How to recover deleted photos on iPhone (even after 30 days)
Deleted photos wait 30 days in Recently Deleted. After that, your best chances are other devices, shared albums and backups.
The fix
Recover from Recently Deleted (within 30 days)
- 1
Open the Photos app and scroll down to Utilities.
- 2
Tap Recently Deleted and unlock it with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.
- 3
Tap Select and choose the photos.
- 4
Tap Recover. They go back to your library.
The fix
After 30 days: places to check
- 1
iCloud.com.
Sign in on a computer, open Photos and check Recently Deleted there too.
- 2
Other devices.
An iPad or Mac that has been offline since you deleted the photos may still have them. Turn off its internet before checking.
- 3
Shared albums and messages.
Photos you shared in Shared Albums or sent in Messages or WhatsApp may still be there.
- 4
Google Photos or other cloud apps.
If you ever installed a backup app, check its library and trash.
- 5
An older iPhone backup.
Restoring replaces everything on your iPhone with the backup, so back up your current iPhone first. See how to restore from a backup.
Frequently asked questions
Can I recover photos deleted more than 30 days ago?
Only if a copy exists somewhere else: an iPhone or computer backup made before you deleted them, another device that was offline, a shared album, or a cloud service such as Google Photos.
Do photo recovery apps work?
On modern iPhones, storage is encrypted and deleted data is quickly unreadable, so these apps mostly read existing backups. Try the free methods first and be wary of paying.
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