Fun & Facts   Tech
By Lifestyle Team | 16 Aug. 2023

How to Recover Deleted Photos from PC, Mac, Android and iPhone (IOS)

If you have accidentally deleted some of your prized photos, you probably have a sinking feeling right now. You may be trying to remember exactly what photos were deleted, but there are simply too many to recall. Are your priceless vacation photos gone forever? What about your child’s birthday party? Now that the panic is beginning to subside, though, you are wondering whether it might be possible to recover those photos. Fortunately, the answer to that question is yes, and here’s how:

Recover Photos from PC

PC

PC photos are generally stored on your computer’s hard drive. If you accidentally delete some or all of them, there is a good chance that they can be recovered. Here are two of the best ways to do that:

1. Recycle Bin

When Microsoft designed the Windows operating system, they anticipated that users would accidentally delete files, photos and other information that would need to be recovered. Because of this, they divided the deletion process into two steps. When you first delete a file or photo, it isn’t actually deleted. Rather, it goes into the Recycle Bin. The files and photos are only deleted when you empty the Recycle Bin. Therefore, if you have accidentally deleted some photos, there is a good chance that they are still in the Recycle Bin. Here is what to do:

First, you should immediately stop using your computer and begin the recovery process. Make sure that you do not empty your Recycle Bin until the recovery process is complete. Now open your Recycle Bin with a single or double click. If your photos are there, you can drag them to your desktop or to a specific folder. You can also right click on an image or a group of images and select “Restore.” In that case, the deleted photos will be recovered and placed back in the location from which they were deleted.

2. Windows Backup

If your photos are not in your Recycle Bin, your next best bet would be to restore them from a backup. Hopefully, you are in the habit of copying your most important files and photos to an external hard drive or to the cloud. If so, you can use the Windows Backup and Restore utility to recover your lost photos. You can access this feature from your control panel by clicking on “System and Maintenance.” From there, you can either choose “Restore my files” or “Restore all users’ files.” Next, look through the content and find the photos that you accidentally deleted. Once you find them, let the Restore utility direct you in restoring them to the proper location.

Recover Photos from Mac

MACPixabay.com FirmBee

There are several ways to recover deleted photos on a macOS operating system. Here are two of them:

1. Trash

Just like deleted photos on a PC may still be in the Recycle Bin, deleted photos on a Mac may still be in the Trash. Click on the Trash icon to find out. If you spot your deleted photos in the Trash, you can simply drag them to your desktop or to another location. You may also be able to use the “Put Back” option to put them back where they were before they were deleted.

2. Time Machine Backup

If you use Time Machine to back up your files, you may be able to find your deleted photos there. To find out, click on the Time Machine icon and search backwards until you find the photos you want to restore. Select those photos and click “Restore.” Once you do that, your deleted photos should be back in their original location.

Recover Photos from Android

Android Photo

Just as was stated above for computers, it is likely that deleted smartphone photos can be recovered. To guard against them being permanently deleted, it is best if you stop using your phone and immediately begin the recovery process. This is because any new operations on your phone could overwrite your photos, making them unrecoverable.

The easiest way to recover deleted photos from your Android device is through your Google Photos app, which contains a trash folder. Whenever a photo is deleted, whether intentionally or by accident, it stays in the Google Photos trash folder for 60 days before being permanently deleted. Hopefully, it has been less than 60 days since you accidentally deleted your photos.

If that is the case, you can begin the restore process by opening Google Photos. Now tap the menu and select “Trash.” At this point, you should be able to see all of the photos that have been deleted within the past 60 days. Now select the image or images that you want to recover and hit “Restore.”

Recover Photos from iPhone (IOS)

iOSPixabay.com JEESHOOTS-COM

Apple has made it extremely easy for iPhone users to recover photos that were accidentally deleted. First, go to the Photos app and select “Albums.” Next, scroll all the way down to the bottom and select “Recently Deleted.”

At this point, all of the photos that you have deleted in the last 30 days should be displayed in the photo folder. All you have to do to recover a deleted photo is to tap the photo and select “Recover.” Be careful here because if you hit “Delete,” your photo will be gone forever.

Using Recovery Software

Regardless of the type of device that you have, there will be times when you will not be able to recover your deleted photos using the steps outlined above. Perhaps you have emptied your Recycle Bin, or a smartphone app has overwritten a deleted file so that it cannot be recovered. When that is the case, you will need to use some third-party data recovery software to get the job done.

SOURCES

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_vista-files/were-do-files-restored-from-the-recycle-go-to/14d92865-ba00-486f-9230-8dA6608c6289a

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17127/windows-back-up-restore

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209152

https://www.comparitech.com/data-recovery-software/recover-lost-photos-android/