Fun & Facts   Tech
By Lifestyle Team | 19 July 2023

How to Recover Deleted Files from your iPhone

There you are: you just took a great picture or video of a memorable moment, you go into your library and instead of editing the photo the way you had intended, you delete it. You start to feel that all-too-familiar feeling of panic wash over you as you realize that the memory of this event will be lost within the sands of time. Don’t worry, we’ve all been there and this situation happens far too often and leaves individuals feeling powerless and embarrassed.

Data Recovery Made Easy: A Remedy for That Panicked Feeling

“How can I be so bad with technology,” you might find yourself saying. Fortunately for us, modern technology has ways of reversing this problem and recovering deleted files with relative ease. If you’re ready to recapture those beautiful moments that you’ve gotten rid of, here’s your solution.

Check the Recently Deleted Section

Many iOS users aren’t aware that Apple placed a feature on their devices that prevents you from permanently deleting your files so easily. These files are located in a section of your phone called “recently deleted.” Like the name implies, this section is reserved for recently deleted items that are still on the hard drive of your device. To find this section, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to your phone’s photo section.
  2. Once here, make sure that you are in the ‘albums’ section.
  3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and find the ‘recently deleted’ tab.
  4. Find the photos or videos that you wish to recover.
  5. Select the ‘recover’ option and navigate to your media folder.

A Deeper Recovery

Perhaps you’re in a situation where you’ve even went as far as to deleted photos or videos that were contained within your ‘recently deleted’ tab. That’s OK! Luckily for us, there are a plethora of iPhone data recovery suites and software solutions that make the process of recovery somewhat easy.

One piece of software that thousands of users are using to recover their data is FonePaw. FonePaw is a piece of downloadable software that scans a particular device and allows users to access files that are hidden deep within the device’s memory. Users should know that even after they’ve permanently deleted files from their phone or pad, they are still located within temporary memory. This memory is used to store pertinent information related to your device and is overwritten frequently.

Once you’ve downloaded the FonePaw software suite, it’s time to get to work and find that missing data. The first step you will want to take is to scan the device you wish to retrieve data from. The FonePaw software will show you all of the files that are still remain within the device’s temporary memory banks. A brief list of data types that FonePaw can recover are as follows:

  • Missing iCloud files
  • WhatsApp messages
  • Notes
  • Videos
  • Contacts
  • Call logging information
  • Browser history and bookmarks
  • Calendar information
  • Voicemails
  • SMS messages

Form Better Habits for the Future

We wouldn’t be your friend if we didn’t advise you to make better habits, would we? Don’t worry, we’re not going to yell at you like a disappointed parent, but we will say that the way you can maintain the integrity of your files is by placing them on external devices and storage platforms.

If you know that you have a particularly important event in the near future – a wedding, prom, funeral, festival, etc. – make sure that you have an external space to store pertinent files. We recommend turning on your iCloud backup so that your files are saved onto Apple’s cloud storage system. These files can be downloaded again and again with relative ease.

Furthermore, some people sync their photos and videos onto Google Drive. Although this process is not nearly as intuitive as the standard iPhone data recovery solutions, it provides a storage space to keep your files in the event of a deletion. Whatever the case may be, you need to understand that the memories you make, and the people you make those memories with, are worth saving for years to come. Don’t wait until it’s too late, make better habits today and live stress free!