How to Recover Deleted Files and Photos on Android and IOS
It’s an unpleasant feeling to realize that you accidentally deleted an important photo or document on your phone. You may have selected the wrong file or pressed the wrong button, but it’s easy to do—and it’s not an error you’ll always notice right away.
The good news is that Android, iOS, and the apps that run on top of them now have built-in security systems. There’s a good chance you’ll be able to get your deleted data back – it’s just a matter of knowing where to look, and it depends on the app you used to delete it.
If you can’t get your files back using the methods we’ve outlined below, you’ll have to dig deeper – perhaps into your phone’s backups (which you should have set up in case your phone gets lost or stolen). ).
Google Photos (Android and iOS)
If you use Google Photos to manage photos and videos on your phone, open the Library tab, then tap the Trash folder. Click on the file, then “Recover” to restore it; or tap and hold one file, then select multiple items, then tap Recover . Google Photos will store deleted photos and videos in the Trash folder for 60 days before deleting them completely.
Apple Photos (iOS)
In the default iPhone photos and videos app, deleted files can be found by going to Albums and then Recently Deleted . Here, deleted files are kept for 40 days (you can see the remaining number of days for each item). Tap a photo or video, then select Recover to get it back, or use the Select button to select multiple items to restore at once.
Samsung Gallery (Android)
If you use the Samsung Gallery app installed on Galaxy phones to manage your photos and videos, open the app and tap the three horizontal lines (bottom right), then select Trash to view and recover your files. Here you may also be able to see photos and videos deleted by third-party apps, depending on how you’ve set up the integration on your phone.
Files from Google (Android)
In the default file manager on Android, tap the three horizontal lines (top left), then Trash . Any files submitted here will be retained for 30 days before being completely deleted, and they will be listed in groups based on when they were originally deleted. To return any of the deleted files to their original location, select them and click Recover .
My files (Android)
If you use a Samsung Galaxy phone, you may be using My Files rather than Files from Google to manage locally stored data. Open the app and on the front screen you’ll see a link to the Trash for viewing and recovering files – just like in the Gallery app, you may see files deleted by other apps here, depending on the file type and sync options. .
Files (iOS)
If you deleted something from your iPhone, you can find it in the iOS Files app for 30 days afterward: Open the Browse tab, then tap Recently Deleted to view and restore your files. Note that the Files app can also manage your various cloud storage accounts (iCloud, for example), so there may be some overlap with the other options mentioned here.
Google Drive (Android and iOS)
Any file deleted from or synced to Google Drive can be restored for up to 30 days afterward: In the mobile app, tap the three horizontal lines (top left), then Trash . You can view the files just like any other folder in Google Drive, and if you click the three dots to the right of any of the files listed, a Recover option will appear.
iCloud Drive (iOS)
If you use iCloud Drive in addition to the Files app on iOS, you have an extra layer of protection in case your data is accidentally deleted. You can access deleted files from the Browse tab in the Files app as described above, or through iCloud Drive on the web —just click Recently Deleted in the sidebar on the left.
Other apps (Android and iOS)
If you use some kind of cloud storage with your phone, you should have a data recovery feature that you can go back to. Dropbox, for example, stores deleted files for 30 days (or longer on paid plans), but to find them you need to go to the desktop web interface : click “Deleted Files” in the left pane to see a list of files and open them back if needed.
Microsoft OneDrive also has built-in security that you can use, and it’s called, you guessed it, Recycle Bin. In the mobile app, tap Me and then Trash to view files that have recently been deleted from your OneDrive account. To restore any of them to their original location, tap the three dots (right) and then Restore .