Deleted my iphone travel photos thinking Google backed them up

So I did something really stupid and now I’m panicking. I thought my photos were all safely backed up to Google Photos, so I deleted them off my iPhone to free up space, even cleared the “recently deleted” folder. Turns out… Google didn’t back up everything, and now I’ve lost a bunch of pictures and videos from my recent trip abroad.

Is there ANY way to get them back? Or maybe some expert shop that can try recovery? I don’t mind paying if that’s what it takes. Feeling sick right now.

iPhone recovery

All Replies

Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)

Betty

Participant

September 12, 2025 at 10:14 am

Good shout, I’ll check my other Gmail. If that doesn’t work, I’ll try the recovery tool

Mira Lennox Lennox

Participant

September 12, 2025 at 9:36 am

Also, if the photos were on your Google Photos but maybe didn’t show up, double check the archive, trash, or even logged in with the wrong account. Happened to me once — I had two Gmail accounts and all my pics were chilling in the other one.

Silas Vane

Participant

September 12, 2025 at 9:13 am

Nope, don’t need to jailbreak. Just hook the phone up to a computer, run the software, and see if it detects recoverable files. They usually let you preview before you pay. If your trip pics are still lingering in storage, you’ll see them.

Betty

Participant

September 12, 2025 at 9:06 am

I didn’t have icloud on..I relied only on Google Photos. If I try one of those recovery tools, do I need to jailbreak or root the phone?

Ezra Flint

Participant

September 12, 2025 at 8:47 am

Yep, your best bet is third-party recovery software. Some tools can scan iPhones directly and pull deleted pics or videos even after you’ve cleared Recently Deleted. Not always 100%, but I’ve seen people get lucky.

Mira Lennox Lennox

Participant

September 12, 2025 at 8:36 am

I had a similar scare a year ago. Google Photos only backs up when the app is open + on Wi-Fi + enough storage in your account. If any of those weren’t happening, it won’t actually upload. 😩
As for recovery — don’t keep adding new stuff on your iPhone. The deleted data sometimes lingers until it’s overwritten.

Jace Elric

Participant

September 12, 2025 at 7:21 am

If you wiped them from Recently Deleted, it’s trickier. Apple doesn’t really give you options beyond iCloud (if that was on). Check if you maybe had iCloud Photos syncing by default? Sometimes people forget it’s enabled.

Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)