If you’re an iPhone or iPad user, you may soon be treated to the reappearance of photos that you feared were long since lost or destroyed.
As part if its iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system roll out – which is currently in Beta, but is expected to be released fully in September – Apple has added an additional folder to its Photos app named ‘Recovered’. Clicking on the folder will reveal photos you’ve previously taken that may have been the victim of, for example, faltering software or database corruption.
Thankfully, locating long lost images and videos on your device is straightforward and, in this article, we’ll take you through the steps required to do so.
Where Have my Photos Been Hiding?
Although it’s not a common or particularly pernicious issue, you may have occasionally noticed that photos you thought you had taken on your iPhone or iPad don’t appear where you would expect in your Photos app.
The issue can raise its ugly head when there’s in issue saving an image that you have taken. There’s a few reasons why this might be the case, including a lack of storage space, network connectivity issues, or a good old fashioned software error (yes, these can still happen, even on an iPhone!).
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If you’ve been unlucky enough to fall victim to this scenario previously, such content has not been recoverable. However, all that is about to change.
How to Recover Lost Photos on iOS 18/ iPadOS 18
Apple has done all the hard work for you to recover these long-thought forgotten images and videos. If you have iOS 18 or iPadOS 18, you simply have to follow these instructions:
- Open the Photos app
- Tap on the ‘Albums’ icon at the bottom of the screen
- Scroll down to find the ‘Utilities’ menu
- Tap the ‘Recovered’ option (you may be asked to verify your identity with Face ID or Touch ID)
- Tap individual images and videos or hold to select multiple items
- Tap either ‘Restore to library’ or ‘Permanently delete’
Tapping ‘Restore to library’ will send your selected images back to the Photos app album you would normally expect them to have ended in.
If you upgrade to iOS 18, head to the Photos app and don’t see the Recovered option, there’s nothing to be concerned about – it simply means that you do not have any recoverable photos on your device.
What Else is New With iOS 18?
The introduction to iPhones and iPads of the new photo recovery functionality is probably better described as a bug fix than as a full-blown headline-grabbing new feature of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18.
One of the most eye-catching announcements from the WWDC 2024 keynote speech was that OpenAI’s ChatGPT is coming to a host of Apple apps – most notably integrated into Siri – as part of the tech giant’s Apple Intelligence launch.
Other new tools and features included in the iOS 18 roll out include the ability to schedule messages in iMessage, more extensive home screen and Control Center customizability, and a new Math Notes add-on for the Calculator app that solves handwritten sums and equations.
iOS 18 Beta 2 has also debuted RCS (Rich Communication Services) on iPhones, signalling a move away from traditional SMS technology currently used by iMessage.
