How to recover deleted photos on an iPhone

2 min read · 5 steps · Updated 2 October 2026

A deleted photo is not gone straight away. The iPhone keeps it in a locked album for up to 30 days. After that, your only routes are a backup or another place the photo was saved.

Menu names are from iOS 26. The pictures are simplified diagrams of the screen, not screenshots.

Step by step

1. Open Photos and find Recently Deleted

   Scroll down to Utilities and tap Recently Deleted. On iOS 17 and earlier, tap Albums and scroll to the bottom.

   Done

2. Unlock the album

   Use Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.

   Done

3. Select and recover

   Tap Select, tap the photos you want, then tap the three dots and Recover. They return to your library at their original dates.

   Done

4. Check other places

   If the photo is not there, look in iCloud.com under Photos, Recently Deleted, in shared albums, in WhatsApp chats, and in Google Photos or another backup app if you use one.

   Done

5. Restore from a backup as a last resort

   An iCloud or computer backup made before the deletion contains the photo, but restoring it replaces everything on the phone with the older state. Back up the current phone first.

   Done

Good to know

With iCloud Photos on, deleting a photo on one device deletes it on all of them, and recovering it restores it everywhere.

Be wary of paid "recovery" programs. They cannot bring back photos that are no longer in Recently Deleted or in a backup.

To avoid this next time, keep a second copy: how to back up your phone.

In short: Photos, Utilities, Recently Deleted, select, Recover. You have up to 30 days.