How to recover lost photos on your iPhone

Has the photo gallery on your iPhone® suddenly become a ghost town? Photos can vanish for many reasons, but disappearing photos don't always mean they're gone for good. 

From phone repairs to helping you choose your next phone, uBreakiFix® by Asurion experts have your tech needs covered. Here’s how to recover deleted photos from an iPhone. 

Where did my iPhone photos go?

If you open your iPhone gallery only to find some of your favorite photos missing, there are a few places where those pictures could be hiding: 

• Recently deleted photos. iPhone holds onto deleted photos for a few days just in case you want to restore them. 
• Hidden photos. If you've ever selected the 'Hide' option on your iPhone, those photos get tucked away in the 'Hidden' album. 
• Photos moved to iCloud®. Apple's cloud-based storage system securely holds your data—including your photos. 

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How to recover deleted photos from iPhone

Losing photos can feel like misplacing precious memories, but there's often a way to bring them back.

Recover deleted photos from iCloud

Having your photos backed up to iCloud can help you manage storage space and give you a safety net if you ever lose your photos. All you have to do is go to the Photos app or iCloud.com, then to the Recently Deleted album, and tap Recover to recover those pictures.

If you haven’t already, it might be a good idea to see if your photos are backing up to the cloud regularly. Go to Settings > Apple ID (your name) > iCloud and make sure the Photos app is using iCloud. 

Recover deleted photos from iTunes/iPhone backup

If you've backed your data up on iTunes (or Finder on macOS® Catalina and later), you can plug your iPhone into your computer, pick the backup with the most photos saved to it, and restore it. Let’s hope your photos will be part of that backup.

Recover deleted photos from a damaged phone

Even if your iPhone has been damaged, you might be able to save what’s on it. You can stop by your local uBreakiFix by Asurion store for some help recovering your photos.

FAQ

What do I do if I accidentally delete photos from my iPhone?

Accidents happen, but don't panic. When you delete a photo, it goes to the Recently Deleted folder. If they're there, you can easily restore them.

Can deleted photos be recovered beyond 30 days?

After 30 days, those photos are permanently erased. But if you've got backups, whether in iCloud or on a computer, you may still be able to get them back.

What do I do if I restore my iPhone but my photos are missing?

If you have a ton of photos stored in the cloud or on your computer, give your iPhone some time to restore them all.  Need help restoring your iPhone? We’ve got that covered too.