Recover Deleted Files and Images on Mac

You can follow the instructions to restore deleted files on Mac OSX to recover various types of data, but for the best results in restoring specific types of data, the article below from Mytour will guide you on how to recover deleted files and images on Mac. In case you mistakenly delete important files, data, you can still recover this data.

Restore Deleted Files and Images on Mac

Restoring Deleted Documents in macOS

Recovering deleted files, documents, and data on macOS is quite simple. Typically, when files, data, or documents are deleted, they are moved to the Trash. All you need to do is click on the Trash icon (located in the right corner of the Dock) to view all the files you have deleted.

Another way is to use the Search bar in the Finder window to search for files (enter the names of the files you want to find, then click on Trash instead of This Mac to search for files, data in the Trash folder). Find the files, data you want to restore, drag and drop them onto the Desktop or any other area in the Finder.

However, it's important to note that if the hard drive is full, macOS will automatically delete items in the Trash. So if you accidentally delete these files, data for a long time, these files will certainly no longer be in the Trash. In this case, the solution for you to restore files, data is to use Time Machine backup.

Recover Deleted Photos on Mac

In case you delete photos from the Photos app on Mac, you'll have a 30-day period to recover the photos by accessing the Recently Deleted album and restoring the photos.

Select Albums from the top corner, then double-click on Recently Deleted. Now, the screen will display a list of photos, videos you've deleted with annotations on how many days left to recover the photos and the size of the photos.

Choose the photos you want to restore, then click Recover in the top right corner. If you want to free up space, select files you're sure you no longer need, click Delete or choose Delete All to delete all files.

However, things will become a bit more complicated if iCloud Photo Library is activated. iCloud Photo Library automatically saves all photos you take with your iPhone or iPad and syncs photos across all devices. If a photo is deleted on any device, it will also be deleted on all other devices.

When a photo or video is deleted from the iCloud Photo Library or Mac, a warning will appear on the screen stating that it will delete the photo from all your devices. You only have 2 choices, either choose to delete the photo or not. If you delete any photos or videos from your iPhone or iPad, by default, that photo will be deleted from the iCloud Photo Library and other devices.

Restore Deleted Photos on Mac using iPhoto

If you're still using iPhoto (Apple replaced iPhoto with Photos since 2015), and if unfortunately you accidentally delete photos on iPhoto, the deleted photos will be moved to iPhoto Trash (not the macOS trash).

Follow these steps to recover deleted photos in iPhoto:

Step 1: Open iPhoto, then click on Trash in the Sidebar.
Step 2: Press and hold the Control key while clicking to select the photos you want to restore, then choose Put Back.
Step 3: Click on Photos in the Sidebar to view the photos.

The photos you have restored will now appear in the iPhoto folder.

Restore deleted music files in macOS

Music files on Mac are managed and stored through the iTunes Music folder located at [username] =>Music => iTunes =>iTunes Music. In previous macOS versions, you could access it via Home => Music => iTunes Media => Music.

When deleting any music file on iTunes, by default, the deleted music file will be moved to the Music folder in Finder, then to the Trash. If a music file is deleted from iTunes, it still remains in the iTunes =>iTunes Music (or iTunes Media => Music) folder.

So if unfortunately you accidentally delete a music file, the first step you need to take is to check the iTunes Music folder to see if the file is still there. If it is, simply drag and drop the file onto the iTunes icon at the top to re-import it into iTunes.

If the file has been deleted from iTunes and from Finder, the next step you can take is to search for the file in the Trash folder. Follow the steps below to recover music files on iTunes:

Step 1: Open iTunes, then click on iTunes =>Preferences.
Step 2: Select Advanced, then check the box Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library.
Step 3: Drag and drop the music file from Trash to the desktop.
Step 4: Next, drag and drop the music file onto the iTunes icon at the top right corner. Now the music file will be imported and copied into the iTunes folder in Finder.
Step 5: Now you can drag and drop the music file from the desktop back into the trash to delete it again, as the file has been copied to iTunes.

If you cannot find the music file in the Trash folder, what you need to do is check on the Time Machine backup, or redownload the music file, or repurchase the music file from the iTunes Store.

If all the solutions above are not available, try searching for and using data recovery programs to scan the system and search for deleted files, then restore them.

Restore deleted contacts on macOS

If you accidentally delete any contacts in the Contacts app on macOS, to restore the deleted contacts, you can click Edit => Undo Delete Card. However, you must perform these steps before the contacts are modified. Alternatively, if you have set up contacts backup on Mac, you can restore your contacts using Time Machine backup.

Here, Mytour has just guided you on how to restore deleted files and photos on Mac. In all cases, if you have used Time Machine to back up your Mac, you can use Time Machine backup to restore photos, lost data files, or explore more about the Top 11 data recovery software for Mac to achieve the highest data recovery efficiency.