How to recover deleted photos from an iPhone

I’ve been there – that sinking feeling when you accidentally delete precious photos from your iPhone. It’s a total panic moment. But don’t worry, you can usually get them back.

I’ve put together a quick chart and some tips to help you out. Whether you accidentally deleted a photo or lost it after the 30-day window, this guide offers effective solutions for every situation.

How can I find deleted photos on my iPhone?

After you delete a photo on your iPhone, it’s moved to the Recently Deleted folder (Photos ➙ Albums ➙ Utilities ➙ Recently Deleted). It stays there for 30 days in case you change your mind, after that is deleted for good.

The easiest way to recover permanently deleted photos on iPhone (Mac needed)

Please note! You need a Mac to use this method.

Sometimes, iPhone apps are not enough to recover permanently deleted photos. In this case, you'll need to turn to more powerful software that needs to be installed on your Mac. I always use Disk Drill, an advanced file recovery and backup tool. I once couldn’t rely on a backup because it was outdated, so I had to use this as my only option.

So, here is how to recover permanently deleted photos from iPhone with Disk Drill:

1. Download and install Disk Drill on your Mac.
2. Go to the Data Recovery panel on the left ➙ iPhones & iPads.
3. Connect your iPhone to Mac with a USB cable.
4. Select your iPhone from the list ➙ Search for lost data.
5. Choose Photos from the panel on the left to preview images that can be recovered.
6. Check the boxes next the the photos you’d like to restore ➙ Recover.

The best part is, Disk Drill works beyond just Apple devices — when installed on a Mac, it can recover files from Android devices, USB drives, and digital camera SD cards too. I’ve helped many friends recover their photos with Disk Drill, and seeing their faces light up with relief and joy, followed by heartfelt hugs, was truly rewarding. 

How to recover photos from Recently Deleted album in Photos 

If the photos you’re looking for were deleted recently, it’s very easy to recover them in Photos on your Mac or iPhone. 

Photos’ Recently Deleted folder is your key to how to recover deleted photos from iPhone camera roll. It shows up in the sidebar after you delete an item and can easily help you undo your action: simply open Recently Deleted, select the item or items you want to restore, and click on Recover in the upper right.

How to restore deleted pictures from iPhone with iCloud backups 

If you’ve lost images that are important to you and you’re counting on iCloud to help you out in this situation, there are two things you should know:

• When you delete photos on your iPhone, they are also deleted from the library in your iCloud Photos 
• What you need to look for if you want to restore erased images is an iCloud backup of your iPhone (to set up for one: go to iPhone Settings, tap on your name, and choose iCloud ➙ iCloud Backup)

To use iCloud backup in order to recover deleted photos iPhone no longer seems to have, be ready to erase everything from your phone and reset it as new, then follow these steps to restore your iPhone and get your pictures back:

1. Turn your iPhone on.
2. Start from a Hello screen and follow the on-screen instructions until you reach Apps & Data ➙ Restore from iCloud Backup.
3. Sign in to your iCloud.
4. Choose a backup you need and start the transfer.
5. Stay connected to WiFi to complete the loading.

How to restore photos with cloud storage

Cloud storage services, like Dropbox or OneDrive, are popular for keeping files synced across devices and can also be used to backup your photos. 

To sync your iPhone photos with Dropbox or OneDrive, simply enable Camera Uploads in Settings and your photos will automatically upload to a cloud:

• When you upload to OneDrive you can safely delete uploaded photos on your iPhone, the copies in OneDrive won't be affected and will serve as your backup

• The way Dropbox works to help you recover deleted photos iPhone has lost is only if you additionally opt for a photo backup 

How to retrieve deleted photos on iPhone using Finder

You can back up your iPhone to Mac and use this backup later on so that you don’t have to worry about how to recover deleted photos from iPhone.

On macOS Catalina or later you’ll have to go through Finder to both create and restore iPhone backups. To find and upload the backup you need:

1. Open Finder from your Mac’s Dock.
2. Connect your iPhone to Mac with a USB cable.
3. Click on your iPhone’s icon when it shows up in the side panel.
4. Choose Restore Backup.
5. Go through available backups and choose the version you need ➙ Restore.

This option can certainly become a life-saving answer to how to restore pictures on iPhone for you, but it also has certain limitations: 

• You won’t be able to preview what’s in your backup to know for sure if it contains the photos you’re after
• There’s no way to restore just the photos — to get the deleted photos back on your phone, you’ll have to restore the whole backup to your iPhone. 

How to retrieve deleted photos on iPhone using iTunes

On macOS Mojave or earlier the answer to how to get deleted photos back on your phone is iTunes:

1. Connect your iPhone to Mac with a USB cable.
2. Open iTunes on Mac.
3. Click on Summary when your iPhone’s icon appears ➙ Restore Backup.

You’ll be able to review the recovered photos in the Photos app on your iPhone, once the backup upload is complete.

How to recover deleted photos from iPhone camera roll and live to share the tips

Let’s sum it up! If you’ve lost your files and are wondering “Can I recover permanently deleted photos from my iPhone?” your situation is dire, but there’s still a couple of things you could attempt. The most promising options being — restoring from a backup of your iPhone or using Disk Drill (on your Mac) as a photo recovery specialist.

You also can’t rely on cloud sync for an alternative version of your iPhone camera roll, where your pictures are safe and unharmed. The photos you’ll find on both iCloud and Dropbox will be identical to the ones on your iPhone. You have to additionally set up iCloud backup or Dropbox photo backup if you want to play on a safer side.

Another thing that would make your life considerably easier is installing CloudMounter to arrange a one-point access to all your cloud accounts from Finder on your Mac. As a more reassuring alternative to cloud sync, also consider ChronoSync Express, capable of syncing or backing up folders between your Mac and iPhone hourly, if you wish to.

Most importantly, don’t pass on a chance to take all the apps we’ve mentioned for a free test run with the seven-day trial of Setapp, a platform of high-performance, best-in-class iOS and macOS apps. Get some practice in how to get deleted photos back on your phone and check out more than 240 potential options to boost your productivity.

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