Recovering deleted photos deleted from recently deleted

I have read where third party apps say you can recover photos deleted from the recently deleted folder. Is there any truth to that or are they gone forever after they’re deleted from the recently deleted folder?

iPhone XR, iOS 14

Posted on Jul 16, 2024 5:56 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jul 16, 2024 6:55 PM

Nope they are gone. The iPhone uses a SSD/Flash drive that does not contain data that can be recovered like you used to be able to do on the HD of older computers. It is a distinct difference in those those drives operate. The old HD drives simply allocated the space as being available to be rewritten and leaves the actual data on the drive until something else writes over it. The SSD/Flash drive must erase the data first before it can mark it as available, so there is no data left on the drive after it is deleted.


You will find companies on the internet that may make the claim that they can recover the data, but you will find it is just a scam.

6 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jul 16, 2024 6:55 PM in response to Jwc2525

Nope they are gone. The iPhone uses a SSD/Flash drive that does not contain data that can be recovered like you used to be able to do on the HD of older computers. It is a distinct difference in those those drives operate. The old HD drives simply allocated the space as being available to be rewritten and leaves the actual data on the drive until something else writes over it. The SSD/Flash drive must erase the data first before it can mark it as available, so there is no data left on the drive after it is deleted.


You will find companies on the internet that may make the claim that they can recover the data, but you will find it is just a scam.

Jul 16, 2024 8:32 PM in response to Jwc2525

if you back up your iPhone's data to your iCloud, then you potentially can recover the photos.

the easiest way to do so is with a Mac computer. you can plug your iPhone in, and without resetting it, you can restore from an iCloud backup (tutorial here). you can do the same thing through iTunes if your Mac is old enough to where it doesn't support using Finder yet.

either that or you can reset your iPhone if you don't have a Mac. you reset it, and upon initial setup, you can choose to set up your iPhone to the way it was by selecting an iCloud backup (tutorial here).


you must make sure that you select the correct backup. if you know what time you deleted the photos, select a backup from a time before that. if you select the wrong backup after resetting your phone, you must reset it all over again to switch to an older backup. you can just repeat the process if you select the wrong one on a Mac.

Jul 16, 2024 11:53 PM in response to Jwc2525

Restoring your photos from an iCloud backup will only work, if you have not been using iCloud Photos. The iCloud backup does not include your photos, if your Photos Library is syncing with iCloud. The iCloud backup is trying to save storage and is omitting items that are stored in iCloud. (What does iCloud back up? - Apple Support)

When we are using iCloud Photos we have to be very careful when we are deleting photos or videos, because they are not backed up. And if we are low on Cloud storage they will not even be buffered in Recently Deleted but are deleted instantly. It is essential to make a separate backup outside of iCloud, to be able to recover permanently deleted photos, if need be. Archive or make copies of the information you're storing in iCloud - Apple Support




This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Recovering deleted photos deleted from recently deleted

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.