How to Recover Recently Deleted Photos on iPhone

You deleted a photo or video by accident — here’s how to get it back, and how long you have before it’s gone for good.

Why: When you delete a photo on iPhone, it isn’t erased right away. It moves to a Recently Deleted album and stays there for 30 days, so you have a grace period to recover it. After 30 days it’s permanently deleted and can’t be recovered.

Fix 1: Recover from the Recently Deleted album

This is the main path on the phone itself:

1. Open the Photos app and swipe up on your library.
2. Tap Recently Deleted in the Utilities section.
3. Tap View Album, then unlock it with Face ID or Touch ID.
4. Tap the photo or video you want, then tap Recover.

The item moves straight back into your library, in its original spot in the timeline.

Fix 2: Recover several photos at once

If you deleted a batch, you don’t have to restore them one by one:

1. In the unlocked Recently Deleted album, tap Select.
2. Tap each photo and video you want back.
3. Tap the More button (the three dots), then tap Recover.

All the selected items return to your library together.

Fix 3: Recover from iCloud.com on any device

If you can’t get to your iPhone — or it was lost — and you use iCloud Photos, you can recover from a browser:

1. Go to iCloud.com and sign in with your Apple Account.
2. Click Photos.
3. Click Recently Deleted in the sidebar.
4. Select a photo, then click Recover.

Because iCloud Photos keeps everything in sync, anything you recover here reappears on your iPhone too.

FAQ

It’s been more than 30 days — can I still get the photo back? Not from Recently Deleted; after 30 days it’s permanently removed. Your only chance is an older device backup or a copy you may have saved elsewhere (a Mac, PC, or another cloud service).

Why is my Recently Deleted album empty or missing photos I deleted? If you tapped Delete from Recently Deleted itself, or chose to permanently delete, the item skips the 30-day window. Also check that you’re signed in to the same Apple Account where the photos lived.

Sources: Apple Support — How to recover deleted photos on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Vision Pro