How to Recover Deleted Photos From an iPhone

To recover deleted photos on iPhone, open Photos, go to Collections, scroll to Utilities, tap Recently Deleted, unlock it, select the photos and tap Recover. Apple keeps deleted photos and videos there for 30 days. After that, Apple says they are permanently deleted, and your only remaining chance is a backup that was made before the photo was deleted.

This guide covers the steps in order, from the easiest fix to the last resort, with each Apple detail linked to the page it comes from. It also covers what a backup restore costs you, and why photos in a vault app follow different rules.

Step 1: Check the Recently Deleted album

When you delete a photo or video in Photos, it goes to Recently Deleted for 30 days. Recovered items return to your library.

To recover them on iPhone

1. Open Photos and tap Collections.
2. Scroll down and tap Recently Deleted under Utilities.
3. Tap View Album and unlock it with Face ID or Touch ID.
4. Tap the photo, then tap Recover. To recover several, tap Select, tap the photos, tap the more (…) button, then tap Recover.
5. Confirm when asked.

These are the steps in Apple’s guide to recovering deleted photos. If you cannot find Recently Deleted, scroll further down the Collections screen to the Utilities section.

Why it asks for Face ID. On iOS 16 and later, Apple says Face ID or Touch ID is required by default to view the Hidden and Recently Deleted albums. If you turned that setting off in Settings > Apps > Photos, the album opens without a prompt. That is also how you can see deleted photos on iPhone from a phone someone else is holding, so leave the lock on.

What the album will not show. Photos you deleted more than 30 days ago are not there. Photos you deleted from inside Recently Deleted are not there either, because Apple warns that when you delete from that album, you can’t get the item back.

Step 2: Look for a photo that is hidden, not deleted

Photos that look gone are sometimes just hidden. Apple’s page on missing photos lists the common causes:

• The photo is in the Hidden album. Open it from Collections under Utilities, unlock it, select the photo and choose Unhide.
• iCloud Photos is off on this device. Apple’s fix is Settings, your name, iCloud, Photos, then turn on Sync this device. Stay on Wi-Fi and give it a few minutes.
• You use a Shared Library. Tap Collections, tap the profile button and choose Both Libraries, Personal Library or Shared Library.
• Your devices use different Apple Accounts. Photos only sync between devices signed in to the same one.

Apple also notes that deleting a photo from Photos removes it from every album it was in, so a photo missing from an album may just be in Recently Deleted.

Step 3: Check iCloud.com

If you use iCloud Photos, a deletion on one device spreads to the others. Apple says the item is deleted on all other devices signed in with the same Apple Account. The same 30-day window applies on the web, so the recovery works from a computer too.

1. Go to iCloud.com and sign in with your Apple Account.
2. Click Photos, then select Recently Deleted in the sidebar. If you do not see the sidebar, use the Show Sidebar button.
3. Select the photos or videos and click Recover.

This follows Apple’s iCloud.com guide, which repeats the 30-day limit. Recovering there brings the item back on every device that has iCloud Photos turned on.

Shared content. For a Shared Library, Apple says only the person who added an item can permanently delete or recover it. If someone else deleted a photo from the Shared Library, it no longer appears for you either, so ask them to recover it. Apple’s iCloud.com guide also says that deleting from a shared album removes the item for all members, and that in a shared album the creator can delete any item while subscribers can delete only what they added.

Step 4: Restore from a backup (the last resort)

If 30 days have passed, a backup made before the deletion is the only route Apple documents. Apple’s page on restoring from a backup covers two kinds.

From an iCloud backup

1. Erase the iPhone. Apple’s instruction is that if you already set up your device, you erase it before following the steps.
2. Follow the setup screens until Transfer Your Apps & Data, then tap From iCloud Backup.
3. Sign in with your Apple Account and pick the most recent backup by date and size. For an older photo, check that the backup you pick was made before the photo was deleted.
4. Stay on Wi-Fi and power until the progress bar finishes.

From a computer backup

1. On a Mac with macOS Catalina or later, open Finder. On Windows 10 or later, open the Apple Devices app.
2. Connect the iPhone by USB, select it, and click Restore Backup.
3. Pick the backup, enter the password if it is encrypted, and click Restore.

The trade-off. Restoring starts with erasing the device, and the phone then takes on the state of the backup. Apple’s page does not spell out what happens to data created after the backup was made, so treat it as at risk: copy any recent photos, messages and files somewhere safe first. Compare the backup’s date with the date you deleted the photo, because a backup made after the deletion will not contain it.

A catch with iCloud Backup. Apple says that with iCloud Photos on, your photos and videos sync to iCloud separately and are not part of the iCloud backup. With iCloud Photos off, the backup can include them. If iCloud Photos was on when you deleted the photo, an iCloud backup is probably not where it lives. A computer backup is a separate copy, if you made one.

What about recovery software?

Many websites sell tools that claim to recover photos that Recently Deleted no longer holds. We cannot verify what any of them can do on a current iPhone, and Apple’s support pages do not endorse or document any. The routes Apple describes are Recently Deleted, iCloud.com and a backup. Be careful with anything that asks you to hand over your Apple Account password or pay before it shows a recovered photo, and keep the phone’s own backups intact while you try.

What this means for photos in a vault app

Photos in a vault app are not in your Photos library, so Recently Deleted does not apply to them. What you can get back depends on the app and on the backup it made. Before you rely on any vault, find out three things:

• whether it has a recovery method if you forget the lock, and whether you have set it up
• whether it backs up its contents, where to, and whether you can test that backup
• whether you can export files out at any time

The private photo vault recovery guide goes through what each recovery method can and cannot do. If you are changing phones, moving a photo vault to a new iPhone lists what to check before you wipe the old one.

Forevault is our vault app, built around those questions. Files are encrypted on the device with AES-256-GCM. It opens with a pattern on a 5×5 grid or a passcode or password, and Face ID is optional. Each pattern can open its own vault, and the lock screen does not list them. You get a 12-word recovery phrase and an encrypted backup to your own iCloud, and Test a restore lets you confirm the backup works before you need it. Export to Photos or Files is always free. There is no account and no data collected. The free tier holds 100 photos, 10 videos and 3 vaults. It protects against someone holding your phone, not forensic analysis, and there is no calculator disguise. Download Forevault on the App Store.

Frequently asked questions

How long are deleted photos kept on an iPhone?

Deleted photos and videos stay in the Recently Deleted album for 30 days. After that, Apple says they are permanently deleted.

Can I see deleted photos on my iPhone without recovering them?

Yes. Open Photos, tap Collections, then Recently Deleted under Utilities, and unlock it. You can look at the photos there before choosing Recover.

Can I recover photos deleted more than 30 days ago?

Not from Photos or iCloud.com. The only route Apple documents is restoring a backup made before the photo was deleted, which means erasing the iPhone first.

Does deleting a photo on my iPhone delete it from my iPad and Mac?

If iCloud Photos is on and the devices use the same Apple Account, yes. Apple says the deletion appears on all of them. Recovering it from Recently Deleted brings it back everywhere.

Why is Recently Deleted locked?

On iOS 16 and later, Face ID or Touch ID is required by default to open it, as is the Hidden album. You can switch that off in Settings > Apps > Photos, but then anyone with your unlocked phone can open it.

Can I get back a photo someone else deleted from our Shared Library?

Only the person who added it can recover it, according to Apple. Ask them to open Recently Deleted and tap Recover within the 30 days.