How to Recover Deleted Photos, Messages and Contacts on iPhone
Deleted a photo, a WhatsApp conversation or a contact by mistake? Here is where iPhone keeps deleted items, how long, and how to get them back from iCloud or a backup.
Deleting something by mistake happens to everyone. Before panicking, know that iPhone keeps most deleted items for a while. Act quickly: the sooner, the better.
Photos and videos
- Open Photos > Albums (or Collections) > Recently Deleted.
- Unlock with Face ID.
- Select the items and tap Recover.
Items stay there for about 30 days. Also check the Hidden album, and other devices using the same iCloud Photos library.
Messages (iMessage and SMS)
In Messages, tap Filters (or Edit) > Show Recently Deleted. Conversations can be recovered for up to 30 days (up to 40 days in some cases).
WhatsApp has no recycle bin. Your only option is the last backup: delete and reinstall WhatsApp, sign in with the same number and choose Restore Chat History. You lose messages received after the backup. Check the date in WhatsApp > Settings > Chats > Chat Backup first.
Contacts, Calendars, Notes and Files
- Notes: Notes app > Folders > Recently Deleted.
- Files: Files > Browse > Recently Deleted.
- Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, bookmarks: on icloud.com > your name > Data Recovery, you can restore older versions from the last weeks.
From a backup (last resort)
If the item is gone from Recently Deleted, an older iCloud or computer backup may contain it. Restoring a backup replaces everything on the iPhone with the state of that day, so make a new backup first and save current photos elsewhere. Guides: backups, archived backups.
Recovery software: be careful
Paid "iPhone data recovery" programs often promise more than they can do: on modern encrypted iPhones, permanently deleted data is generally not recoverable. Many only read your existing backups, which you can do yourself.
Prevent future losses
- Fix iCloud backup errors: iCloud backup failed.
- Copy photos to a PC regularly: transfer photos to Windows.
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