How to Recover Deleted Photos from iPhone: 3 Proven Ways 2025

Q: Can you get photos back after deleting them from recently deleted?

No, Photos that have been removed in the recently deleted folder are most of the time permanently deleted and cannot be restored.

Q: Are permanently deleted photos really deleted on iPhone?

YES! Your photos are deleted forever from your iPhone after 30 days. But in the case you have made a backup of the same, then you can readily retrieve it.

Did you accidentally delete photos from your iPhone? Are you unsure how to recover deleted Photos from iPhone?

If yes, just keep your mind relaxed! Recovering deleted photos is simple, whether you have taken a backup of the data or not.

To recover deleted photos within 30 days or without backup, open Photos, scroll up, and click the Recently Deleted option. Then, choose which photos you want to recover. That’s all! By following these steps, you’ll be able to retrieve them.

So, if you want to know more methods for retrieving them with backup as well as a third-party app, read our detailed guide.

What to Do When You Accidentally Delete Photos on Your iPhone?

There are a few points that you must remember if you are trying to recover deleted photos from your iPhone. Read and understand the following instructions that may be important for your question: how to recover deleted pictures on iPhone.

Always take a backup of your current data for recovering deleted photos from iPhone in case of accidental deletion.
If you have deleted your pictures in the past 20 days, you can effortlessly recover them within 30 days. However, there is no other way to retrieve them unless you have a backup of your confidential data.

Why Are My Photos Missing from My iPhone?

Several reasons can help you answer why your photos are missing and how to recover deleted photos from iPhone.

Accidental Deletion: Sometimes, you have to delete the photos that you think are irrelevant. But you can easily retrieve them on your iPhone within 30 days.

Shared Library: Make sure your shared library should be enabled before the backup. However, if your photos have become misplaced, you can easily get them back.

Hidden Album: By moving photos to hidden albums, you can’t able to see them in your gallery. In fact, if you have hidden images on a device, it will automatically hide from other devices also. In simple words, if you’ve registered with the same email ID and password on other devices, it will mean that your other images will also be hidden.

How to Find Deleted Photos from iPhone?

Learn the steps to find out where your deleted photos are saved on your iPhone. In fact, these steps will be beneficial for you even if you have not taken a backup.

Open the Photos app and find the Albums on your iPhone.
Then, you’ll see the Recently Deleted option at the bottom.
Open the specific image you want to recover.
Click the Recover button.

How to Recover Deleted Photos from iPhone?

In this section, we will elaborate on three main ways that will help you to recover a deleted photo from iPhone.

#1. Get Deleted Photos Back on iPhone Through iTunes Backup

All of us want our data to have a second copy in case of an accidental deletion. If your data is current and you are taking backups, again and again, your data will become a duplicate. So, make sure to avoid backup, not more than once.

Connect your iPhone to your Apple laptop or desktop via a USB cable.
Open iTunes.
Tap the device icon when it shows iTunes.
Hit the Restore Backup… option.
Select the backup you desire to retrieve, and hit Restore.

Note: You need to keep both devices linked until this process is successfully completed. Your iPhone device will reboot and then sync.

#2. How to Recover Permanently Deleted Photos from iPhone via iCloud

Read below to learn more about how to recover deleted photos from iPhone.

Initially, navigate to Settings, where you will find General.
Here, you need to reset all the data by clicking on the Erase all content option.
Further, enable your entire reset device.
Next, you need to understand the steps that are mentioned on your screen until you find out where the Apps & Data screen is highlighted.
Now, you can hit the Restore from iCloud Backup option.
Proceeding further, you have to mention your iCloud email ID and password to sign in to your current account.
At last, click the backup button which you require to restore. After it, you can see the restoring procedure has started.

#3. How to Recover Deleted Photos from iPhone After 30 days

Under this section, we have two solutions that will highlight to you the important thing, i.e, if you’ve taken a backup even after 30 days, you can follow the below procedures.

Option 1: Using iCloud Photos

Log in to iCloud.com on your Mac.
Mention the login credentials of your Apple ID and move to the Photos section.
Tap on the Recently Deleted button under the library.
Choose the photo(s) and then hit the Recover button.
Pick the number of photos by pressing down the Command + Click keys simultaneously on a Mac.

Option 2: Using Dropbox (Third-party App)

Dropbox is a safe cloud storage system as well as a third-party source. It allows synchronizing, storing, and sharing files and folders on different devices. Moreover, it offers the possibility to make backups of the important information and share it with others. Consequently, it makes your work available from any place where there is internet.

Sign in to your current Dropbox account.
Here, click the Deleted files option.
Now, you have two options:
- Single or multiple folders from which you want to recover a deleted photo from your iPhone.

Choose the selective ones, and hit the Restore button

When Should You Use iCloud to Recover Deleted Photos?

Here are some situations in which you can conveniently use iCloud or access iCloud.com.

If you have deleted your data from the “Recently Deleted” folder, it is not possible for you to get them as it is.
Sometimes, we make a mistake that iCloud Photos is turned on. If you delete your picture from your iPhone, it will also be removed from your iCloud account. In fact, it will also be deleted from all your connected devices where you are using the same iCloud email ID.
You can use iCloud to get your photos back when you have deleted your recent photos, not more than 30 days ago.

Common Mistakes When Trying to Recover Deleted iPhone Photos

Here are several mistakes that users may make while performing the process of recovering deleted photos from iPhones:

Ignoring the “Recently Deleted” Album: If you are not able to retrieve your photos within 30 days, you need to opt for the advanced approach.

Forgetting iCloud Backups: Not remembering to activate iCloud backup settings in your iPhone, you can not recover the images after an accidental deletion.
Recovering Lost Photos that Were Not Saved Elsewhere: If you have not backed up your images for once, it is not possible to retrieve them.
Making Beliefs about the Backup Process: Ensure that while backing up your data, you have a stable internet connection. If you are connected to a weak network, you won’t be able to back up.

How to Prevent Losing Photos on Your iPhone

These are some key points that will help you recover if you lose your photos.

Configure automatic backup with Apple iCloud.
You can also back up using Google Photos.
Back up your iPhone via iTunes.
As an iPhone user, protect your device by setting either Touch ID or Face ID and locking your phone. In case you have children or minors who can access your device without your permission.

End Words!

Sometimes, users may delete their pictures accidentally, which they don’t want to do. But now, they are looking for a solution on how to recover deleted photos from iPhones. Here, we have provided all the methods that users are looking for. You just need to try a one-by-one approach. If the first technique doesn’t suit your needs, go with the other one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Understand the following questions, too, so you are able to progress forward in solving your problem.

Q. Can you get photos back after deleting them from recently deleted?

Ans. No, Photos that have been removed in the recently deleted folder are most of the time permanently deleted and cannot be restored.

Q. Are permanently deleted photos really deleted on iPhone?

Ans. YES! Your photos are deleted forever from your iPhone after 30 days. But in the case you have made a backup of the same, then you can readily retrieve it.

Q. When you delete photos from iPhone, are they still on iCloud?

Ans. iCloud Photos is turned on, and this detail means that deleting photos on your iPhone would delete them in iCloud and on all other devices synchronized with your iCloud account.

Q. Why don’t my deleted pictures return on my iPhone?

Ans. Sometimes, you face some software glitches. That’s the reason you can’t find your deleted photos on your iPhone.

Q. How long can you retrieve deleted photos on your iPhone?

Ans. In your Photos library, there is a 30-day rule. In other words, you recover or retrieve your targeted photos within 30 days. After the completion of 30 days, your images will automatically be permanently deleted.