “More” button and then tap “Unhide.”

Ensure iCloud Photos is Enabled

iCloud Photos backs up your photos and videos, making them accessible across all your devices. If you turned off iCloud Photos after taking a picture, your missing photo might still be in iCloud.

Enabling on iPhone or iPad

1. Go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud.
2. Tap “Photos.”
3. Turn on “Sync this [Device].”

Enabling on Mac

1. Open Photos and choose Photos > Settings (or Preferences) from the menu bar.
2. Click the iCloud tab.
3. Select iCloud Photos.

Enabling on Apple Vision Pro

1. Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud.
2. Tap Photos.
3. Turn on Sync this Apple Vision Pro.

After enabling iCloud Photos, connect to Wi-Fi and wait a few minutes for your photos to sync. Then, check for your missing photos again.

Check Your iCloud Shared Photo Library

alt text: An iPhone displaying the shared photo library interface.

If you use iCloud Shared Photo Library, your photos might be in a different library view.

Switching Library Views on iPhone or iPad:

1. Open the Photos app.
2. Tap the profile button in the top-right corner.
3. Choose “Both Libraries,” “Personal Library,” or “Shared Library.”

Sign in with the Same Apple ID

To keep your photos synced across devices, ensure you’re signed in with the same Apple ID on all of them. You can verify your Apple ID in Settings. Your name and email address (your Apple ID) will be displayed.