Favorited photos deleted by apple

Did you unlock the Recently Deleted album? In iOS 18 the Recently Deleted Album may look empty until you unlock it with Face ID or your password.

Also, there are many display options in Photos that may cause Photos to show only a subset of your photos.

• The Filter: Have you checked, if a filter is set? you could have selected to show only photos not in an album or edited photos or screenshots, for example. See: Sort and filter the photo library on iPhone - Apple Support (EG)
• Hiding Media Kinds: You could have suppressed certain kinds of items from showing - Shared with you, From my Mac, screenshots
• You did not mention the Hiden album. Have you looked there?

Filter the library

You can apply filters to your photo library to display only particular items—such as Videos, Favorites, or Not in an Album—and temporarily hide everything else.

1. Go to the Photos app  on your iPhone.
2. Tap , then tap Filter.
3. Tap the filter you want to apply.
4. Tip: You can apply multiple filters at the same time. For example, tap Photos and Edited to see only photos you’ve edited.
5. To remove the filters and return to the full library, tap All Items.

Hide screenshots, items from your Mac, and items shared with you

By default, screenshots, photos and videos synced from your Mac, and photos and videos shared with you in the Messages app automatically appear in your photo library. You can hide these items to reduce clutter.

1. Go to the Photos app  on your iPhone.
2. Tap , then tap View Options.
3. Tap Screenshots, From My Mac, or Shared with You to hide these items in your library. To stop hiding them, tap the option again.

You'll need to restore from your backups if the items are not on your device or at iCloud.com.