Losing photos on your iPhone can be frustrating, but thankfully, there’s a built-in safety net. Deleted photos aren’t immediately removed from your device. Instead, they’re moved to a “Recently Deleted” album where they remain for 30 days before being permanently erased. This guide will walk you through how to find and recover these deleted photos on your iPhone.
iPhone showing Recently Deleted album
Locating the Recently Deleted Album
The Recently Deleted album is your first stop for recovering lost photos. Here’s how to find it:
- Open the Photos app: Launch the default Photos application on your iPhone.
- Navigate to Albums: Tap the “Albums” tab at the bottom of the screen.
- Scroll to Utilities: Scroll down to the “Utilities” section.
- Open Recently Deleted: Tap on the “Recently Deleted” album.
Recovering Deleted Photos
Once inside the Recently Deleted album, you’ll see all your recently deleted photos and videos, each with a counter indicating how many days remain before they’re permanently deleted.
iPhone showing multiple photos selected in the Photos app
- Select Photos for Recovery: Tap “Select” in the top right corner. Choose individual photos or videos by tapping them, or select all by tapping “Recover All” at the bottom left.
- Recover: After selecting the items you want to recover, tap “Recover” at the bottom right. Confirm your choice by tapping “Recover Photo” or “Recover [Number] Photos”. The recovered photos will return to your main photo library.
Permanently Deleting Photos
If you want to permanently delete photos from your iPhone to free up storage space or for privacy reasons, you can do so directly from the Recently Deleted album.
- Select Photos for Deletion: In the Recently Deleted album, select the photo(s) or video(s) you want to permanently remove.
- Delete: Tap the trash can icon and confirm by tapping “Delete [Number] Photos”. Remember, this action is irreversible. Once deleted from this album, the photos are gone for good.
Important Considerations
- 30-Day Grace Period: Remember that you only have 30 days to recover deleted photos from the Recently Deleted album. After that, they are automatically and permanently deleted.
- iCloud Photos: If you use iCloud Photos, deleting a photo from one device will delete it from all your devices synced with the same iCloud account. The 30-day recovery period still applies.
- Backup Your Photos: Regularly backing up your iPhone to iCloud or a computer is crucial for safeguarding your photos and ensuring you can recover them in case of accidental deletion or device loss.
Conclusion
Recovering deleted photos on an iPhone is straightforward thanks to the Recently Deleted album. By following these steps, you can retrieve precious memories. However, remember the 30-day time limit and always back up your photos to prevent permanent loss. If your photos are not in the Recently Deleted folder, they may be permanently deleted, and you might need to explore alternative recovery methods, like restoring from a backup.
