Photo Recovery Tips: What to Do When Your Photos Disappear

Photos are priceless, but what if your unforgettable photos, memories, and moments get deleted? Losing your important photos due to accidental deletion, device crash, or formatting can be a painful experience. Luckily, there are several photo recovery tools and methods available online that you can try to bring back those missing photos. In this guide, we will discuss multiple photo recovery methods to learn what to do when your photos disappear from your Windows/Mac device. So let’s get started.

Why are photos missing from your device?

Photos can disappear on any device for a variety of reasons, from accidental deletion to software or hardware errors. Understanding these causes can help you prevent photo loss scenarios and choose the right photo recovery method to easily restore them. Here are some common reasons why photos get deleted on any device:

Accidental deletion: One of the most common reasons for missing photos is accidental deletion. You may have accidentally deleted photos while trying to free up space or deleting unwanted files.
Software updates: Updates to the operating system or some applications can sometimes corrupt or delete data, resulting in the loss of photos.
Virus and malware attacks: Malware can corrupt or delete files, including photos, causing sudden data loss.
Formatting: Accidentally or intentionally formatting a storage device, including a hard drive, SD card, or USB drive, may delete all photos stored on it.
Application errors: Bugs or glitches in your photo manager or gallery app can also cause files, including photos, to be deleted from your device.

Quick Methods to Recover Missing Photos

Here are some popular photo recovery methods that you can try to restore lost or missing photos on your device:

Method 01: Check the Trash

Every deleted photo on your Windows or Mac device goes to the Trash or Recycle Bin folder respectively. Before using any photo recovery software or applying manual methods to restore missing photos, it is important to check the Trash folder. All you need to do is:

Windows Recycle Bin:

First, double-click the Recycle Bin icon on your Windows device.
Browse through your deleted photos and select the specific photo or photos you want to restore.
Right-click on the photo you want to recover and select “Restore“to save the selected photos to their original location.

Mac Basket:

Click the Trash icon in the Dock.
Browse or search for the deleted photos you want to recover.
Right click on the photo(s) and select “Put back” option. This will save the selected photos to their original location.

Method 02: Use File History or Time Machine Backup

If a deleted photo isn’t in the Recycle Bin or Trash folder, it may have been permanently deleted from your device. In such cases, you can use previously created backups to recover the missing photos. You can use the built-in File History or Time Machine backups to restore the missing photos. To do this:

Windows File History:

Go to Control Panel and select “File History”.
Now click Restore personal files from the left navigation panel and go to the backup folder to find saved versions of your photos.
Select the version you want to recover and click the green button “Restore” to save the selected photos to the desired location.

Mac time machine:

Start the process by connecting the external drive containing your Time Machine backups to your Mac.
Click on Time machine icon from the menu bar and select “Enter the time machine”.
Browse through your backups to find the missing photos. Select them and click Restore to save selected photos to your Mac.

Method 03: Use Cloud Backups to Find Missing Photos

Another backup alternative you can try to find missing photos on any device is cloud backup. Here is how you can use Google Photos, iCloud Photos, etc. to recover missing photos:

Google Photos:

Visit the Google Photos website in any web browser or open the app on your device.
Use the search option to find missing photos.
Select the photos you want to recover and click Charge

iCloud Photos:

Go to icloud.com and log in with your Apple ID.
Click “Photos” option to browse your iCloud Photo Library.
Select the photos you want to restore and click the download icon.

Method 04: Use Third-Party Photo Recovery Software

There may be times when the above-mentioned photo recovery methods may not work or help you restore your missing photos. In such cases, you can use professional photo recovery software to recover your missing photos. There are several third-party tools available online, but we recommend using Stellar Photo Recovery. This comprehensive photo recovery software can recover photos deleted due to any reason, including accidental deletion, formatting, virus or malware attacks, etc.

Here’s how to recover missing photos on any device using Stellar Photo Recovery software:

Step 1: First, download and install Stellar Photo Recovery tool on your Windows/Mac device. Launch the software and on the home page, select the storage location where the deleted photo was previously stored and click Scan.

Step 2: Wait until the scanning process is complete. Then, browse the recoverable photos and select the ones you want to restore.

Step 3: Click Recover button to save the selected photos to the selected location.

Tips to prevent accidental deletion of photos

Now that you know the methods to recover lost photos on your device, it is important to avoid such cases of accidental photo deletion. Consider the following tips to prevent data loss:

Regular backups: Use cloud storage (Google Photos, iCloud, Dropbox) and physical backups (external hard drives, USB drives) to ensure your photos are stored in multiple locations.
Avoid accidental deletion: Be careful when deleting files and always double-check before emptying your Recycle Bin.
Update software: Make sure all your device’s software and operating system are up to date to take advantage of the latest features and improved security.

Summary

Problems like missing important photos from your device can be annoying and cause you trouble, but with the right photo recovery software and manual methods, you can often get your precious memories back. From checking the Recycle Bin to using third-party photo recovery software, there are many methods to recover deleted photos. Additionally, implementing preventative measures like regular backups and treating your devices with care can help protect your photos from being lost in the future.