Apple's new 'Recovered' album gives your lost photos a second life

The Photos app on Apple devices will feature a “Recovered” album going forward that will display previously lost or damaged photos and videos. The album will be available on all Apple devices that run iOS 18, iPadOS 18, or macOS Sequoia. While you’ll have to update the software on older devices to access this feature, new iPhones, as well as other Apple gadgets, will likely already be on the latest software, providing you with immediate access to the album.

The “Recovered” album won’t replace the “Recently Deleted” album; rather, the two folders will co-exist alongside each other (via 9to5Mac). Apple notes that devices that are running the updated software will automatically scan for such files and add them to the “Recovered” album.

To check for recovered files within this album, you’ll need to navigate to the Photos app, locate Utilities, and tap Recovered. After you authenticate yourself using your Touch ID or Face ID, you’ll be able to view the recovered photos and videos. At this point, you can either choose to permanently delete these files or restore them to your library. If you choose the latter, you’ll be able to view the files in your Photos app.

One thing to note is that this folder only appears on your device if you have any recoverable files within it. So, if you updated your device to iOS 18, iPadOS 18, or macOS Sequoia and don’t see the album yet, it could be that you don’t have any damaged or lost files.

Files can become damaged or get lost due to a number of reasons, including interruptions while saving them, database corruption issues, and third-party apps that have access to them. The good news is that these files can now be recovered by your Apple device, and you’ll control over whether they should be deleted or restored to your library as you see fit.