Photos gone and photo icon gone from my Apple ID list of apps

Hi Judegordon1,

Welcome to the Apple Community.

Re: Most of my photos have gone from my iPhone

Seems that if iPhone needs more memory / storage space to operate, some files that can be replaced may be removed.

If this is what has happened, you might want to back up your photos to an external drive, Eg flash drive or portable hard disk.

Apple support have articles online (links below) that may help you.

Learn the difference between your device and iCloud storage, 

ways to manage your space, and where to buy more if you run out. 

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206504

How to check the storage on your iPhone:

 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201656

How to get recently deleted photos back

NB: Scroll to: "Recover deleted photos or videos" 

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205856

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Ways to securely store photos.

Transfer photos and videos from your iPhone, 

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201302

Or

Connect external storage devices to iPhone:

Attach the USB drive or SD card reader to the charging port on your iPhone using a compatible connector

https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/iphone/iph95baac91f/14.0/ios/14.0

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Re: the photo icon has actually gone

How to find your Photos apps icon in App Library on iPhone

https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/iphone/iph87abad19a/14.0/ios/14.0

If needed:

How to move apps and widgets on the Home Screen on iPhone

https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/iphone/iphd2fc8ce30/14.0/ios/14.0

Hope this helps you :-)

Have you searched for the app?

Search on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.  *

If necessary, do a backup and try a factory reset. Then restore from your backup.

Restore to Factory setting.      *

Restore - If you see an error when you update or restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod.   *

Backup - Restore your device from an iCloud or iTunes backup.     *

PS: This article may be useful to, for backing up the photos directly from iCloud:

Download iCloud photos and videos

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209454

Cheers :-)