Hello.
when transferring my data, I accidentally deleted all my photos. I tried
to restore them from icloud, but I had the synchronization function with icloud
enabled, and therefore the photos were deleted there too.
I apologize for asking you such a silly question, but is there any way I
can restore these photos, or are they gone forever?
iPhone 17 Pro, iOS 26
Gone forever, I'm afraid. It's important to keep backups of our most important pictures and work. A great safety feature on the iPhone is that deleted pictures remain in the "Recently Deleted" view for 30 days before they are removed permanently. This safety feature can be defeated, though, by choosing to prematurely delete pictures from the "Recently Deleted" view. As you've said, when you use iCloud Photos, then that "synchronizes" its Photos Library with the phone, so what you see on the phone is what is at iCloud. iCloud Photos doesn't keep pictures in "Recently Deleted" any longer than the phone does. iCloud Photos doesn't really behave as a backup, since it "backs up" mistakes!
You can see this:
If you're missing photos or videos in the Photos app - Apple Support
Basically the above says to look in Recently Deleted and in Hidden. Be sure to check your Library thoroughly-- the pictures may not be where you expect, as dates may have changed. You can use the search field with the date or location. And remember, you can sort the Library by date captured or by date added. Also, your Library view now has filters, and you may not have your filter set to "All Items’.
Unfortunately, if you don't keep your own backups to an external drive, then there really isn't any place else to look.
Gone forever, I'm afraid. It's important to keep backups of our most important pictures and work. A great safety feature on the iPhone is that deleted pictures remain in the "Recently Deleted" view for 30 days before they are removed permanently. This safety feature can be defeated, though, by choosing to prematurely delete pictures from the "Recently Deleted" view. As you've said, when you use iCloud Photos, then that "synchronizes" its Photos Library with the phone, so what you see on the phone is what is at iCloud. iCloud Photos doesn't keep pictures in "Recently Deleted" any longer than the phone does. iCloud Photos doesn't really behave as a backup, since it "backs up" mistakes!
You can see this:
If you're missing photos or videos in the Photos app - Apple Support
Basically the above says to look in Recently Deleted and in Hidden. Be sure to check your Library thoroughly-- the pictures may not be where you expect, as dates may have changed. You can use the search field with the date or location. And remember, you can sort the Library by date captured or by date added. Also, your Library view now has filters, and you may not have your filter set to "All Items’.
Unfortunately, if you don't keep your own backups to an external drive, then there really isn't any place else to look.
missing photos from icloud and iphone
