How to find recently deleted photos on iPhone

Seven different ways to recover photos and videos from iOS

Apple devices sync their data in several different ways, which gives us several different ways to recover lost photos and videos. Here are seven methods we can use to find missing content.

Option 4. How to Recover Deleted Photos and Videos from iMessages, SMS and WhatsApp

Could you send or receive files via an app like iMessage or WhatsApp? In this case, we can still recover photos or videos for free through the application data.

The best way to find message attachments from iMessage or third party apps. use iPhone Backup Extractor. You can use this with your local iTunes backup or with an iCloud backup (see Steps to download this in option 5). Here’s How To Find Missing File Using iTunes Backup.

After downloading iPhone Backup Extractor, select the backup on the left navigation bar and click Preview to activate the preview tab.

find, recently, deleted, photos

iPhone 6 Tips. How to Recover Recently Deleted Photos

Browse the list of the most popular apps to check their content. If you find the file you want, select and Extract.

If the application you are looking for does not appear in the preview list, you can use the application view. This list lists all applications installed at the time of the backup and will provide a way to retrieve only backups of that application.

Click on the “App View” tab, then select the application or applications you want, and you can extract their data by choosing “Extract all.

App data view in iPhone Backup Extractor

If neither Preview nor Preview App View leads you to photos, the latter approach. try expert mode. This can be activated by selecting the “Expert Mode” tab. It provides a list of all the files contained in the backup, divided into folders to represent the structure of the iPhone. Most often, applications store their data in the Applications and Application Groups folders.

We have published a separate article on understanding expert mode, and where and how apps store their files. Check it out!

You will see that by viewing your application folder in expert mode, you will be able to drag and drop the files you want to recover from the iPhone Backup Extractor window to your desktop or to a folder of your choice.

But what if you don’t have a local iTunes backup and no backups show up? That’s where iCloud comes in.

Option 1. How to recover deleted photos and videos in the “Recently Deleted” folder on your iPhone or iPad

Here’s the easiest way to recover your photos and videos after deleting them. When photos are deleted on iOS, they are placed in the Recently Deleted album and appear in the Photos app for approximately 30 days.

Open the Photos app from your device.

Scroll down to the bottom of the app to find the “Other Albums” section and select the “Recently Deleted” folder.

If your file is here, then congratulations: click on the file, click on Recover in the lower right corner of the screen and you’re done. If not, read on.

There are cases where content that has been purged from the Photos app is still forensically available to the Reincubate support team via the iCloud. The manual forensic recovery section below has more details on photo recovery, but while we love helping our users personally, it’s worth working through the rest of this guide to see if you can help yourself first. ️

Option 3. How to Recover Deleted Photos and Videos from iPhone or iPad Backup

Don’t connect your iPhone to your computer just yet: we don’t want to risk a new backup being created, as that would overwrite an older backup which may contain your photos!

If the first two approaches didn’t work, don’t worry. If you are using Apple iTunes software, your device is backed up by syncing with it connected or over Wi-Fi. Both Windows PCs and Macs running macOS 10.14 or earlier can run iTunes. If you’re using macOS 10.15 or later, you won’t have iTunes, but you can still create backups using Finder.

Follow these steps to restore photos and videos from iTunes backup:

Download and install the free version of iPhone Backup Extractor on your PC or Mac. Don’t worry, we’re not trying to push you to do anything. We love it when people buy our software, but our free version has no ads or included software and has everything you need to check your backups without spending a dime.

Launch iPhone Backup Extractor and select your device under iTunes BACKUPS in the left column. At this point, you may be prompted for your iTunes backup password. Read our article on recovering lost iTunes password if you lost it.

Click Preview at the top of the screen. Scroll through the files in Photos to find the photo or video you want to recover.

Once you have found the file (or files, you can recover up to 4 files at the same time with our free version), click Extract in the lower right corner. Click Continue on the popup and your files will be extracted.

If you have manually moved your iOS backups from the default backup location, you can tell iPhone Backup Extractor about your alternate backup locations by clicking the button in the bottom left of the window. That will open the preferences pane, where you can add another backup search path. ?

For privacy reasons, iPhone Backup Extractor will only show backups that were created by the logged in user. If another user on a PC or Mac may have synced iTunes with an iPhone or iPad, ask them to sign in and install our software.

If you’re interested in the technical reason why some apps must store your data in their backups, we’ve published an article on the decisions and trade-offs that app authors must make. ? ‍?

How This Guide Can Help You Achieve?

This guide introduces seven different ways to recover photos or videos that have been deleted from an iOS device like iPhone or iPad.

We started with the easiest (and free!) Approaches to save you time.

If you’re a customer you can always reach out to our support team to guide you through the process!

Of course, you don’t need to be a customer to use this guide; the free version of iPhone Backup Extractor can be used to assess the presence of your data and in many cases to recover it.

How to recover deleted photos and videos from iPhone or iPad. seven easy ways

Time required: 5-20 minutes

Option 5. How to Recover Deleted Photos and Videos from iCloud Backup

If you have iCloud backups, you can easily access that data with iPhone Backup Extractor. Here’s how to access iCloud backups through our software:

In iPhone Backup Extractor, click Sign in to iCloud at the top of the screen and enter your iCloud details.

Click on your iCloud account name under iCloud ACCOUNTS.

Click Preview at the top of the screen. Scroll through the files in Photos to find the photo or video you want to recover.

When you find the file or files to recover, click Extract in the lower right corner. Click Continue on the popup and your files will be extracted.

Option 2: How to Find Deleted Photos and Videos on Other Devices with iCloud Photo Library

You can use this step if you have more than one device in your iCloud account, for example:

  • iPhones, iPads, iPod Touch devices
  • macOS devices such as MacBook, MacBook Pro, or iMac
  • Windows computers with iTunes and iCloud component installed and signed

If you don’t have another device from the list above, then you can use iPhone Backup Extractor to check your backups. We cover this in Options 3.6, below.

You also need to use the iCloud Photo Library. If you don’t know if you are using it, chances are you are, as the installation process on the new iPhone will prompt you to turn it on. Here’s how this method works: If the photos were deleted on an iPad or iPhone without a data connection or in Airplane mode, other devices will not be aware of the deletion. Leave the device unplugged and restore content from another device to your account.

Devices can use iCloud Photo Library in two modes: “Download and Keep Originals”, or “Optimize iPhone Storage”. The former mode is most helpful to us here, and devices in this state provide the most potential for recovery.

On the other hand, if a photo was deleted on an iPhone with a data connection (as is most likely), but the other devices associated with that iCloud account are offline or disconnected, the deletion will not complete. For example, if you delete a photo to make it ‘Recently Deleted’ within 30 days, the content will not be deleted from that device as long as it remains offline.

If you have a turned off device on which photo deletion may not have been synced, you need to turn it on so it won’t connect to the Internet. Most often, an iOS device connects to the network when it is turned on. How to prevent it?

There are several tricks to stop iOS device after going online when powered on. If your device has a SIM card installed, make sure it is removed. If your device connects to a wireless network when turned on, make sure you are out of range or the hotspot is turned off. Take these precautions, then turn on the power and check.

If these options aren’t possible, it will be necessary to take the device into what is known as a Faraday cage, or to purchase a Faraday bag in which the device can be sealed and operated. These techniques are likely only suitable for more advanced users, however. ⚡️

Option 5. How to Recover Deleted Photos and Videos from iCloud Backup

If you have iCloud backups, you can easily access that data with iPhone Backup Extractor. Here’s how to access iCloud backups through our software:

In iPhone Backup Extractor, click Sign in to iCloud at the top of the screen and enter your iCloud details.

Click on your iCloud account name under iCloud ACCOUNTS.

Recover Deleted Photos From iPhone! (2020)

Click Preview at the top of the screen. Scroll through the files in Photos to find the photo or video you want to recover.

When you find the file or files to recover, click Extract in the lower right corner. Click Continue on the popup and your files will be extracted.

How to recover deleted photos and videos from iPhone or iPad. seven easy ways

Time required: 5-20 minutes

Seven different ways to recover photos and videos from iOS

Apple devices sync their data in several different ways, which gives us several different ways to recover lost photos and videos. Here are seven methods we can use to find missing content.

How This Guide Can Help You Achieve?

This guide introduces seven different ways to recover photos or videos that have been deleted from an iOS device like iPhone or iPad.

We started with the easiest (and free!) Approaches to save you time.

If you’re a customer you can always reach out to our support team to guide you through the process!

Of course, you don’t need to be a customer to use this guide; the free version of iPhone Backup Extractor can be used to assess the presence of your data and in many cases to recover it.

Option 1. How to recover deleted photos and videos in the “Recently Deleted” folder on your iPhone or iPad

Here’s the easiest way to recover your photos and videos after deleting them. When photos are deleted on iOS, they are placed in the Recently Deleted album and appear in the Photos app for approximately 30 days.

Open the Photos app from your device.

Scroll down to the bottom of the app to find the “Other Albums” section and select the “Recently Deleted” folder.

If your file is here, then congratulations: click on the file, click on Recover in the lower right corner of the screen and you’re done. If not, read on.

There are cases where content that has been purged from the Photos app is still forensically available to the Reincubate support team via the iCloud. The manual forensic recovery section below has more details on photo recovery, but while we love helping our users personally, it’s worth working through the rest of this guide to see if you can help yourself first. ️

Option 3. How to Recover Deleted Photos and Videos from iPhone or iPad Backup

Don’t connect your iPhone to your computer just yet: we don’t want to risk a new backup being created, as that would overwrite an older backup which may contain your photos!

If the first two approaches didn’t work, don’t worry. If you are using Apple iTunes software, your device is backed up by syncing with it connected or over Wi-Fi. Both Windows PCs and Macs running macOS 10.14 or earlier can run iTunes. If you’re using macOS 10.15 or later, you won’t have iTunes, but you can still create backups using Finder.

Follow these steps to restore photos and videos from iTunes backup:

Download and install the free version of iPhone Backup Extractor on your PC or Mac. Don’t worry, we’re not trying to push you to do anything. We love it when people buy our software, but our free version has no ads or included software and has everything you need to check your backups without spending a dime.

Launch iPhone Backup Extractor and select your device under iTunes BACKUPS in the left column. At this point, you may be prompted for your iTunes backup password. Read our article on recovering lost iTunes password if you lost it.

Click Preview at the top of the screen. Scroll through the files in Photos to find the photo or video you want to recover.

Once you have found the file (or files, you can recover up to 4 files at the same time with our free version), click Extract in the lower right corner. Click Continue on the popup and your files will be extracted.

If you have manually moved your iOS backups from the default backup location, you can tell iPhone Backup Extractor about your alternate backup locations by clicking the button in the bottom left of the window. That will open the preferences pane, where you can add another backup search path. ?

For privacy reasons, iPhone Backup Extractor will only show backups that were created by the logged in user. If another user on a PC or Mac may have synced iTunes with an iPhone or iPad, ask them to sign in and install our software.

If you’re interested in the technical reason why some apps must store your data in their backups, we’ve published an article on the decisions and trade-offs that app authors must make. ? ‍?