How to recover deleted photos
on iPhone, and when you can't.

First, check the photos are really deleted

Photos often look deleted when they are only out of view. Apple lists four places to check before anything else.

1. Hidden: hidden photos appear only in the Hidden album, under Utilities. If you don't see the album, it is turned off: Settings › Apps › Photos › Show Hidden Album.
2. Library view: with a Shared Library, some photos appear only in one view. In Collections, tap your profile picture and choose Both Libraries.
3. iCloud Photos: open Settings, tap your name, then iCloud › Photos, and make sure Sync this iPhone is on. Stay on Wi-Fi for a few minutes.
4. Apple Account: every device must be signed in to iCloud with the same Apple Account to show the same library.

How to recover deleted photos from Recently Deleted

A photo or video you delete goes to the Recently Deleted album and stays there for 30 days. Until then, you can bring it back.

1. Open Photos. On iOS 26 or later, tap Collections; on iOS 18, swipe up.
2. Tap Recently Deleted, below Utilities.
3. Tap View Album, then unlock it with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.
4. Tap a photo or video, then tap Recover. For several, tap Select, choose them, tap the More button, then tap Recover.
5. Confirm. The photos return to your library.

Recover deleted photos on iCloud.com

With iCloud Photos on, Recently Deleted is the same on every device and on the web. Use it from a computer when the iPhone is lost or broken.

1. Go to iCloud.com and sign in with your Apple Account.
2. Open Photos.
3. Select Recently Deleted in the sidebar. If you don't see the sidebar, click the Show Sidebar button at the top left.
4. Select the photos and click Recover.

Can you recover permanently deleted photos on iPhone?

Not from the iPhone. Apple says that after 30 days, or once you delete them from Recently Deleted, photos are permanently deleted and you can't get them back. Apple support cannot restore them either.

What is left is a copy made before you deleted them: an older backup, or a place the photo was sent or shared.

Recover deleted photos from a backup

A backup only holds your photos if iCloud Photos was off when it was made: with iCloud Photos on, photos sync to iCloud instead and are left out of iCloud and computer backups. The backup must also be older than the deletion.

1. From iCloud: erase the iPhone in Settings › General › Transfer or Reset iPhone › Erase All Content and Settings.
2. Follow the setup until the Transfer Your Apps & Data screen, tap From iCloud Backup, sign in, and choose a backup from before the photos were deleted.
3. From a computer: connect the iPhone, select it in the Finder on a Mac or the Apple Devices app on a PC, click Restore Backup, choose the backup and click Restore.

Other places a copy may be

Think about where the photo went: a conversation you sent it in, a shared album, an email, another phone or computer that doesn't sync with iCloud Photos, or another photo service you back up to. Saving it again from there brings it back to your library.

Do photo recovery apps work on iPhone?

Apps and computer programs that promise to recover deleted photos can only reach what is still there: Recently Deleted, iCloud or a backup. Apple says photos deleted from Recently Deleted can't be recovered, so no app can bring them back from the iPhone itself.

Clean without the worry

Photos you remove with Phone Cleaner go to the same Recently Deleted album and wait 30 days, like any other deleted photo. Review each group before you delete, and leave Recently Deleted alone until you are sure.