Best Deleted Photos and Videos Recovery Apps: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide

Accidentally deleting an important photo or video can be upsetting, especially when it contains family memories, wedding moments, business content, or footage that would be difficult to recreate. Your first reaction might be to download a recovery app immediately. However, the best recovery method depends on where your files were stored and what happened after they disappeared.

Some deleted photos can be restored directly from a gallery’s trash folder. Others may still exist in a cloud account, an old computer backup, or a camera memory card. In more difficult cases, recovery software can search accessible storage for remaining file data.

This guide explains the best deleted photos and videos recovery apps and tools, what each option can realistically do, and how to use the right recovery method step by step.

The most important point: No recovery app can guarantee that every deleted photo or video will return. Start with your existing bins and backups before attempting storage scans.

Quick Answer: Which Photo and Video Recovery App Should You Use?

For most people, the best starting point is the app that originally stored or backed up the missing files.

• Google Photos: Start here if your pictures or videos were stored in your Google account.
• Apple Photos: Check Recently Deleted first on an iPhone or iPad.
• Samsung Gallery: Check Trash or Recycle bin on a Samsung Galaxy device.
• DiskDigger: Consider it for Android recovery attempts after checking existing copies.
• PhotoRec: Consider it for accessible SD cards, USB drives, and other computer-readable storage.
• Recuva: Consider it for deleted files on supported storage connected to a Windows computer.

These options serve different purposes. A cloud photo app restores an existing retained copy, while a storage recovery tool attempts to reconstruct files from data that remains accessible.

Best Deleted Photo and Video Recovery Options at a Glance

App or tool	Where you use it	Best starting situation	Main limitation
Google Photos	Android, iPhone, web	Missing media may remain in your account or Trash	Cannot restore items permanently deleted from its service
Apple Photos	iPhone, iPad, Mac	Media is still in Recently Deleted	Recovery depends on the item remaining available
Samsung Gallery	Samsung Galaxy devices	Files were recently deleted through Gallery	Trash retention is limited
DiskDigger	Android	Looking for accessible remaining images or other recoverable data	Results depend on access, device conditions, and scan mode
PhotoRec	Computer	Deleted files on an accessible memory card or drive	Original filenames and folder structure may be lost
Recuva	Windows	Deleted media on supported computer-readable storage	Cannot recover data that is no longer available to the tool

How these options were selected: This guide compares documented functions and suitable use cases. It does not claim that all tools were independently tested on identical devices or achieved a particular recovery success rate.

What to Do Immediately After Deleting Photos or Videos

Before choosing an app, take a few simple steps to protect your recovery options.

Step 1: Reduce Use of the Affected Storage

Avoid recording more videos, taking photographs, downloading large files, or copying new content onto the affected card or drive.

New writes can reduce the amount of old file data that remains available for recovery.

For an SD card, stop using it in your camera or phone. For important files on a phone, check your cloud account from another device when possible.

Step 2: Keep Existing Trash Folders Intact

Do not empty your gallery’s trash, Google Photos Trash, or Apple’s Recently Deleted collection while searching for missing media.

These folders may contain the easiest available route to restoration.

Step 3: Avoid Resetting or Formatting

A factory reset is not a photo recovery method. Formatting a memory card also does not restore missing pictures.

If a computer asks you to format a card before using it, cancel that prompt while you assess recovery options.

Step 4: Search for Other Copies

Before scanning anything, check:

• Your cloud photo library.
• Another signed-in account.
• Old phones and tablets.
• Computer folders and external backups.
• Messages containing shared copies.
• Email attachments.
• Export folders from photo or video editors.

A surviving original or backup is usually more useful than a partially recovered file.

1. Google Photos: A Practical First Choice for Cloud and Trash Recovery

Google Photos is worth checking before installing a separate deleted photo recovery app. A picture missing from your phone’s gallery may still be visible in your Google account, or it may remain in Trash.

Google’s current recovery guidance states that photos and videos in Trash are permanently deleted after 30 days. It also states that permanently deleted items cannot be restored through Google Photos. Check the remaining time shown for your own items and act promptly.

How to Restore Deleted Photos and Videos Using Google Photos

1. Open Google Photos.
2. Confirm that you are using the correct Google account.
3. Open Collections.
4. Select Trash or Bin, depending on your interface.
5. Select the missing photos or videos.
6. Tap Restore.
7. Return to your library and check the restored items.

Menu names can vary between app versions and platforms.

What If the Files Are Not in Trash?

Search the main library before assuming the files are gone. Try a date, location, person, or subject associated with the missing content.

Also check whether you used another Google account when the photographs were taken.

Main Limitation

Google Photos is not a raw storage scanner. If a file was never uploaded and no retained copy exists in the service, Google Photos cannot reconstruct it from your phone’s internal memory.

2. Apple Photos: The First Recovery Option for iPhone Users

For an iPhone or iPad, start with the built-in Photos app. Apple provides a Recently Deleted collection where accidentally deleted photos and videos can be recovered within 30 days.

How to Recover Deleted Photos on iPhone

1. Open Photos.
2. Find Recently Deleted in the app’s collections or utilities.
3. Authenticate if your device requests it.
4. Select the pictures or videos you need.
5. Choose Recover.
6. Confirm the action.
7. Check your photo library.

What to Check Next

If Recently Deleted is empty, look for copies on an old computer, an external drive, or a separate cloud photo account.

Review any available backup carefully before restoring an entire device. A full restore can affect current content, so it should not be your first experiment.

Main Limitation

An iPhone recovery app’s ability to display accessible photos does not prove it can retrieve permanently deleted originals. Read its explanation of the recovery source: retained files, device backups, cloud copies, or another supported source.

3. Samsung Gallery: A Built-In Recovery Option for Galaxy Phones

Samsung Galaxy users should check Gallery before downloading a third-party tool.

Samsung documents a Trash or Recycle bin feature that retains deleted Gallery photos and videos for 30 days. Availability and menu placement can differ by device and software version.

How to Recover Deleted Photos in Samsung Gallery

1. Open Gallery.
2. Open the app’s menu.
3. Choose Trash or Recycle bin.
4. Select the missing media.
5. Tap Restore.
6. Check the original album or Gallery view.

Why This Should Be an Early Step

A file restored from Gallery’s bin avoids the uncertainty of reconstructing deleted data. It also avoids installing another app and granting it access to your photo library.

Main Limitation

Gallery’s bin only helps when it still contains the files. If the items were permanently removed, move on to existing backups or a recovery method appropriate to the original storage location.

4. DiskDigger: An Android Recovery App With Important Access Limits

DiskDigger is an Android recovery tool worth considering when simpler restoration options have failed.

Its developer explains that it can operate without root access, although deeper access can affect what it finds. A non-root scan may locate thumbnails or cached images rather than full-resolution originals. Even on a rooted device, recovery is not guaranteed.

How to Try DiskDigger for Photo Recovery

1. Check your gallery bins and backups first.
2. Obtain DiskDigger through its official distribution links.
3. Open the app and review its permission requests.
4. Choose the available photo scan.
5. Let it search accessible locations.
6. Inspect the results before selecting files.
7. Export useful results to a separate destination when possible.

Installing an app writes data to your phone. If the missing content is irreplaceable and no copy exists, consider whether an on-device installation is the right next step.

Check Recovered Image Quality

A recovered image may look acceptable as a small preview while being too small for printing or editing.

After saving it, check:

• Pixel dimensions.
• File size.
• Sharpness when enlarged.
• Whether it is the complete image.
• Whether a higher-quality duplicate exists.

Can DiskDigger Recover Deleted Videos Without Root?

The developer documents an experimental basic video search for non-rooted devices, accessible through advanced or experimental features in supported versions. This should be treated as an additional recovery attempt, with results dependent on the device and available data.

Should You Root Your Phone for Recovery?

Do not root a phone casually for this purpose. Some procedures can wipe storage, and a wipe defeats the aim of preserving deleted data. Root access also does not guarantee recovery.

5. PhotoRec: A Free Recovery Tool for SD Cards and Drives

PhotoRec is a free, open-source recovery tool that can search accessible storage for lost files, including photos and videos.

It is particularly relevant when your media was stored on a removable camera card or a drive that your computer can read. The project documents read-only access to the source during recovery, which helps avoid modifying the storage being scanned.

How to Recover Deleted Media With PhotoRec

1. Stop using the affected card or drive.
2. Connect it to a computer using an appropriate reader or connection.
3. Download PhotoRec from the official CGSecurity website.
4. Identify the correct source device.
5. Follow the tool’s prompts for the partition and file-system category.
6. Choose the relevant file types if you want to narrow the search.
7. Select a destination on a different drive.
8. Run the recovery.
9. Inspect the saved results.

If you are uncertain which device is selected, stop and verify its name and capacity before continuing.

Main Advantages

PhotoRec is useful when you need an available recovery tool without purchasing a licence. It can also search for file content when the original file-system information is damaged or unavailable.

Main Limitations

PhotoRec generally does not preserve original filenames or folder organisation. Expect to sort the recovered files manually. Fragmented or incomplete files may also be unusable.

A successful scan therefore means that files were found, not that every result is complete or correctly identified.

6. Recuva: A Windows Option for Deleted Photos and Videos

Recuva is another option for recovering deleted files from supported storage accessible to a Windows computer. Its official description includes computer storage and digital camera cards, and a free version is available.

How to Try Recuva

1. Stop using the affected storage.
2. Install Recuva on a different drive from the one containing the lost files where practical.
3. Connect the memory card or external storage.
4. Open Recuva.
5. Choose the relevant media category and location.
6. Run the scan.
7. Inspect available results.
8. Save selected files to another drive.
9. Open the recovered photos and play the videos to verify them.

Follow the instructions for your installed version if its interface differs.

When Recuva Makes Sense

It is a practical option when you have a Windows computer and the missing media was on a supported, accessible drive or memory card.

Main Limitation

Connecting a phone by USB does not necessarily expose its internal storage as a raw drive that desktop recovery software can scan. Check device compatibility before assuming a Windows tool can recover deleted phone files.

How to Choose the Best Deleted Photo Recovery App

Choosing a tool becomes easier once you answer four questions.

1. Where Was the Original File Stored?

A camera SD card and a phone’s internal memory require different recovery approaches.

If the original was on a removable card, a computer-based tool may be appropriate. If it was backed up online, check that service first.

2. Was It Deleted or Simply Moved?

Missing media may be archived, hidden, stored in another account, or exported to a different folder.

Search before attempting recovery.

3. Is a Complete Copy Still Available?

A cloud copy, computer backup, or shared original can save substantial time.

Prefer a complete existing file over a reconstructed version when both are available.

4. What Does the Tool Actually Recover?

Read the product’s description carefully. It may recover:

• Files retained in its own recycle bin.
• Copies from a backup.
• Cached images or thumbnails.
• Remaining file data from supported storage.

Those are different capabilities, even when the product uses the same word: “recovery.”

Step-by-Step Recovery Plan for Android

Step 1: Check Your Phone’s Gallery Bin

Open your default gallery and look for Trash, Recently Deleted, or Recycle bin.

Step 2: Check Google Photos

Search the correct account, inspect Trash, and look through your main library.

Step 3: Check Other Folders and Devices

Look in Downloads, messaging media folders, editing apps, old phones, and computer backups.

Step 4: Identify Internal Storage or SD Card

If the media was on a removable SD card, stop using the card and assess it through a computer.

If it was on internal storage, recognise that an ordinary app may have limited access.

Step 5: Make One Informed Recovery Attempt

Choose a tool that explains its supported recovery method. Avoid installing a succession of similar apps simply because each promises a deeper scan.

Step 6: Verify and Back Up the Results

Save useful files, check their quality, and create a separate backup.

Step-by-Step Recovery Plan for iPhone

Step 1: Open Recently Deleted

Recover any available items immediately.

Step 2: Search Your Photo Accounts

Check the Apple account and any separate photo services you used.

Step 3: Check Exported and Shared Copies

Look on computers, external drives, messages, and editing apps.

Step 4: Inspect Backup Options Carefully

Confirm whether the relevant photos or videos could be present before attempting a full-device restore.

Step 5: Review Third-Party Claims

Check what the software accesses and whether it supports your device, operating system, and backup type.

A preview of current photos is not evidence of successful deleted-file recovery.

How to Recover Deleted Videos From an SD Card

For camera and removable-card footage, preserving the card is an important first step.

1. Remove the card from active use.
2. Connect it through a suitable card reader.
3. Cancel any format prompt.
4. Select a recovery tool that supports the storage.
5. Scan the correct card.
6. Recover files to a different drive.
7. Play every important video.
8. Check the beginning, middle, and end.
9. Keep the original card untouched until you have verified the results.

Do not judge a recovered video by its filename or thumbnail alone. A file may appear in a recovery list but contain incomplete footage.

Why Recovered Photos Can Be Blurry

Sometimes a recovery app finds a small cached preview rather than the original photograph.

This can produce a recognisable image with limited detail. Enlarging it may reveal heavy pixelation or blur.

A useful check is to compare its dimensions with photographs taken by the same camera. An unusually small image may be a thumbnail.

Keep it if it is valuable, but continue searching for a complete original in backups or other devices.

Why Recovered Videos May Not Play

Video recovery can fail even when a file has been saved.

Possible reasons include:

• Part of the file is missing.
• Its data was fragmented.
• Some data was overwritten.
• The file structure is incomplete.
• The recovered item is only a partial copy.
• The player does not support the format.

Try another reputable player to rule out a playback issue. If the data itself is incomplete, changing the file extension will not restore the missing footage.

Recovery and repair also serve different purposes: recovery retrieves available data, while repair attempts to make a damaged file usable.

Can You Recover Photos Deleted Years Ago?

Sometimes an old photograph can still be found, but its age alone does not tell you whether recovery is possible.

An image deleted from a heavily used phone years ago is a very different case from a photograph on an old memory card that has remained unused.

For older media, prioritise:

• Old cloud accounts.
• Previous phones.
• Memory cards.
• External drives.
• Computer photo libraries.
• Email attachments.
• Copies shared with family or friends.

Treat promises to recover every photograph deleted 5 or 10 years ago with caution. The app must have an accessible source containing the photo or usable remaining data.

Free vs Paid Photo Recovery Apps

A free option may be enough when your media remains in a bin or when an available desktop tool supports the affected storage.

Paid software may offer a different interface, support service, or specialised workflow. However, payment cannot guarantee that missing file data still exists.

Before purchasing, check:

Question	Why it matters
Does it support my exact storage type?	Phone compatibility and drive compatibility are different
Can I inspect meaningful previews?	A file listing alone does not establish quality
Is recovery included in the free version?	Some tools allow scanning but charge for export
What are the licence terms?	Subscription and renewal conditions vary
Where are recovered files stored?	You need a suitable separate destination
Does it explain its limitations?	Clear limits help set realistic expectations

Check current terms on the official website rather than relying on an old price comparison.

Privacy and Safety Tips When Using Recovery Apps

Recovery tools may access private photographs, documents, and videos. Choose them carefully.

Use Official Download Sources

Avoid modified installers and websites that imitate a known product’s download page.

Review Permissions

Check whether the requested access fits the recovery method being offered.

Understand Any Upload Requirement

Before sending private media to a service, review what is uploaded, how it is stored, and how deletion works.

Protect Your Account Credentials

Use the provider’s official sign-in process. Avoid entering cloud account passwords into unfamiliar forms.

Review Results Before Sharing

A scan may surface private images you had forgotten about. Check selected files before exporting them to a shared account or folder.

Common Recovery Mistakes to Avoid

Installing Multiple Apps Immediately

Repeated installations add activity to the affected device without necessarily providing better access.

Saving Results to the Same Storage

Recovered files can occupy space that may still contain other recoverable data. Use a different destination.

Assuming Every Scan Result Was Deleted

Some apps display current files, duplicates, or cached previews alongside potentially recovered content.

Paying Based on a File Count

A list containing thousands of items says little about whether your missing originals are present and usable.

Confusing Sync With an Independent Backup

A synchronised photo library can reflect changes across devices. Maintain a separate copy of irreplaceable media.

Continuing to Use a Faulty Card

If a card disconnects repeatedly or becomes unreadable, repeated scans may not be the best next step. Consider professional assessment for valuable data.

How to Prevent Future Photo and Video Loss

A recovery plan is helpful, but a backup routine is more dependable.

Enable Automatic Photo Backup

Choose a trusted service and confirm that uploads actually complete.

Maintain a Separate Copy

Periodically export important media to a computer or external drive.

Check Backup Quality

Open sample photos and videos. Confirm that you have the versions and quality you intended to preserve.

Protect Important Projects Early

Back up weddings, client shoots, family events, and business footage before clearing the original device or card.

Review Before Emptying Trash

Take a moment to inspect recently deleted items before removing them permanently.

Keep Account Recovery Information Current

An online copy is useful only if you can still access the account.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best app to recover deleted photos and videos?

The best option depends on the source. Start with Google Photos, Apple Photos, or your gallery’s bin. Consider DiskDigger for an Android recovery attempt and PhotoRec or Recuva for suitable accessible storage.

Can I recover deleted photos without paying?

Yes, when a retained copy exists in a built-in bin or backup. Free recovery software may also help with supported storage, but success is not guaranteed.

Can permanently deleted photos be recovered?

Sometimes remaining data or another copy can be found. If the original data is unavailable and no backup exists, a recovery app cannot guarantee restoration.

Can I recover deleted videos without a computer?

Possibly. Check your phone’s gallery bin and cloud services first. On-device scanning options have additional access and recovery limits.

Does DiskDigger recover full-quality photographs?

It may find useful images, but results can include small previews or cached copies. Inspect the saved file’s dimensions and quality.

Is root access necessary for Android recovery?

Built-in bins and cloud restoration do not require root. Some deeper scanning methods depend on elevated access, but rooting does not guarantee recovery and can involve destructive procedures.

How long does photo recovery take?

It depends on storage capacity, connection speed, scan method, and device condition. Checking a bin is usually much quicker than scanning a large card.

Why does a recovery app show photos I already have?

The app may be finding accessible current images or cached copies. That does not establish that it recovered deleted originals.

Can I recover deleted photos after a factory reset?

Check backups first. Recovery from a modern phone’s reset internal storage is highly restricted, and an ordinary app should not be expected to reverse a reset.

Can a recovery app restore overwritten files?

It cannot reconstruct an overwritten original merely by scanning the same storage. A separate copy may still exist elsewhere.

Can I recover deleted WhatsApp photos or videos?

Check the conversation, media folders, gallery bins, and relevant backups. If another participant still has the file, asking them to resend it may be the simplest option.

Can TikTok recover old deleted photos?

TikTok is not a general-purpose phone recovery tool. A video or advertisement promoting a recovery app does not establish that the app can retrieve your missing files.

Is it safe to use photo recovery apps?

Safety depends on the specific app, permissions, download source, and handling of your data. Review those details before giving a tool access to private media.

What should I do after recovering my files?

Verify that the photos open at useful quality and that videos play completely. Then save at least one additional copy separately.

Conclusion

The best deleted photos and videos recovery app is the one suited to where your files were stored and what remains available.

Start with Google Photos Trash, Apple Photos Recently Deleted, or Samsung Gallery’s bin. Search existing backups and shared copies next. If necessary, consider DiskDigger for Android or PhotoRec and Recuva for supported computer-readable storage.

Act promptly, limit unnecessary writes, save recovered files elsewhere, and verify every important result. Once your media is safe, establish a backup routine so that an accidental deletion does not become a permanent loss.