How to Recover Deleted Photos on iPhone and Google Photos

In Photos, open Collections and find Recently Deleted under Utilities. Unlock the album when asked, select the photos, then choose More > Recover and confirm. Apple keeps deleted items here for 30 days unless you permanently delete them sooner. With iCloud Photos, deleting a photo also deletes it from other devices using that Apple Account. Another synced device is not an independent backup.

Open Google Photos > Collections > Trash. Touch and hold the photo or video, choose Restore, and confirm if asked. Use the remaining time displayed in Trash as your deadline and recover the item now rather than leaving it there. A phone manufacturer’s Gallery app can have its own trash, so also check the app where you actually deleted the picture.

Check the profile icon to confirm the Google Account, then look in Collections > Archive and Collections > On this device. A picture saved by another app may be in a device folder that was never backed up. For an apparently missing old photo, also search another date: imported images can have unexpected timestamps. Being absent from the main photo grid does not by itself prove deletion.

Look for an existing copy on a computer, an external backup, or a message where you sent the photo. Google Takeout exports data that still exists; it does not recover permanently deleted photos. Do not erase or reset a device just to try a recovery suggestion. If you find a copy, open it and check the image before changing any backup settings.