How do I recover deleted videos from my iPhone 12?

You can often recover deleted videos from your iPhone 12 directly through the Recently Deleted album in the Photos app, provided they were deleted within the last 30 days. For older deletions or in specific scenarios, other methods like restoring from an iCloud backup or using third-party recovery software might be necessary.

Recovering Videos from the Recently Deleted Album

Your iPhone automatically stores deleted photos and videos in a dedicated "Recently Deleted" album for 30 days before permanently erasing them. This offers a convenient window for recovery.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to recover videos directly on your iPhone 12:

1. Open the Photos app on your iPhone.
2. Navigate to the "Albums" tab at the bottom.
3. Swipe up or scroll down to locate the "Utilities" section.
4. Tap "Recently Deleted" within the Utilities section.
5. Tap "View Album" and then use Face ID or Touch ID to unlock and access the album.
6. Browse through the videos. Tap on the video(s) you wish to recover.
7. After selecting, tap "Recover" in the bottom right corner (or "Recover All" if you selected multiple items).

The recovered video(s) will be moved back to your main Photos library.

Important Note: Videos remain in the "Recently Deleted" album for 30 days. After this period, they are permanently deleted and cannot be recovered using this method. The remaining days before permanent deletion are usually displayed under each item.

Other Potential Recovery Methods

If your videos are no longer in the "Recently Deleted" album, consider these alternative approaches:

Restoring from iCloud Backup

If you regularly back up your iPhone to iCloud and the deleted videos were included in a backup created before their deletion, you might be able to restore them.

Considerations for iCloud Restore:

• Erase and Restore: This process requires erasing your iPhone and then restoring it from a selected iCloud backup. Your iPhone will revert to the state it was in at the time of that specific backup.
• Backup Date: Ensure the backup you choose contains the videos you want to recover.
• iCloud Photos: If you have iCloud Photos enabled, your photos and videos are typically synced to iCloud directly, rather than being part of the standard iCloud backup. In this case, if you simply deleted them and they weren't in "Recently Deleted," they might still be in iCloud Photos online (check icloud.com/photos) if you disabled "Optimize iPhone Storage" or if they hadn't yet synced the deletion.

Steps to Restore from iCloud Backup (Use with caution as it erases current data):

1. Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings.
2. Follow the on-screen prompts to erase your device.
3. During the iPhone setup process, choose "Restore from iCloud Backup" when you reach the Apps & Data screen.
4. Sign in with your Apple ID and choose the most relevant backup that potentially contains your videos.

Using Third-Party Data Recovery Software (Caution Recommended)

For videos deleted more than 30 days ago and not backed up, some third-party data recovery software programs claim to retrieve lost data directly from your iPhone or its backups. These tools work by scanning your device's memory for fragments of deleted files that haven't been overwritten yet.

Points to Consider:

• No Guarantees: Success rates vary widely and are not guaranteed, especially if the space has been overwritten by new data.
• Early Action is Key: The sooner you attempt recovery after deletion, the higher the chance of success. Stop using your iPhone immediately to prevent new data from overwriting the deleted video files.
• Reputation and Security: Choose highly reputable software from trusted developers to avoid malware or privacy risks.
• Cost: Many of these programs are paid solutions.

Tips to Prevent Future Data Loss

To safeguard your videos and other important data on your iPhone 12:

• Enable iCloud Photos: Go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Photos and turn on "Sync this iPhone." This uploads your photos and videos to iCloud, making them accessible across all your Apple devices and providing an off-device backup.
• Regular Backups: Frequently back up your iPhone to iCloud or your computer (using Finder on Mac or iTunes on Windows). This ensures you have restore points if anything goes wrong.
• Review Before Deleting: Take a moment to confirm you truly want to delete a video before confirming the action.
• Understand "Recently Deleted": Be aware of the 30-day window in the "Recently Deleted" album and act quickly if you need to recover something.

Recovery Method Comparison

Here's a quick overview of the discussed recovery methods: