How to Recover Deleted Photos from Android: A Comprehensive Guide

Accidentally deleting precious photos from your Android phone can be a distressing experience. Whether it’s cherished memories, important documents captured as images, or creative work, losing these visual files can feel like losing a part of your digital life. Fortunately, recovering deleted photos from your Android device is often possible, and in many cases, quite straightforward. This guide will walk you through the most effective methods to recover your lost photos and provide crucial insights into how photo deletion and recovery work on Android devices.

Understanding Android Photo Deletion and Recovery

Before diving into recovery methods, it’s important to understand what happens when you delete a photo on your Android phone. Unlike permanently deleting something from physical existence, deleting a digital file, including a photo, typically doesn’t erase it immediately from the storage medium. Instead, the operating system marks the space occupied by the deleted file as available for new data.

Think of it like removing a label from a box in a warehouse. The box (your photo data) is still there, but it’s no longer marked as “in use.” Until new data overwrites that space, the “box” and its contents are potentially recoverable. This is the principle behind most data recovery methods.

However, time is of the essence. Android devices, like most modern smartphones, utilize flash storage with a feature called TRIM. TRIM optimizes storage performance by proactively erasing data marked as deleted during idle periods. This means that the longer you wait after deleting your photos, the higher the chance that TRIM or general phone usage will overwrite the storage space, making recovery more difficult, or even impossible.

Factors Affecting Photo Recovery on Android

The success of Android photo recovery depends on several factors:

• Time Elapsed Since Deletion: The quicker you act, the better your chances. The longer the time, the higher the risk of data overwriting.
• Device Usage After Deletion: Using your phone heavily after deleting photos increases the likelihood of new data being written to the storage space where your deleted photos reside. Minimize phone usage immediately after realizing you’ve lost photos.
• Storage Location: Photos stored on an external SD card are generally easier to recover than those stored on the phone’s internal memory. SD cards can be removed and scanned using specialized software on a computer, bypassing some Android security restrictions.
• Root Access: Rooting your Android device grants data recovery apps deeper access to the system, potentially improving their ability to scan and recover files from internal memory. However, rooting is a complex process and not without risks, and is generally not recommended solely for data recovery, especially if done after data loss, as the rooting process itself can overwrite data.
• TRIM Activity: As mentioned earlier, TRIM’s operation can reduce recovery chances over time.

Despite these factors, effective recovery methods exist, and we’ll explore the most practical ones below.

Recovery Methods: Getting Your Deleted Photos Back

Here are several methods you can use to attempt photo recovery on your Android device, starting with the simplest and quickest options:

Method 1: Check the Trash Folders – The First Line of Defense

Many Android apps, especially those dealing with media files, now include a “Trash” or “Recycle Bin” folder. This is the first place you should look for recently deleted photos. Files moved to the trash are usually kept for a certain period before being permanently deleted.

Recover from Google Photos Trash

If you use Google Photos to manage your photos (which is often the default photo app on Android), deleted photos are moved to the Trash for 60 days before permanent deletion.

1. Open the Google Photos app on your Android device.

2. Tap Library at the bottom right.

3. Select Trash.

   Navigating to the Trash folder within the Google Photos application.

4. You will see your deleted photos. Select the photos you want to recover by long-pressing on them.

5. Tap Restore at the bottom of the screen.

   Choosing specific photos to restore from the Trash and initiating the recovery process.

The restored photos will be returned to their original albums in your Google Photos library.

Recover from Files by Google Trash

“Files by Google” is another file management app by Google, often pre-installed or easily available on the Play Store. It also has a Trash folder. If you used this app to delete your photos, check its trash.

1. Open the Files by Google app.

2. Tap the Menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top left corner.

   Locating the menu icon within the Files by Google application interface.

3. Select Trash.

   Selecting the Trash option from the Files by Google menu.

4. Find your deleted photos. Select the photos you wish to recover.

5. Tap Restore at the bottom.

   Initiating the restoration of selected photos from the Trash folder.

The photos will be restored to their original folders.

Other App-Specific Trash Folders

Check if other apps you frequently use for managing or viewing photos (like gallery apps from Samsung, Xiaomi, etc.) have their own trash or recycle bin folders. The location and functionality will vary depending on the app. Look for options like “Recently Deleted,” “Trash,” or “Recycle Bin” within the app’s menu or settings.

Method 2: Android Photo Recovery Software (for SD Card)

If your photos were stored on an SD card, using dedicated data recovery software on a computer is a highly effective approach. Disk Drill is a powerful and user-friendly option known for its ability to recover various file types, including a wide array of image formats, from SD cards.

Disk Drill excels in SD card recovery because it can perform deep scans, bypassing Android’s operating system limitations when the SD card is connected directly to a computer.

Steps to recover deleted photos from an Android SD card using Disk Drill:

1. Power off your Android phone and remove the SD card.

2. Connect the SD card to your computer using an SD card reader. If your computer has a built-in SD card slot, you can use that.

3. Download and install Disk Drill on your Windows or Mac computer from the official website.

4. Launch Disk Drill. You will see a list of available drives. Select your SD card from the list.

   Identifying and selecting the Android SD card from the list of drives in Disk Drill.

5. Click Search for lost data. Disk Drill will begin scanning your SD card for recoverable files.

   Observing the progress of the scan as Disk Drill searches for lost data on the SD card.

6. Once the scan is complete, click Review found items.

   Initiating the review of items discovered by Disk Drill during the scan process.

7. Use the filters (e.g., by file type – “Pictures”) and preview options to locate your deleted photos. Disk Drill supports previewing many image formats, making it easier to identify the photos you need.

   Utilizing filters within Disk Drill to refine scan results and locate specific photo files.

8. Select the photos you want to recover by checking the boxes next to them. Click Recover.

   Previewing selected photos before recovery and marking them for restoration.

9. Choose a recovery location on your computer (ideally a different drive than the SD card) and click Next.

   Specifying a destination folder on the computer to save the recovered photos.

Disk Drill will recover your selected photos and save them to the chosen location.

Method 3: Android Photo Recovery Apps (for Internal Memory)

For photos deleted from the phone’s internal memory, you can use Android data recovery apps directly on your device. DiskDigger is a popular and effective app available on the Google Play Store. While it works best on rooted devices, it can still recover photos from unrooted phones, albeit with potentially limited scan depth and resolution in some cases.

Steps to recover deleted photos from Android internal memory using DiskDigger:

1. Install DiskDigger photo recovery from the Google Play Store.

2. Launch DiskDigger.

3. Tap Start Basic Photo Search. This option is available for non-rooted devices and scans for photos in your device’s cache and thumbnails. For a deeper scan, especially on internal memory, rooting your device is recommended, but proceed with caution and understand the risks involved in rooting.

   Initiating a basic photo search within the DiskDigger application.

4. Grant DiskDigger permissions to access your photos, media, and files when prompted.

   Granting DiskDigger the necessary permissions to access device storage.

5. DiskDigger will start scanning. As it finds recoverable photos, they will appear in a grid.

6. Select the photos you want to recover by checking the boxes. Tap Recover.

   Reviewing the list of recovered photos and selecting files for restoration.

7. Choose how you want to save the recovered files. You have options to save to a folder on your device, upload to cloud storage (like Google Drive or Dropbox), or send via email. Select your preferred method.

   Choosing the destination for saving the recovered photos from DiskDigger.

Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the recovery process.

Method 4: Recover from Cloud Backups

If you had enabled cloud backup services like Google Drive, Google Photos backup (separate from the Trash), Dropbox, or Samsung Cloud, your photos might be safely stored there.

Recover from Google Drive

If you synced your photos to Google Drive, you can check the Drive’s trash folder or browse your Drive files for your lost photos.

1. Open the Google Drive app.

2. Check your Files section to see if your photos are there.

3. If not, tap the Menu icon and select Trash.

   Navigating to the Trash folder within the Google Drive application.

4. Locate your deleted photos in the Trash.

5. Select the photos by tapping and holding.

6. Tap the three-dot menu icon and choose Restore.

   Restoring selected photo files from the Google Drive Trash folder.

The restored photos will be returned to their original location in your Google Drive.

Other Cloud Services

If you use other cloud services like Dropbox, Samsung Cloud, Microsoft OneDrive, or similar, check their respective apps or web interfaces for trash/recycle bin folders or recently deleted sections. The process will be similar to Google Drive: navigate to the trash, select your photos, and restore them.

Conclusion: Act Quickly and Choose the Right Method

Recovering deleted photos from your Android phone is often achievable, especially if you act promptly. Start by checking the trash folders of relevant apps like Google Photos and Files by Google. For SD card recovery, computer-based software like Disk Drill offers robust capabilities. For internal memory recovery directly on your phone, DiskDigger is a valuable tool. And always remember to check your cloud backups as a safety net.

Prevention is always better than cure. Regularly backing up your photos to the cloud or a computer ensures that even if accidental deletion or device issues occur, your precious memories remain safe and easily retrievable.

FAQ

How to find deleted photos on Android?

The first step is to check the Trash folders in apps like Google Photos and Files by Google. If not found there, consider using data recovery apps like DiskDigger directly on your phone or Disk Drill on a computer for SD card recovery.

How to recover permanently deleted photos from the Gallery?

“Permanently deleted” often means they are not in the Gallery app’s trash. However, data recovery apps like DiskDigger can still scan your phone’s storage to attempt recovery. Run a “Basic Photo Search” in DiskDigger to scan for recoverable photos.

How can I retrieve deleted pictures from my Android?

Start by checking Trash folders. If unsuccessful, use DiskDigger for internal memory recovery or Disk Drill for SD card recovery by connecting it to a computer. Cloud backups are another potential source for recovery.

How to retrieve deleted photos on Samsung?

The methods are generally the same for Samsung devices as for other Android phones. You can utilize Trash folders, DiskDigger, Disk Drill, and cloud backups. Samsung may also offer its own cloud backup and recovery solutions; check your Samsung account settings. For more specific guidance, you might want to explore resources dedicated to Samsung photo recovery.