How to Retrieve Deleted iPhone Photos
How to Retrieve Deleted iPhone Photos

Losing precious iPhone photos can be truly upsetting. Whether it’s a cherished memory from a wedding, a fun vacation snapshot, or an important family picture, the thought of them being gone forever is frustrating. Many people believe that once photos are deleted from their iPhone, especially after 30 days or without a prior backup, they are lost forever. But what if there was still hope? What if you could recover deleted iPhone photos even without a backup?

The good news is that in 2025, it’s more possible than ever to get deleted pictures back on iPhone. This guide will explore effective methods, focusing on how to recover permanently deleted photos from iPhone.

Method 1: Recover Permanently Deleted Photos via Gbyte Recovery (Without Backup)

How to Retrieve Deleted iPhone Photos

If you need to recover deleted iPhone photos after 30 days or without any backup, a professional tool like Gbyte Recovery is your best bet. Gbyte Recovery is specifically designed to retrieve lost data directly from your iPhone or iCloud account, offering a powerful solution for those tough recovery scenarios.

Why Gbyte Recovery is a Game-Changer:

  • No Backup Required: This is Gbyte Recovery’s biggest strength. It can directly scan your iPhone’s internal storage or your iCloud account to find deleted files, even if you never created a backup beforehand. This means you can recover deleted photos from iPhone without backup easily.
  • Deep Scan Technology: Gbyte uses advanced algorithms to perform a deep scan of your iOS device or iCloud data. This allows it to find data that other tools miss, including permanently deleted photos that have been gone for months.
  • Lossless Recovery: Gbyte Recovery aims for lossless photo and video quality, ensuring that your recovered memories look just as good as they did before.
  • High Scanning Efficiency: It boasts faster scanning speeds (2 to 3 times quicker than competitors), saving you valuable time.
  • iCloud Cloud Solution (No Device Needed): A standout feature! If your iPhone is lost, broken, locked, or unresponsive, Gbyte can still help you recover photos from iCloud backups by simply logging into your Apple ID. This is perfect for situations where you don’t have the physical device in hand.
  • User-Friendly Design: The software is incredibly intuitive, making the recovery process simple for everyone, regardless of technical skill. It provides a free scanning & preview feature, allowing you to see exactly what can be recovered before you pay.
  • Data-Safe Operation: Gbyte Recovery performs read-only recovery. This means it accesses and retrieves your files without modifying, deleting, or risking your existing data on your device. Your privacy is the top priority, and all data is processed locally.
  • Comprehensive Compatibility: It supports all iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch models, from older generations to the latest iPhone 16/15/14/13 models, and all iOS versions, including iOS/iPadOS 18.
  • Recover More Than Just Photos: Beyond pictures, Gbyte can recover various data types, including:
    • WhatsApp: Chats, voice and video calls, attachments, and WhatsApp Business data.
    • Messages: iMessages and SMS, even those marked for permanent deletion.
    • Videos: Recovered with zero quality loss.
    • Other data like contacts, notes, mail, and data from apps like LINE, WeChat, and Messenger.

How to Use Gbyte Recovery to Retrieve Deleted Photos:

  1. Download and Install: Get Gbyte Recovery from the official website (https://www.gbyte.com) and install it on your computer (Windows).
  2. Launch and Select Data Type: Open Gbyte Recovery and choose “Photos” as the data type you want to recover. Then click “Scan.”

How to Retrieve Deleted iPhone Photos

  1. Log into iCloud: When prompted, securely log in with your Apple ID. Your data is not stored on external servers.

How to Retrieve Deleted iPhone Photos

  1. Deep Scan: Gbyte Recovery will begin scanning your iCloud account (or your device if connected via USB, though iCloud is often preferred for speed and convenience). This might take some time, depending on your data size.
  2. Preview and Select: Once the scan is complete, browse through the recoverable photos. You can preview them to ensure they are the ones you want. Select the specific photos you wish to retrieve.

How to Retrieve Deleted iPhone Photos

  1. Recover to PC: Click the “Recover to PC” button. Gbyte Recovery will save the selected photos to a folder on your computer.

     How to Retrieve Deleted iPhone Photos

Gbyte Recovery is especially powerful for complex scenarios like a device lost, device broken, device locked, device reset, or device crash. It provides a clear and effective answer for those wondering “Is it possible to recover permanently deleted photos from iPhone?”

Method 2: The “Recently Deleted” Album (Within 30 Days)

This is always your first stop if you’ve only recently deleted photos.

  1. Open the Photos app on your iPhone.
  2. Scroll down to Albums and tap Recently Deleted.

How to Retrieve Deleted iPhone Photos

  1. Tap Select in the top-right corner.
  2. Choose the photos you want to restore.
  3. Tap Recover to put them back in your main photo library.

How to Retrieve Deleted iPhone Photos

This method is quick, easy, and free. However, it’s limited to photos deleted within the last 30 days. If your photos are older than that, you’ll need another solution.

Method 3: Check iMessage Threads and Shared Albums

Sometimes, a copy of your deleted photo might still exist elsewhere on your Apple ecosystem.

  1. iMessage Threads: If you sent the photo to someone via iMessage, open the conversation, tap the contact’s name at the top, then scroll down to Photos and See All. You might find the image there. You can then save it to your camera roll.
  2. Shared Albums: If you ever added the photo to a Shared Album (either one you created or one you were invited to), it might still be accessible there. Go to the Photos app, tap Albums, and check the Shared Albums section.

This method is good for photos you’ve shared, but it won’t help with private photos that were never sent or put into a shared album.

Method 4: Restore Deleted Photos from iCloud Backup (Requires Full Device Reset)

If you have iCloud Backup enabled, and your photos were part of a backup before they were deleted, you can restore your entire device from that backup.

  1. Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings.

How to Retrieve Deleted iPhone Photos

  1. Once your iPhone is erased and restarted, follow the setup prompts.
  2. Choose Restore from iCloud Backup during setup.
  3. Sign in with your Apple ID and select the relevant backup containing your deleted photos.

Important Note: This method will erase all current data on your iPhone and replace it with the data from the chosen backup. Any photos, messages, or apps created after the backup date will be lost. Use this method with caution and only if you’re sure the backup contains your desired photos and you’re willing to lose newer data.

Method 5: Restore Deleted Photos from iTunes/Finder Backup (Offline Option)

Similar to iCloud backup, if you regularly back up your iPhone to your computer using iTunes (for Windows or older macOS) or Finder (for newer macOS), you can restore from a local backup.

  1. Connect your iPhone to the computer that holds your backup via USB.
  2. Open iTunes or Finder.
  3. Click your device icon.
  4. Under the Summary tab, click Restore Backup.
  5. Choose the correct backup file from the list (based on date and size).
  6. Click Restore and wait for the process to complete.

Like iCloud backup, this method also overwrites all current data on your iPhone with the contents of the backup. It’s a viable option if you have a recent local backup and don’t mind resetting your device to an earlier state.

Method 6: Google Photos or Other Cloud Services

If you use third-party cloud services like Google Photos, Dropbox, or OneDrive to automatically back up your iPhone photos, you might find your deleted images there.

For example, in Google Photos:

  1. Open the Google Photos app.
  2. Go to Library > Trash folder.
  3. Select the photos you want to restore.
  4. Choose Restore to send them back to your main gallery.

Google Photos keeps deleted items in the Trash for up to 60 days, giving you more time than Apple’s 30-day Recently Deleted folder. This is a great recover iPhone images without risk method as it doesn’t require a full device restoration.

Comparison of iPhone Photo Recovery Methods

For a clearer comparison of iOS data recovery, this table might help you see through all the methods mentioned above:

Method Backup Needed Risk of Data Loss Device Reset Required Ease of Use Best For
Gbyte Recovery ❌ No ❌ No ❌ No ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Permanently deleted photos, no backup, broken devices, lost devices, app data
Recently Deleted Album ❌ No ❌ No ❌ No ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Photos deleted within 30 days
iMessage/Shared Albums ❌ No ❌ No ❌ No ⭐⭐⭐ Shared/sent images still in threads/albums
iCloud Backup Restore ✅ Yes ✅ Yes ✅ Yes ⭐⭐ Users with regular iCloud backups (accepting full device wipe)
iTunes/Finder Backup Restore ✅ Yes ✅ Yes ✅ Yes ⭐⭐ Users who prefer local backups (accepting full device wipe)
Google Photos/Other Clouds ✅ Yes (sync) ❌ No ❌ No ⭐⭐⭐ Users with auto-sync enabled to third-party services

 

Final Thoughts: Choosing the Right Solution

Losing important photos can be unsettling, but as you can see, there are many ways to recover deleted iPhone photos in 2025. Your best approach depends on how long ago the photos were deleted, whether you have backups, and your comfort level with potentially resetting your device.

For simple, recent deletions, the Recently Deleted album is your quickest fix. For photos you’ve shared, checking iMessage or Shared Albums is a good idea. However, for the most challenging scenarios—when you need to recover deleted iPhone photos after 30 days, or you have no backup at all, or your iPhone is damaged—Gbyte Recovery truly stands out. Its ability to perform deep scans and recover a wide range of data types directly from your device or iCloud without overwriting current data makes it the most flexible and reliable choice for comprehensive iOS data recovery.

To prevent future data loss, always remember to enable regular iCloud backups or connect your iPhone to your computer for local backups. But even if you forget, tools like Gbyte Recovery offer a powerful safety net, ensuring your precious memories aren’t gone for good.