How to Recover Permanently Deleted Photos on iPhone

If you've accidentally deleted photos from the Photos app on your iPhone, you may be panicking, wondering, "Can I recover permanently deleted photos from my iPhone?" The answer is, you can recover deleted photos by going to the Recently Deleted folder. However, if the photos were deleted from your Photo library more than 30 days ago, you will need to restore your iPhone to a previous back up in order to recover the deleted photos.

Recover Photos from Recently Deleted

If you deleted the photos within the last 30 days, then you can still easily recover them from the Recently Deleted folder in the Photos app. If you are running iOS 17 or earlier, you'll find this under Albums in your Photos app. If you are running iOS 18 or later, it is listed under Utilities. You can then recover deleted photos that were deleted within the last 30 days. Tap on a photo and tap Recover to move it back to your photo library.

This is the quickest and most reliable way to access recently deleted photos. If you like learning tips and tricks about the iPhone, be sure to sign up for our free Tip of the Day!

How to Recover Permanently Deleted Photos on iPhone with Backup

If you deleted the photos longer than 30 days ago or you cleared out your Recently Deleted photos folder, then you can try to get your permanently deleted photos back on your iPhone by restoring to a previous backup. However, it's important to make sure that the backup you're restoring to is one where your iPhone has the photos. To do this, you will first have to fully erase your iPhone, because, unfortunately, there is no way to restore from a backup without having a new or newly erased iPhone. Here is how to erase your iPhone and then restore from an iCloud backup.

1. In your Settings app, tap General.
2. Scroll down to the bottom and tap Transfer or Reset iPhone.
3. Tap Erase All Contents and Settings.
4. Follow the prompts to erase your iPhone.
5. If your iPhone automatically starts backup up your iPhone to iCloud, you may tap Skip Backup.
6. Once your iPhone is erased, follow the on-screen directions to set up your iPhone again.
7. When the iPhone screen labeled Transfer Your Apps & Data appears, select From iCloud Backup.
8. Enter your Apple ID and password.
9. You'll see a list of your most recent backups. Choose the one that has the photos you're looking for (you'll have to know the date) and tap Restore.
10. To restore purchases and apps, you'll need to sign into your Apple ID again. If you've used multiple Apple IDs for purchases, you'll need to sign into each account.
11. Keep your iPhone connected to Wi-Fi, and wait for the progress bar to complete.

That's about the only way to recover permanently deleted photos on your iPhone. There are other apps available that you can download, but for the most part, once photos are permanently deleted, they're gone. That's why it's extremely important to back up your iPhone often so you can restore it when needed.

And that's how to recover a deleted photo in the Photos app on iPhone. If you find you're having consistent problems with your photo storage, be sure to reach out to Apple Support for further assistance.

Top image credit: Diego Thomazini / Shutterstock.com