How to Recover Deleted Photos on iPhone
Open Photos, go to Recently Deleted, and tap Recover. Apple keeps deleted photos there for 30 days. After that, Apple says "it's permanently deleted and you can't get it back."
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What do I need to know?
- You have 30 days. Everything in Recently Deleted stays there for 30 days, then goes for good.
- Check Hidden before you panic. A photo you hid does not show in the main library.
- iCloud.com has its own Recently Deleted. If you use iCloud Photos, you can recover from a browser too.
How do I recover a photo on my iPhone?
Apple's current steps (iOS 27), from its recovery guide:
- Open the Photos app and swipe up.
- Tap Recently Deleted in the Utilities section.
- Tap View Album, then use Face ID or Touch ID.
- Tap a photo or video, then tap Recover.
- To recover several, tap Select, choose them, tap the More button, then Recover.
- Confirm.
How do I recover from iCloud.com?
This works if the photo was in iCloud Photos.
- Go to iCloud.com and sign in to your Apple Account.
- Open Photos.
- Select Recently Deleted in the sidebar. If there is no sidebar, tap Show Sidebar in the upper-left corner.
- Select the photo, then tap Recover.
What if the photo is not in Recently Deleted?
Work through these in order. Apple's missing photos page covers each one.
- Hidden album. In Photos, find Hidden in the Utilities section, then unlock it with Face ID or Touch ID.
- iCloud Photos is off. Go to Settings → your name → iCloud → Photos and check Sync this iPhone.
- A different Apple Account. Apple says you must "sign in to iCloud with the same Apple Account on every device."
- A shared album or a chat. If you sent the photo to someone, they may still have it.
Can I get a photo back after 30 days?
Not from Recently Deleted. The one other route is an older backup that still holds the photo. Restoring a whole backup is a big step, so read up before you do it. Our guide to restoring from backup explains what comes back.
Be careful with apps and services that promise to recover photos Apple calls permanently deleted. Many ask for full access to your phone or your Apple Account. Giving that to a stranger is a bigger risk than the lost photo.
How do I avoid losing photos next time?
- Keep iCloud Photos on, or back up to a computer regularly.
- Empty Recently Deleted only when you are sure.
- Keep a second copy of anything you cannot replace.
What this doesn't protect against
Recently Deleted is a 30-day safety net, not a backup. With iCloud Photos on, Apple says a delete on one device removes the photo on your other devices too. Once a photo is deleted from Recently Deleted, Apple says you can't get it back.
Do it with Cryptile
For private photos, a vault keeps its own encrypted iCloud backup. Cryptile encrypts every file with AES-256-GCM under a key made on your device from your pattern. A new phone restores the vault with your 9-word recovery phrase. If you lose both the pattern and the phrase, there is no reset.
Cryptile is free for up to 2 vaults, 100 photos and 10 videos. Plus adds search inside the vault and the panic pattern for $19.99 a year (7-day free trial) or $39.99 once.