How to recover deleted photos on Android

2 min read · 5 steps · Updated 2 October 2026

Deleted photos are moved to a bin before they are removed for good. If you act within the time limit, getting them back takes a few taps.

Menu names below are from Google Pixel phones on a recent Android version. Samsung, Xiaomi and other brands rename some of them, so the Samsung name is given where it differs. The pictures are simplified diagrams of the screen, not screenshots.

Step by step

1. Open Google Photos and tap Collections

   Collections is at the bottom of the screen. On older versions it is called Library.

   Done

2. Tap Bin

   You see everything deleted recently.

   Done

3. Select and restore

   Touch and hold a photo, tap others to add them, and tap Restore. They return to your library and to the albums they were in.

   Done

4. Check Archive too

   A photo that seems to be gone may only be archived. Look under Collections, Archive.

   Done

5. Check the phone's own gallery

   Samsung Gallery has a separate Recycle bin: open Gallery, tap the three lines, then Recycle bin. It keeps items for 30 days.

   Done

Good to know

Sign in at photos.google.com on a computer and check the bin there, in case the phone is not showing everything.

If you used a different Google Account on an old phone, switch accounts in Google Photos and look again.

After the bin has been emptied, photos cannot be recovered. Paid "recovery" apps rarely work on modern phones.

Turn on backup so it cannot happen again: how to back up an Android phone.

In short: Google Photos, Collections, Bin, select, Restore.