I accidentally permanently deleted 5k photos on my iPad

One more thing - to see, how photos could be recovered directly from the iPad, we need to know, if you have been using iCloud Photos or not, because the photos may not have been on your iPad but only in iCloud. If you have been using iCloud Photos, the iCloud backup of your iPad will not include your photos and data recovery can only find the photos that have been currently downloaded.

Have you been using iCloud Photos? If yes, have you been using "Optimise iPad Storage" as well?

• If you have not been using iCloud Photos, you can recover the photos by restoring the iPad from the last iCloud backup you made before you deleted the photos, Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch from a backup - Apple Support . Or, if you do not have a current backup of the iPad, stop using the iPad immediately to avoid photos being overwritten and check out recovery software, that can find traces of erased photos on the device. But such software is expensive and the success uncertain, I,e., if you photos have been stored in iCloud and not on your device. Do not pay for software that has no trial version, where you can see what can be recovered before you have to pay for it. Perhaps this software might help - Disk Drill from Clever Files: https://www.cleverfiles.com/iphone-data-recovery.html
• If you have been using iCloud Photos, some of photos will have been removed from the device and data recovery cannot find them on the device. They could only be recovered from Apple's own iCloud backups, but the users cannot access them. Perhaps apple Support is willing to help in this case.

Have you been backing up your iPad to a computer?

Hi, Please check your Recently Deleted folder.

If you accidentally deleted your photo or video, it goes to the Recently Deleted folder. Go to Photos > Albums, and tap Recently Deleted in the Utilities section. If you see the missing photo or video, you can move it back into your Recents album.

On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

1. Tap the photo or video, then tap Recover.
2. Confirm that you want to recover the photo.

If you're missing photos or videos in the Photos app - Apple Support

RUE_exe Said:

"I accidentally permanently deleted 5k photos on my iPad: And I know they won't get overwritten unless I download more photos. How can I recover the lost photos? I was about to save them to an external hard drive before I deleted them."

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Troubleshooting Lost Photos:

This is something you would have agreed to upon account creation. So, if the following does not work, then they are gone. That's just the way it is.

Three Tactics to Try:

A. Start here: If you're Missing Photos or Videos in the Photos app - Apple Support

B. Use a Time Machine Backup:

Did you backup your Mac, recently? If so, then restore your Mac from that. You'd backup you Mac prior to doing so, and then restore your data from the backup you just created, through use of Migration Assistant.

C. Where Else to Check:

• PC
• PDA
• eMail
• Mac Device
• Cloud Storage
• Android Phone
• USB Flash Drive
• External Hard drive
• Secure Digital Card
• Compact Flash Card