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Penny Warren Published on January 22, 2025Recover Data3-min reading
The Recently Deleted feature is crucial when you accidentally delete important files on an iOS device. It stores the deleted data and files for a period and then removes them automatically. In other words, it provides a chance to get lost data back on your iPhone or iPad without backup. This guide introduces this feature with details and tells you how to get back recently deleted files from an iPhone or iPad properly.
In this article:
Part 1. What is Recently Deleted
As mentioned previously, Recently Deleted is a feature that stores deleted files and data for 30 days. Before the expiration, you can recover recently deleted files and data on your iPhone or iPad directly. This feature is not an independent app but is available in several built-in apps and services on iOS, such as Photos, Messages, Files, Notes, Voice Memos, iCloud Drive, and iCloud Photos.
Part 2. How to Access Recently Deleted Items
If you just deleted a photo, file, message, note, or voice memo on your iPhone or iPad, you can recover recently deleted files from the Recently Deleted folder quickly. We demonstrate the workflows for each available service respectively.
How to Go to Recently Deleted in Photos
Run your Photos app on your iOS device.
Go to the Albums tab from the bottom, and choose the Recently Deleted album under the Utilities heading to go to the Recently Deleted album.
Tap the Select button at the top right side, choose the photos and videos that you want to get back, and tap Recover. When prompted, hit Recover again to confirm the action.
Note:
If your Recently Deleted album is locked, tap View Album after choosing Recently Deleted. Then use your Face ID or Touch ID to unlock the album.
How to Recover Files from the Recently Deleted Folder
If you deleted local files by mistake, open the Files app on your iPhone.
Go to the Browse tab from the bottom, and choose the Recently Deleted folder. To open this folder, you need to enter your passcode used to unlock home screen.
Press the deleted file or document that you want to recover, and tap the Recover button. To recover multiple files from Recently Deleted, tap Select, choose them, and press Recover. If you want to recover all files, tap Recover All.
How to Retrieve Recently Deleted Messages on iPhone
If you are running iOS 16 or above and delete important messages accidentally, tap the Filters button in your Messages app.
If you didn’t turn on Filter Unknown Senders in Messages, tap Edit instead.
Choose the Recently Deleted or Show Recently Deleted folder to access iPhone Recently Deleted folder.
Tap Select, select the desired chats, and press the Recover button. Then confirm the message recovery action.
Note:
This way is available to both text messages and iMessage.
How to Get Back Recently Deleted Notes on iPhone
Open the Notes app from your home screen.
Tap the Folders button, and choose the Recently Deleted folder under the iCloud heading.
Press the Edit button, select the notes that you intend to get back, and tap the Move button at the bottom. Then choose where you want to move the notes. Next, you can view the recently deleted notes in the Notes app.
How to Recover Voice Memos from Recently Deleted Folder
To find where is the Recently Deleted folder on iPhone in the Voice Memos app, tap the Back button, and choose Recently Deleted.
Press the Edit button at the top right side, select the voice memos that you hope to retrieve, and tap the Recover button.
If prompted, press the Recover option and you will find the recently deleted voice memos in the original folder.
How to Retrieve Recently Deleted Photos from iCloud
If you have turned on iCloud Photos, you can recover recently deleted photos by visiting www.icloud.com in a web browser. Sign in with your Apple ID and password. If 2FA is enabled, enter the verification code. If you've forgotten your Apple ID password, you can still recover them with combined email or phone number.
Choose the Photos option to open the iCloud Photos web page. Switch to the Recently Deleted album under the Photos heading on the left side.
Press the Ctrl or Cmd key on your keyboard, and select each photo that you want to retrieve. Then click the Recover button and confirm it.
How to Recover Recently Deleted Items from iCloud Drive
Visit www.icloud.com in a browser, and sign in to your iCloud account with your Apple ID and password.
Choose the iCloud Drive option to enter the iCloud Drive web page. Click Recently Deleted at the bottom right side to access the Recently Deleted folder in iCloud Drive.
Highlight a file, and click the Recover button. Or click the Recover All button to recover all recently deleted files from iCloud Drive.
Part 3. Duration of Storage
When you delete an item on your iPhone, such as a photo, a voice memo, a note, a message, or a file, it will be moved to the Recently Delete folder. Then it is stored here for 30 days. It means that you have 30 days to recover the item after deleting it. After the duration, the item will be erased from your device permanently.
There are a few situations in which you won’t find the desired files or items in the Recently Deleted folder:
1. You manually deleted the files in the Recently Deleted folder.
2. You have recovered the deleted items from the Recently Deleted folder.
3. The files or items have been deleted for more than 30 days.
Part 4. Importance of the Recently Deleted Feature
The Recently Deleted feature allows users to recover items that have been accidentally deleted. It gives users a window, ensuring the important files can be retrieved in case of an unintended deletion. Therefore, it is a valuable feature for users who want to protect their data and avoid irreversible loss.
Firstly, the Recently Deleted feature helps users to easily locate and recover deleted items within a period. No matter you delete files by mistake or delete files and then regret, it enables you to recover the deleted files and items before they are permanently removed on your iPhone or iPad.
Furthermore, this feature streamlines the data recovery process on iOS devices. The Recently Deleted feature makes it convenient for users to recover deleted items with just a few taps. The Recently Deleted folder usually delivers the Recover or relative option.
Thirdly, you can view and check the deleted files or items in the Recently Deleted folder. You can access this feature within the Photos, Files, Notes, Voice Memos, or iCloud, and check the recently deleted items directly. This feature allows you to recover specific items or all files easily.
At last, the Recently Deleted feature won’t erase or reset your device. Unlike the iCloud backup or iTunes/Finder backup, you can recover the deleted files or items to their original places. It won’t interrupt the existing data or overwrite current files on your iOS device.
Tips for Utilizing the Recently Deleted Feature
The Recently Deleted feature is a valuable tool for iOS users in managing digital content. Fully utilizing this feature ensures you can effectively recover any recently deleted items. Here are some important tips:
1. Regularly check the Recently Deleted folder. Make it a habit to check the Recently Deleted album and folder in each available app on your device. So that you won’t miss the opportunity of data recovery.
2. Use the search function. If you have a large number of files and items in the Recently Deleted folder, the search function allows you to quickly locate the desired item.
3. Be mindful of the retention period. The Recently Deleted folder won’t store items forever. You can access the folder to check the days remaining before the items are permanently removed.
Part 5: What to Do If You Cannot Find Files in Recently Deleted
The Recently Deleted feature is not perfect for data recovery on iOS devices. The 30-day limit is a big problem. After the expiration, your files will be erased permanently. Of course, these files are not completely removed from your iPhone memory. Instead, the space is marked empty and waiting for new data. Before these files are overwritten, you have the chance to recover them with a powerful data recovery tool, such as imyPass iPhone Data Recovery.
Key Features of the Best iPhone Data Recovery Tool
1. Recover recently deleted files and permanently deleted data easily.
2. Retrieve deleted files on iPhone or iPad with one click.
3. Restore lost files from iCloud or iTunes backup without resetting.
4. Support a wide range of data types including contacts, SMS, media files, etc.
5. Compatible with the latest version of iOS and iPhones.
How to Recover Files from iPhone If You Cannot Find Them in Recently Deleted
Connect to your iPhone
Launch the best iPhone data recovery software after you install it on your computer. It is available on Windows 11/10/8/7 and Mac OS X. Go to the Recover from iOS Device tab from the left sidebar. Next, connect your iPhone to your computer with a Lightning cable. If prompted, tap the Trust button on your device. Then click the Start Scan button to begin scanning data recoverable on your iPhone.
If you intend to retrieve deleted items from iTunes or iCloud backup, choose Recover from iTunes Backup File or Recover from iCloud Backup File. Then follow the on-screen instructions to get the desired data.
Preview deleted data
When the data scan is done, you will be presented with the main window. Choose data types on the left column. To recover deleted iPhone photos, for example, select Camera Roll, and choose Show Deleted Only from the top drop-down list. Now, you can view the recently deleted photos.
Recover recently deleted files
Select the files and items that you want to get back, and click the Recover button at the bottom right corner. If prompted, set an output folder, and hit the Recover button again. A few seconds later, you can check the recently deleted files on your hard drive.
Conclusion
This guide has discussed how to go to the Recently Deleted folder on your iPhone or iPad. The built-in apps and services, such as Photos, Messages, Notes, Voice Memos, and iCloud, come with a feature called Recently Deleted. It allows you to get back the files and items that you deleted within 30 days quickly. Moreover, we also explained the importance and best practices of this feature. imyPass iPhone Data Recovery allows you to get back deleted files and items if you cannot find them in the Recently Deleted folder. More questions? Please feel free to leave a message below this post.
Penny Warren, a senior editor from imyPass, is specialized in MS Office software. You can find professional tutorials and solutions of MS Office software from her posts.
