What Recently Deleted is
When you delete a photo or video on iPhone, it doesn’t disappear. It moves to the Recently Deleted album, where it stays for 30 days before iOS deletes it permanently. It’s a safety net: deleting the wrong photo happens, and a month is enough time to notice.
This applies however you delete, in the Photos app or in another app with access to your library, such as deja. The confirmation and the 30 days are iOS’s own; the app doesn’t control them.
There’s one exception: if you use iCloud Photos and you’re over your iCloud storage limit, iOS removes deleted photos right away, and they don’t go to Recently Deleted.
Where to find it
- Open Photos and tap Collections.
- Scroll down and tap Recently Deleted under Utilities.
- Tap View Album and unlock it with Face ID or Touch ID. Since iOS 16, the album is locked by default. You can change that in Settings › Apps › Photos by turning off Use Face ID, which unlocks the Hidden album too.
Getting a photo back
- Open Recently Deleted.
- Tap the photo, then tap Recover. For several photos, tap Select, choose them, tap the More button, then tap Recover (or Recover All).
- Confirm.
The photos go back to your library.
Recovering from another device
If you use iCloud Photos, a deletion syncs to all your devices, and you can recover from them too: in the Photos app on a Mac (macOS Ventura or later, Recently Deleted in the sidebar), or on iCloud.com, signed in with your Apple Account. Handy when your iPhone isn’t at hand.
Deleting for good, before the 30 days
If you’re sure and don’t want to wait — for example, you need the storage now — you can empty the album early:
- Open Recently Deleted.
- Tap Select and choose photos.
- Tap the More button, then tap Delete, or Delete All to empty the whole album.
- Confirm (with iCloud Photos, the button reads Delete from All Devices).
This step is final: there’s no second Recently Deleted, and with iCloud Photos the deletion reaches all your devices.
Why this matters if storage is why you’re here
A photo in Recently Deleted still takes up space on your iPhone. That’s the most common reason the storage number doesn’t move after a big delete: the photos are out of sight, but not yet off the device. If that’s you, see iPhone storage still full after deleting photos for the full checklist. (It’s different for iCloud: Apple doesn’t count Recently Deleted against your iCloud storage.)
It also helps when you’re deciding what to delete in the first place. With 30 days to change your mind, there’s less reason to agonize over every photo before marking it. That’s part of why deja lets you mark photos while you relive a day and asks for one confirmation only at the end: the real safety net is Recently Deleted.
The rule is the same whether you delete one photo in the Photos app or a whole day’s worth of marks in deja: no shorter countdown for a batch, and no way for deja to skip Recently Deleted.
After 30 days
Once a photo has left Recently Deleted, either after 30 days or because you emptied the album, it can’t be recovered from there, and with iCloud Photos it’s gone from all your devices. The only way back is a copy you kept somewhere else beforehand, for example on a computer or sent in a message.
In short
- 30 days in Recently Deleted, however the photo was deleted (unless you’re over your iCloud storage limit).
- Recover: Recently Deleted › tap the photo › Recover.
- Delete for good early: Recently Deleted › Select › More › Delete or Delete All › confirm.
- Deleting with deja changes none of this: same album, same 30 days, same recovery.
