4 Ways to Recover Permanently Deleted Photos on iPhone

I recently accidentally deleted pictures from my iPhone 14 camera roll and later permanently deleted them from the recently deleted folder, forgetting they were in there. How do I recover photos that have been permanently deleted on my iPhone? Thanks.

After a mistaken or accidental deletion, can you recover permanently deleted photos on iPhone? This is a question for several users. iPhone allows users to recover deleted photos or videos in the recently deleted folder within 30 days. After that, the photos will be removed permanently. The case is that you may delete some photos without knowing. After the expiration time, you want to find a way to get them back. Don’t worry, we will show you some efficient ways to recover permanently deleted photos on iPhone in a few steps.

1. Recover iPhone Deleted Photos in Recently Deleted Folder

In the Photos app, you can find the Recently Deleted folder under Albums. This folder will keep your deleted photos on iPhone for 30 days. During this time, you can recover deleted photos directly without restrictions.

Once you click Restore, the photos will be restored to your gallery. Here are the steps:

1. Open the Photos app on the iPhone. Then tap on Albums.

2. Scroll down and choose the Recently Deleted folder.

3. Tap Select in the upper-right corner. Then select Recover All, or select the individual photos you want to recover.

2. Recover Permanently Deleted Photos on iPhone Without Backup

In the Recently Deleted folder, you can permanently delete the photos or videos on your iPhone. After that, you can use a backup or iPhone data recovery tool to recover permanently deleted photos on iPhone. PhoneRescue for iOS, a powerful iPhone data recovery tool designed specifically to solve data backup and recovery problems. It uses advanced data recovery technology to efficiently retrieve photos that have been removed from the Recently Deleted folder.

Besides, PhoneRescue for iOS supports recovering multiple data types, including text messages, contacts, videos, application data, etc., to fully protect your data security and integrity.

Key features of PhoneRescue for iOS:

• Recover permanently deleted photos from iPhone even without a backup.
• No damage to existing data and no need to restore your iPhone.
• Adopt advanced scanning algorithms to quickly locate and recover deleted photos and other data.
• Preview and restore photos directly from iTunes or iCloud backup.
• After multiple iterations and optimizations, it has the highest success rate.
• Have helped millions of iOS users successfully recover lost data.

Detailed Steps to recover permanently deleted files from iPhone:

Step 1. Download PhoneRescue for iOS and run it on your computer > Connect your iPhone with a USB cable. Choose Recover from iOS Device and continue. It allows you to directly recover lost data from iPhone and iPad.

Step 2. Select Photos to scan and hit the Continue button to start the process.

Step 3. Preview what photos are deleted > Select photos > Click To Device/Computer button to recover selected photos.

Preview and recover permanently deleted photos from backup with PhoneRescue:

What’s more, Phonerescue for iOS allows you to preview photos from iTunes backup or iCloud backup, so you can choose to recover what you need. For example, if you got iCloud backup, you can connect your iPhone and choose Recover from iCloud as below:

Then select an iCloud backup > Check Photos only and click the OK button to download the backup.

After the process is completed, access the iCloud backup to view the photos. Choose the photos you want to recover.

3. Recover Permanently Deleted Photos from iTunes Backup

iTunes is a good choice for iOS users to do the backup. You can check if you have already backed up your deleted iPhone photos to iTunes before losing. If you did, you can recover permanently deleted photos on iPhone using the iTunes backup. Check the steps below:

1. Connect your iPhone to the computer and open iTunes. iTunes will open automatically if you have backed up your iPhone with this computer.

2. Click on your iPhone icon.

3. Click on the Restore Backup.

4. Get the backup that contains the photo you want to recover and click on the Restore.

4. Recover Permanently Deleted Photos from iCloud Backup

Similar to iTunes, iCloud backup can help you get back the deleted photos on iPhone. And it can be more straightforward. Here are the steps to restore permanently deleted photos from iCloud backup:

1. Check iCloud Photos: Make sure you have iCloud Photos enabled. If so, your photos are automatically uploaded to iCloud and may be available there.

2. Restore a backup: Go to Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings, then choose to restore from iCloud backup after your device restarts.

That’s how you can restore iCloud photos on iPhone directly. If you’d like to download iCloud photos to a PC, you can go to the iCloud website and sign in with your Apple ID, then tap Photos to find and recover the deleted photos.

5. Recover Permanently Deleted Photos with Finder [Mac]

On macOS Catalina and later, there is no iTunes, and you need to use Finder to sync your iPhone data. Here is how to use Finder to restore deleted photos to iPhone:

1. Connect your iPhone to your Mac.

2. On your macOS Catalina 10.15 or above, open Finder.

3. Click on your iPhone in the left-hand menu when it appears.

4. Click “Restore Backup…”

5. Choose a backup.

6. Click “Restore.”

Bonus Tip. How to Find Hidden Photos on iPhone

Sometimes, your photos are missing because of a hidden status rather than a permanent deletion. As a result, you can try to find hidden photos on iPhone and check if the photos are gone. Here are the steps to check hidden photos on iPhone:

1. Open the Photos app, and go to the Albums tab.

2. Tap Hidden under Utilities.

3. Select the photo or video that you want to unhide.

4. Tap the More button and choose Unhide.

Then the hidden photos or videos will show in your gallery. You can decide to keep or delete them at your convenience.

FAQs About Permanently Deleted Photos iPhone

1. Is it possible to recover permanently deleted photos from an iPhone?

You can’t recover permanently deleted photos from an iPhone directly, but you can use an iPhone photo recovery tool or a backup to get back the photos.

2. Are permanently deleted photos really deleted on iPhone?

It depends on where you make the deletion. If you delete the photos in the Recently Deleted folder, they are really deleted on iPhone. But if you have the photos backed up in iCloud, they are still available to restore. If you delete the photos in iCloud, they will be removed on other synced devices too.

3. How do I recover permanently deleted photos on iPhone?

You can use an iTunes backup, iCloud backup, or a third-party cloud backup such as Dropbox or Google Drive to retrieve permanently deleted photos on iPhone. If you don’t have a backup, PhoneRescue for iOS is recommended to get back your permanently deleted photos on iPhone.

The Bottom Line

There are 5 methods available to recover deleted photos on iPhone. You can choose your preferred one to try, including how to recover permanently deleted photos on iPhone. Using an iTunes, iCloud backup, or syncing data in Mac Finder will provide a chance to regain access to your permanently deleted photos. Moreover, PhoneRescue for iOS is more reliable if you don’t have any backups. Don’t hesitate to download and use PhoneRescue for iOS to recover lost iPhone photos in easy steps.