
iCloud automatically syncs photos taken on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch over Wi-Fi or cellular data to keep them updated across all devices logged into the same iCloud account. The iCloud Photo Library stores the photos in the cloud rather than local storage. While this makes them accessible everywhere, it also means they won't be present if you lose access to your iCloud account.
Fortunately, there are a few methods to recover deleted or lost iCloud photos depending on the situation.
Before trying to recover any photos, check if iCloud Photo Library is enabled in your account. On iOS devices go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud and make sure Photos is toggled on. On Mac, open System Preferences > Apple ID > iCloud and check Photos. If Photos isn’t enabled, your photos likely weren’t synced to iCloud in the first place but stored locally on your devices.
If Photos is enabled, verify that you have sufficient available storage in your iCloud account plan to maintain backups of your photo library. Upgrading a low storage tier can allow currently inaccessible photos to be restored from the cloud.
The easiest way to check if photos are actually synced with your iCloud account is to log in to iCloud.com and click Photos. Browse through all your Photo Library pictures here, with the option to share, print, or save them to your computer. If certain photos you expect to see aren’t available in iCloud, they may be stored locally on a device and need to be recovered separately.
If you have accidentally deleted photos from your iPhone/iPad camera roll or iCloud storage in the last 30 days, you may be able to restore them through the Recently Deleted folder:
After 30 days, deleted items will be permanently removed from the Recently Deleted folder and can no longer be recovered through this method.
If photos have been accidentally deleted or lost due to iOS device issues and are no longer showing in the iCloud account at all, you can restore them from an iCloud backup containing the missing data. There are a couple methods depending on whether you're trying to restore onto an iOS device or saving them to your computer:
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Note that this will also revert device to the date of the chosen iCloud backup. Ensure the backup is relatively recent to avoid losing other newer photos/data that you may want to keep on the device.
If the above approaches fail to recover any deleted photos from iCloud storage, specialized iOS data recovery software offers another way to restore, extract, and download all cloud-synced photos along with app data, notes, call history etc. Some top options include:
The advanced scanning tech these tools leverage often enables recovering photos that may be partially corrupted or inaccessible through regular account restore methods. However they do typically come at a price unlike options for managed Apple account holders detailed earlier.
To avoid needing to recover deleted iCloud photos again, implement additional safety practices:
Alternatively if you don't want automatic syncing to the cloud and prefer having photos remain only in local storage:
On iCloud.com you can also disable Photos under iCloud settings but choose Keep Files to continue storing documents. This allows limiting photo sync while retaining other important backups.
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Deleted photos stay in the Recently Deleted folder for 30 days before being permanently removed if not restored.
If you run out of your allocated iCloud storage capacity, new photos won't sync across devices or upload to iCloud until space is available again after deleting content or upgrading to a higher storage plan.
Without backups enabled, photos only saved locally on a device's camera roll or storage can't be recovered through iCloud. You'd then need data recovery software or iPhone repair facility for extracting data off the physical device itself.
Apple only retains a limited number of your most recent iCloud backups rather than keeping every single backup indefinitely. Access to backups more than 1 year old is often unavailable.
Yes, the content deleted from both Photos and Recently Deleted continues occupying iCloud storage quota until the 30 day window ends when they are permanently removed.
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