About the Recovered album in Photos

Your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Vision Pro can identify previously lost or damaged photos and videos that are on your device. You can choose to permanently delete or restore them to your Photos library.

In iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia 15.1, and visionOS 2.4, there is a Recovered album in the Utilities section of Photos. This album displays images and videos that are on your device but not currently part of your library. Photos or videos can become lost due to several reasons, including a database corruption issue, photos taken in a camera app that did not save correctly to the Photos library, or third-party apps that are given access to manage your photo library.

When you update to iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia 15.1, or visionOS 2.4, your device automatically scans for photos and videos that can be recovered. From the Recovered album, you can select a photo or video and choose to either permanently delete it or restore it to your library.

Delete or restore photos and videos from the Recovered album

1. In Photos, tap Collections, then scroll down and tap or click Recovered under Utilities.

2. Use Face ID, Touch ID, or Optic ID to unlock your Recovered album.

3. Tap or click a photo or video, or tap or click Select to select multiple items. On your Mac, hold the Command key to select multiple items.

4. Tap Permanently Delete or Restore to Library. On your Mac, Control-click a photo or video, then click Permanently Delete or Restore to Library.

When you delete a photo or video from the Recovered album, it does not appear in your Recently Deleted album. It is deleted immediately and the action cannot be undone.

If you use iCloud Photos, photos that you restore from the Recovered album will sync to other devices that are signed into your iCloud account and have iCloud Photos turned on.