2 Solutions to Recover Permanently Deleted Photos from iPhone (or iPad)
Last Updated on June 19, 2025 by Joanna LakeHas it ever happened to you that photos disappeared from your iPhone suddenly? The answer to this question might be “yes”. To your delight, in this paper, we will show you the quick and effective way to recover deleted Photos.
Before that, it is much better for you to know the reasons why iPhone photos disappeared suddenly so as to avoid this problem next time. The main causes of this problem are listed as follows:
- Accidentally deleted photos on iPhone
- Photos on your iPhone are hidden
- iOS bugs
- Incorrect Apple ID
- iPhone storage is not enough
- iCloud photos is not working
Above, we just mention a few reasons for the issue. Next, we will instruct you on how to restore recently deleted photos on an iPhone.
There are 2 solutions in getting back your disappeared photos. To begin with, we will show you how to recover deleted photos without using any data recovery tools. Besides, you will know how to restore disappeared photos with iPhone Data Recovery. Let’s move on!
#1Solution 1: How to Restore iPhone Photos without Third-party Tools
1. Check the Recently Deleted Folder
When you delete photos on an iPhone, it will be moved to the Recently Deleted Folder, and this folder will keep those deleted photos for 40 days. After that, the photos will be completely invisible from your device and iCloud.
There are chances that you may delete your photos by accident; thus, please check the Recently Deleted folder first.
You need to open the photos on the phone and go to Albums and press Recently Deleted. Skim through the photos and select the photos that you would like to retrieve and then tap Recover.
Note: If you have just accidentally deleted photos in the Recently Deleted folder, before iPhone syncing with iCloud, you can also recover the photos in the Recently Deleted folder on iCloud.com.
Open iCloud.com and Sign in to your Apple ID, select Photos > Recently Deleted, choose deleted pictures and select Recover on the top.
2. Show the Hidden Photos
Do you want to know how to find hidden photos on iPhone? Then you should check the Photos settings: Touch Settings > Photos, make sure Hidden Album is on so that you’ll be able to see the hidden photos on Photos app.
Next, open Photos app, swipe down to find Hidden. Suppose you have found the number beside is more than 0, tap it and you will find all the hidden photos on your iPhone.
Press the select button and hit a share icon on the bottom left. A floating menu will show, touch Unhide, the photos will appear on the camera roll again.
3. Check iPhone Storage
Enough iPhone Storage is a vital element for iPhone function. Thus, the iPhone Photos disappearing may be caused by the full iPhone, just check the iPhone storage: Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage.
Make sure the storage is more than 6GB, then it won’t let your photos missing or unable to update to the latest iOS.
4. Restart Device
Restarting the device is a great way to solve many issues on PC, and it is also helpful to fix iOS errors.
First, turn off the iPhone by touching Settings > General > Shut Down. Then, press and hold the power button to open the iPhone.
5. Check the iCloud Photo Status
For those who have used iCloud Photos to optimise the device Storage, then the iCloud Photos status will lead to some photos disappearing on your iPhone.
Go to Settings > Photos, see if the iCloud photo has turned on, if yes, then you should focus on fixing the iCloud photos.
Step 1: Check your iCloud Apple ID and iCloud Storage
Touch Settings > your name, then you will find an email address, which is also your Apple ID. Then, tap iCloud, you would see the iCloud Storage. If it is not enough, then you should manage your iCloud Storage.
Step 2: Check Photos Server Status
Visit Apple Status, and see whether there is a green dot on the left of Photos Server.
Step 3: Turn off and on iCloud Photos
Go to Settings > Photos, toggle off and on the button to refresh the iCloud photos feature.
6. Restore from a iTunes/Finder Backup
Another method to get the photos back is restoring from iTunes/Finder backup.
Connect your iPhone and PC, then launch the iTunes/Finder. Next, click to open the device and choose Restore backup…. Then, select a recent one and click the Restore button.
Plus, you can also restore from iCloud Backup.
7. Retrieve Deleted iPhone Photos through Cloud Storage Services
If you use any cloud services like OneDrive, Dropbox or Google photos and have ever uploaded your photos on your iPhone to one of these cloud storage services, you can easily retrieve your deleted iPhone photos by logging in your cloud service account and downloading those you want to get back from your cloud drive.
Note: Some of these cloud drive apps on your iPhone will automatically upload your iPhone data to the cloud storage by default without knowing. So, if your iPhone photos got deleted by accident, you can always take a chance to check your cloud drive.
#2Solution 2: How to Restore your Disappeared Photos with iPhone Data Recovery
To restore the iPhone photos disappeared from camera roll, iOS Data Recovery will be your best helper which aims to get back the lost data including missing photos.
Besides, iOS Data Recovery provides the most complete way for you, you can recover photos on iPhone, recover photos from iCloud or recover from iTunes backup, let’s see!
iOS Data Recovery
The undisputed & effective tool to retrieve your data !!
Key Features:
- Recover WhatsApp Chats History, Facebook Messenger Message, Viber
- Retrieve Lost Photos, Messages, Calls, Contacts, etc.
- Supports Recent iPhone Models: iPhone 14, 15, & 16
- Works on the Updated iOS versions: iOS 26, etc.
- Operates on Windows 10/11, Big Sur, Catalina, macOS 15/ 26 , etc.
- User-friendly Interface & Easy-to-Follow Process
1. Get Your Missing Photos Back Directly from the iPhone
Step 1: Download the program and then install it on your computer. Launch the program, and click iOS Data Recovery, then you can notice the Recover from iOS device tab on the left list; just click it.
Step 2: Connect your device to the computer with a USB cable and then select the Start Scan button. After that, the program will automatically scan your iPhone.
Step 3: When the scanning process is finished, you can start to select the disappeared photos you want to restore and then click the Recover button. After that, you can choose a location to store those photos.
2. Extract Photos from iTunes Backup
If you have already backed up your photos on iTunes before, you can also run the iOS Data Recovery to extract the photos from the backup.
Step 1: Launch the program first, and click iOS Data Recovery on the interface, click the Recover from iTunes Backup on the left column. After that, click the Start button.
Step 2: Once the scanning process is finished, you’ll find all the photos on the right, then choose the disappeared photos that you want to recover and then click Recover to extract the photos.
3. How to Restore Photos from iCloud
If you have already backed up your photos on iCloud before, you can run the iOS Data Recovery to extract the photos from the backup.
Step 1: Launch the program first, select iOS Data Recovery, and click the Recover from iCloud Backup on the left column.
Step 2: Sign in your iCloud account. And then double-click the Photos icon, after a while, you may see the missing photos you want to restore.
Step 3: Select the missing photos and click the Recover button, and it will ask you to choose a location.
One last thing…
If you are in the situation mentioned above, you may retrieve deleted iPhone photos successfully by following this guide. However, it’s highly recommended that back up iPhone photos in time to avoid unnecessary troubles. If you want to learn more about how to back up iPhone data, just turn to How to Backup iPhone to iCloud.