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When photos are deleted on a Mac, they don’t immediately disappear. Instead, they are usually moved to the Trash folder, which is similar to the Recycle Bin in Windows. Here’s what happens to deleted photos on a Mac:
1. Check the Trash: The first place to look for deleted photos is the Trash bin on your Mac. Locate the Trash icon on your desktop or open the Trash folder from the Dock. Deleted photos remain in the Trash until you manually empty it. If you find your deleted photos here, simply drag them back to their original location or any other desired folder.
2. Time Machine Backup: If you have enabled Time Machine on your Mac and have regular backups, you might be able to retrieve deleted photos from a previous backup. Open Finder, select the folder where the deleted photo used to be, click on the Time Machine icon in the menu bar, and browse through snapshots to find the desired photo. Once located, you can restore it to its original location or an alternative folder.
3. Third-party Recovery Software: If you have emptied the Trash or don’t have a backup, you can use third-party data recovery software. Applications like Disk Drill, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, or Stellar Data Recovery can potentially recover deleted photos from your Mac’s hard drive or external storage. These tools work by scanning the storage for traces of deleted files and allowing you to recover them if found.
It’s important to note that the longer you wait to recover deleted photos, the higher the chances of them being overwritten by new data. Hence, it’s advisable to act promptly and avoid using the storage device extensively before attempting recovery.
Remember, prevention is better than cure. To protect your precious photos from accidental deletion, consider implementing a consistent backup strategy, both locally and using cloud services like iCloud or Dropbox. Additionally, double-checking before hitting delete and using reliable photo management software can help minimize the risk of unintentional loss.
Video Tutorial:Where do permanently deleted photos go on Mac?
Can I recover permanently deleted photos from my Mac?
Yes, it’s possible to recover permanently deleted photos from your Mac using certain methods. Here are the steps you can take:
1. Check your Recently Deleted folder: If you deleted the photos recently, they might still be in your Mac’s Trash. Open the Trash and look for a folder called "Recently Deleted." If your photos are there, you can simply restore them by dragging them back to your desired location.
2. Use Time Machine: If you have enabled Time Machine, a built-in backup feature on macOS, you can restore deleted photos using it. Connect your Time Machine backup drive to your Mac and open the folder where your photos were saved. Launch the Time Machine app, navigate to the date before you deleted the photos, and select the files you want to recover. Click on the "Restore" button to bring them back to your Mac.
3. Utilize data recovery software: If you don’t have a backup or the above methods didn’t work, you can turn to data recovery software. There are various reputable third-party tools available, such as Disk Drill, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, or Stellar Data Recovery. Download and install a reliable data recovery application, and follow the software’s instructions to recover your deleted photos. Typically, these tools scan your Mac’s storage to locate and retrieve deleted files.
Remember, the chances of successful recovery depend on factors like the time elapsed since deletion and how the photos were deleted. It’s advisable to act quickly and avoid any further use of the drive where the photos were stored to maximize your chances of recovering the files successfully.
Where does permanently deleted photos go?
When it comes to permanently deleted photos, it’s important to understand how they are handled by different systems. Here are the steps or reasons behind where permanently deleted photos typically go:
1. Device Recycling or Factory Reset: When you delete photos and then perform a factory reset on your device or recycle it, the storage containing those photos is usually wiped, making it difficult to recover the deleted data. However, it’s important to note that some data recovery services may still be able to retrieve deleted files, depending on the specific device and its storage encryption.
2. Cloud Backup Services: If you use cloud backup services like iCloud, Google Photos, or Dropbox, deleted photos are often moved to a "Trash" or "Recently Deleted" folder. These files remain in the trash for a certain period of time, usually 30 days, allowing you to recover them if needed. After this period, the photos are permanently deleted from the cloud storage and cannot be recovered through conventional means.
3. File System Allocation: On some devices, when you delete a photo, the file system marks the space occupied by that photo as available for reuse. In other words, the photo remains on the device’s storage until new data overwrites it. Until that happens, specialized software or data recovery tools may be able to recover the deleted photos by scanning the storage for remnants of the original files.
4. Data Overwriting: If the storage space previously occupied by the deleted photos is overwritten by new data, the photos become increasingly difficult to recover. As a preventive measure, it’s recommended to avoid creating new files or installing apps after realizing you’ve deleted important photos, as this reduces the chances of successful recovery.
5. Secure Deletion Methods: Some devices or software offer secure deletion methods that overwrite the deleted file multiple times to make recovery virtually impossible. These methods ensure that deleted photos are eradicated beyond any practical means of retrieval.
Overall, the precise whereabouts of permanently deleted photos depend on several factors including device type, backup settings, and actions taken after deletion. It’s always advisable to maintain regular backups and exercise caution when deleting files to avoid unintentional loss.
Where are permanently deleted files on Mac?
When it comes to permanently deleted files on a Mac, it’s important to understand that the term "permanent" in this context means that the files are not easily recoverable through standard means. The files are not physically removed from the storage drive immediately; instead, the Mac marks the space occupied by the deleted files as available for reuse. Here’s a breakdown of where these files are located and why they appear to be permanently deleted:
1. Trash Bin: The first location to check for deleted files is the Trash Bin. When you delete a file on a Mac, it is initially moved to the Trash Bin. Until you empty the Trash Bin, the files can be easily restored to their original location. However, once you empty the Trash Bin, the files are considered permanently deleted.
2. System Deletion: If you bypass the Trash Bin by using the "Command + Option + Delete" shortcut or right-clicking on a file and selecting "Delete Immediately," the file is permanently deleted without passing through the Trash Bin. In such cases, the deleted file is not visible in any standard user interface.
3. Storage Drive: Regardless of whether a file is sent to the Trash Bin or deleted permanently, the actual contents of the file remain on the storage drive until they are overwritten by new data. This means that until that space is occupied by new information, it’s possible to recover the deleted files using specialized data recovery tools.
4. File System and Metadata: The Mac’s file system keeps track of the location and metadata of files, including their deletion status. When a file is marked as deleted, the file system updates its metadata accordingly, indicating that the space it occupies is available for reuse. This metadata is managed by the file system and stored on the storage drive.
5. Data Recovery: If you need to recover permanently deleted files, it’s advised to use data recovery software specifically designed for macOS. These tools scan the storage drive for deleted files, identifying and restoring them based on their previous location and metadata. However, the success of file recovery depends on various factors, such as the amount of time that has passed since deletion and any disk activity that may have overwritten the deleted files.
To summarize, after permanently deleting files on a Mac, they are not completely erased from the storage drive. The data remains there until it’s overwritten by new information. While the files are not visible in the user interface, specialized data recovery tools can often retrieve them.
Does Apple keep deleted photos forever?
Apple does not keep deleted photos forever. When you delete a photo from your iPhone or iCloud Photo Library, it is immediately moved to the "Recently Deleted" album where it will be permanently deleted after a certain period of time. Here are the steps to understand how Apple handles deleted photos:
1. Deletion: When you delete a photo from your iPhone or iCloud Photo Library, it is marked as deleted and moved to the "Recently Deleted" album.
2. Recovery period: The deleted photos remain in the "Recently Deleted" album for a certain duration, usually 30 days. During this time, you can restore the photos if you change your mind.
3. Permanent deletion: After the recovery period ends, the deleted photos are permanently removed from your device and cannot be recovered. Apple ensures that your photos are not retained indefinitely on their servers or devices.
4. Additional considerations: It’s worth noting that if you have other synced devices like iPads or Macs, the deleted photos may still be available there as well until they are wiped from those devices as well.
To summarize, Apple does not store deleted photos indefinitely. They are moved to the "Recently Deleted" album, which acts as a temporary bin, and are permanently deleted after a specified period, typically 30 days.
Are deleted photos on Mac still on iCloud?
Yes, deleted photos on Mac may still be available on iCloud depending on the settings and synchronization preferences you have enabled. Here’s how it works:
1. iCloud Photo Library: If you have enabled iCloud Photo Library on your Mac and other connected Apple devices, deleting a photo on the Mac will sync the change across all devices. However, iCloud retains deleted photos in the Recently Deleted folder for a limited time (usually 30 days by default) before permanently removing them.
2. Recently Deleted folder: When you delete a photo on your Mac, it is initially moved to the Recently Deleted folder in iCloud. This acts as a safety net, allowing you to recover mistakenly deleted photos within the specified time frame. To completely remove the photo from iCloud, you must also delete it from the Recently Deleted folder before it’s automatically purged.
3. Other backup methods: If you have other backup methods in place, such as Time Machine or third-party backup software, there’s a possibility that deleted photos can still be retrieved from those backups, even if they have been removed from iCloud.
To summarize, deleted photos on a Mac can still exist on iCloud, at least temporarily, if you have iCloud Photo Library enabled. However, they are moved to the Recently Deleted folder for a limited time before being permanently deleted. It is worth noting that this information is accurate as of 2023 with the latest iPhone and iOS versions mentioned.
Are photos ever truly deleted?
As a tech blogger, I can provide you with insights on whether photos are ever truly deleted.
1. File Deletion Process: When you delete a photo from your device, it goes through a file deletion process. This process marks the space occupied by the photo as available for reuse but doesn’t immediately remove the actual image data.
2. Data Recovery Tools: Various data recovery tools exist that can scan storage devices and potentially recover deleted photos. These tools search for traces of deleted data and attempt to reconstruct it, even if it has been marked as deleted.
3. Flash Memory Behavior: Most modern devices, including smartphones, utilize flash memory technology for storage. Flash memory wear-leveling algorithms aim to distribute write operations evenly across the memory cells. This can lead to the photo data being scattered across different cells, making it difficult to completely erase.
4. Overwriting: To ensure a deleted photo is almost impossible to recover, it is necessary to overwrite the original data with new information. Some operating systems and tools provide secure file deletion options that aim to overwrite the deleted file’s data with random data to render it unrecoverable.
5. Cloud Storage Considerations: If you store your photos in cloud services, the deletion process can differ. When you delete a photo from your device, it may still be present in cloud storage unless you specifically delete it from there as well. However, cloud storage providers may have their own retention policies, and it is important to understand how they handle data deletion.
6. Backup Systems: If you have previously backed up your photos to a separate storage medium or service, there is a possibility that the deleted photo may still exist in those backups. Regular backups can add an additional layer of complexity to permanently deleting a photo.
7. Data Privacy Regulations: Data privacy regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), place obligations on companies to ensure the complete and secure deletion of personal data upon request. It is important to review the policies of the services you use to understand their data deletion practices.
In conclusion, while the process of deleting a photo from a device may make it seem like it is gone, it is challenging to ensure its complete eradication. Data recovery tools, flash memory behavior, and backup systems can contribute to the potential recovery of supposedly deleted photos. Overwriting the data and understanding cloud storage providers’ policies are essential steps to mitigate this risk. However, remember that the actual likelihood of recovering a deleted photo depends on various factors, and each situation can differ.