How to Recover Deleted Photos and Videos on iPhone
Deleting a photo on your iPhone doesn’t always mean it’s gone forever — but the window to recover it is smaller than most people realize. Apple gives you a built-in safety net, but only if you know where to look and what actions permanently erase your data.
In this guide, I walk through exactly how photo deletion works on iPhone, how to recover photos and videos you’ve deleted, and what settings affect your ability to access them. This is a direct walkthrough of the real recovery process shown in the video.
🎓 What You’ll Learn
How photo deletion works on iPhone
Two different ways photos and videos can be deleted
How to undo a deletion immediately
Where deleted photos are stored temporarily
How to access the Recently Deleted album
How Face ID protects deleted photos
How long deleted photos remain recoverable
How to recover one photo, multiple photos, or all deleted items
What permanently deleting photos actually means
🗑️ How Photo Deletion Works on iPhone
When you delete a photo or video on your iPhone, it is not immediately erased. Instead, Apple moves it to a temporary holding area designed to give you a second chance.
This applies whether you:
Delete a photo while viewing it
Delete photos by selecting them from the library
In both cases, the item is removed from your main library but not yet permanently deleted.
↩️ Undoing a Photo Deletion Immediately
There is a very short window where you can undo a deletion instantly.
If you shake your iPhone immediately after deleting a photo:
iOS may present an Undo option
Selecting Undo restores the photo instantly
This only works right after the deletion
This is useful for quick mistakes but should not be relied on as a recovery strategy.
🧰 Where Deleted Photos Are Stored
Deleted photos and videos are moved to the Recently Deleted album inside the Photos app.
This album:
Temporarily stores deleted items
Shows how many days remain before permanent deletion
Automatically deletes items after the countdown expires
If the photo leaves this album, it cannot be recovered unless you have a separate backup.
🔐 Accessing the Recently Deleted Album
The Recently Deleted album is protected by default.
To access it:
Open Photos
Scroll to Utilities
Tap Recently Deleted
Authenticate using Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode
If you do not see the Utilities section, it can be re-enabled from the Photos customization options.
⚙️ Managing Face ID Protection for Deleted Photos
Apple allows you to control whether Face ID is required to view deleted photos.
This setting is found by:
Opening Settings
Going to Apps
Selecting Photos
Toggling Face ID for Hidden and Recently Deleted albums
Disabling this removes protection, but doing so is not recommended for privacy reasons.
⏳ How Long Deleted Photos Are Kept
Each deleted photo or video displays the number of days remaining before permanent deletion.
Important things to know:
The countdown is automatic
Once it reaches zero, recovery is no longer possible
iCloud Photos does not extend this window
This makes checking Recently Deleted as soon as possible critical.
♻️ Recovering Deleted Photos and Videos
You can recover photos individually, in groups, or all at once.
To recover a single photo:
Open Recently Deleted
Select the photo
Tap Recover
To recover multiple photos:
Tap Select
Choose the items
Open the menu and tap Recover
To recover everything:
Tap Select
Open the menu
Choose Recover All
Recovered photos return to the main photo library.
❌ Permanently Deleting Photos
At any time, photos in Recently Deleted can be manually erased.
If you choose Delete instead of Recover:
The photo is removed immediately
There is no built-in recovery option
iCloud Backup does not restore individual photos
Permanent deletion means exactly that.
