I deleted files on my Mac & emptied Trash, is recovery still possible

I deleted an important folder from my Mac and also emptied the Trash, so now I can’t find it anywhere. I’ve used the Mac a bit after that (browsing, some downloads), so I’m worried I might’ve overwritten the data. I don’t have a Time Machine backup either. Is there still a realistic chance to recover the files at this point? What’s the safest way to approach this without making things worse?

Tagged: Macbook

Mac

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Viewing 9 replies - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)

Iamshivam

Participant

April 28, 2026 at 3:46 am

Tools like Stellar Data Recovery or Photorec work well on APFS drives. They scan the raw disk and try to rebuild deleted files.

Ezra Flint

Participant

April 28, 2026 at 3:44 am

Any specific tool?

Ron

Participant

April 28, 2026 at 3:41 am

Happens more than you think. Next step: stop using that drive immediately. If possible, don’t install anything on it. Use another Mac or external drive to run recovery software.

Ezra Flint

Participant

April 28, 2026 at 3:37 am

No backup… I don’t know what I was thinking….

Iamshivam

Participant

April 27, 2026 at 9:20 am

Depends on how much new data got written. First, check the Time Machine backup if you have it on. That’s the cleanest restore..

Ezra Flint

Participant

April 27, 2026 at 9:18 am

So is it recoverable or not?

Jace Elric

Participant

April 27, 2026 at 9:15 am

That’s the risky part. On macOS, once Trash is emptied, the data isn’t instantly gone, it’s just marked as free space. But the more you use the Mac, the higher the chance it gets overwritten.

Ezra Flint

Participant

April 27, 2026 at 9:14 am

Yeah, a bit. Browsing, downloads, normal stuff.