A Guide to Recovering Deleting Data on iOS and Android Devices. It’s frustrating to find out that you’ve accidentally deleted a crucial document or photo from your phone. It is easy to make a mistake—such as selecting the wrong file or pressing the wrong button—and you might not always realize it immediately.
The good news is that security features are now standard in mobile operating systems like Android and iOS, and the apps are built on top of them. The program you use to remove it will determine whether or not you can recover the data; whether or not you can is a matter of knowing where to search.
If none of the solutions we’ve listed below work, you’ll need to look farther afield, maybe even at the backups you made on your phone (which you should have done if your phone is stolen or lost).
Google Photos (Android and iOS)
If you use Google Photos to organize your mobile media, go to the Library section and hit the Trash icon. You can restore deleted files by tapping on them or pressing and holding on many files simultaneously and tapping on Restore. Before permanently removing them, Google Photos will save previously erased media in the Trash for 60 days.
Apple Photos (iOS)
Navigate to Albums and then Recently Deleted in the iPhone’s default photos and videos app to access the deleted files. Here, you can see how many days are left on each item, so even after you delete them, they’re still accessible. Choose to restore a single image or video by tapping on it and then selecting “Recover,” or choose numerous items using the “Select” button.
Samsung Gallery (Android)
To access and restore files in the Samsung Gallery app, which is available on Galaxy phones, open the app, hit the three horizontal lines (bottom right), and then choose Recycle Bin. Depending on your phone’s integration settings, you may also see media files removed by third-party apps here.
Files by Google (Android)
To access the trash can in Android’s built-in file manager, go to the top left and hit the three horizontal lines. All files sent here will be stored for 30 days before being permanently removed; they will be sorted according to the deletion date. Choose the files you want to restore, then hit the “Restore” button.
My Files (Android)
Instead of using Files by Google, Samsung Galaxy phone users may be managing their locally stored data with My Files. When you launch the app, you’ll see a Recycle bin icon on the home screen. You can use this to access and restore files—just like in the Gallery app—but it’s possible that other apps’ deleted files will also be visible here, depending on the file type and your synchronization preferences.
Files (iOS)
You may be able to recover data from your iPhone in the iOS Files app for 30 days following its deletion. To access and restore files, open the Browse tab and touch on Recently Deleted. You may see some overlap with the other choices listed here because the Files app may also handle your different cloud storage accounts (like iCloud).
Google Drive (Android and iOS)
You have 30 days after erasing a file from Google Drive or any synced folder to restore it: Select Trash from the menu that appears when you’re inside the app on your mobile device. Like any other Google Drive folder, you may navigate among the files here. To restore a specific file, just hit the three dots on the right of its name.
iCloud Drive (iOS)
When you use iCloud Drive alongside the Files app on iOS, you increase the security of your data by preventing accidental deletion. As mentioned, you may access your deleted files using the Files app’s Browse tab. Alternatively, you can access them through iCloud Drive on the web—click on Recently Deleted in the side panel on the left.
Other Apps (Android and iOS)
There needs to be an undelete function if you’re storing data on the cloud in addition to your phone. For instance, Dropbox retains erased files for 30 days (or more on premium subscriptions). Still, you can only access them using the desktop browser interface. To see a list of files that have been deleted, you can restore them by clicking on “Deleted files” in the left-hand pane.
The recycle bin is Microsoft OneDrive’s built-in safety net that you can use as well. To view files recently deleted from your OneDrive account, go to the Recycle bin in the menu on the mobile app. Press the three dots (on the right side) and then choose “Restore” to return any of them to their initial positions. a
