Is anything ever really deleted from your phone?


Contrary to popular belief, when you delete a file from your phone memory or SD card (both are flash memory) or your computer hard disk for that matter, the file isn't actually removed.

Is anything really permanently deleted?

When you permanently delete a file, the storage drive makes its space available for new data. However, the file is not deleted. It remains on the hard drive; only the file pointers get deleted.

Does anything ever truly get deleted?

Basically, the answer is a bit complicated but here's the short version: you should assume that data is never truly deleted unless the device has had a complete wipe. To understand why this is this case, you need to look at how data is generally “Deleted” (and those quotes are intentional) from devices.

Are deleted items really deleted on phone?

That is to say, the deleted files will go to the temporary storage location in every single app. So, you're lucky enough that the file you have deleted can be recovered from them. And after permanently deleting from Recycle Bin/Trash, the data are not erased from your phone immediately.

Is a photo ever really deleted?

If you delete a photo or video that's backed up in Google Photos, it will stay in your trash for 60 days. If you delete a photo or video from your Android 11 and up device without it being backed up, it will stay in your trash for 30 days.

Why are files never really deleted?

When a hard drive is formatted, the operating system loses its ability to reference the data on the disk. Until that drive sector is overwritten with new data, there is still a chance to recover the old data if the pointers leading to the data are recovered. In essence, “deleted” data remains on the drive.

Can you recover deleted forever?

Yes, files can be recovered after being deleted. The level of difficulty depends on how long ago the file was deleted, however, and you may need to use specialized tools if trying to recover data that has been corrupted.

Can I find a photo after delete forever?

You won't be able to restore a photo or video if: The photo or video wasn't backed up and: On an Android 11 and up device, you moved it to trash more than 30 days ago. You permanently deleted it from your device's gallery app.

Can someone see my deleted files?

When you delete something from the recycle bin on your computer, can someone see what you deleted? Short answer: yes. Explanation: When you delete something from your computer, the computer marks the area of the drive it was stored on as “usable” and it can be overwritten.

Are permanently deleted texts gone forever?

No. Deleting a text message from your phone does not mean it's gone forever. Your text message starts on someone else's phone. It's usually saved there.

Are deleted files ever really gone iPhone?

Delete files on your iPhone or iPad When you delete files from iCloud Drive or On My [device] in the Files app, they go into your Recently Deleted. After 30 days, your files are permanently deleted. Files deleted from Recently Deleted are deleted immediately and are not recoverable.

Where do permanently deleted files go on iPhone?

When you permanently delete photos on an iPhone, they are initially moved to the “Recently Deleted” album. These photos will remain in this folder for 30 days before being automatically deleted. However, if you have recently deleted a photo and wish to recover it, you are able to recover them back again.

Can hackers access permanently deleted photos on iPhone?

First, Apple's iCloud has strong security measures in place, and deleted data is typically not recoverable by hackers. When you delete photos from iCloud, they are moved to a trash folder and permanently wiped after a certain period.

Are deleted files really deleted Android?

If you want to get a recently deleted item back, check your trash to see if you can get it back. If your photo or video has already been backed up and you deleted it, it will remain in your Trash for 60 days before getting deleted forever.

Does permanently delete mean forever?

Once a user hits the “Delete forever”, the data becomes irrecoverable through the usual means.

When you delete something permanently where does it go?

When you delete a file from your computer, it moves to the Windows Recycle Bin. But, if you empty the Recycle Bin or use the ctrl + delete option, the file is permanently erased from the hard drive. You can recover permanently deleted files only if you have reliable data recovery software.

Are files really permanently deleted from Recycle Bin?

No. Emptying the recycle bin simply marks the area of the drive which contains a file or files as “available”. To permanently delete data, you must overwrite the area(s) of the drive which contain the data.

Are permanently deleted videos really deleted?

When a computer deletes a file permanently, or the Recycle Bin is emptied, it is removing the reference to the file on the hard drive. Once the file header, or reference, is removed, the computer can no longer see the file. The file is no longer readable by the computer.

Is it true that nothing can be deleted from the Internet?

“It sounds very simple, but whatever you put out there, don't ever expect it to become private again,” said Matz, a social media researcher and professor at Columbia Business School. “Retracting something from the internet, hitting the reset button — is almost impossible.”

Do deleted files go anywhere?

Deleted files don't actually “go” anywhere. They are tagged in the operating system as deleted, and the space they occupy is made available. At some point, something else will be written over the space they occupy on the storage device.

Can I recover deleted files from 2 years ago?

Can I recover files that were deleted 2 years ago on Android? Yes, old deleted files be recovered if you have backed up the deleted files and the backups are accessible.

Can anything deleted be recovered?

If you can't find a file on your computer or you accidently modified or deleted a file, you can restore it from a backup (if you're using Windows backup) or you can try to restore it from a previous version. Previous versions are copies of files and folders that Windows automatically saves as part of a restore point.

Can I recover deleted photos from 4 years ago?

You can search old deleted photos by year, location, name, file type, event, and more in Google Photos for quick photos recovery. If you cannot recover old photos from Google Photos, they are probably lost forever. Try other backup drives that you may be using or get photo recovery software.

Where do deleted photos actually go?

Where do deleted photos go on Android? When you delete pictures on your Android phone, you can access your Photos app and go into your albums, then, scroll to the bottom and tap on “Recently Deleted.” In that folder, you will find all the photos you have deleted within the last 30 days.

Can I recover deleted photos from 10 years ago?

However, should you have an image recovery software program such as Photos Recovery, you could recover many years old photos, videos, and audio information. You can also try out the Recycle Bin to find deleted files. Using these steps, we hope you can restore all the images you've lost over the years.

Is Apple going to delete my photos?

Despite some fears voiced by customers online, Apple will not be mass-deleting user photos from its devices near the end of the month. The tech giant recently announced that it will be doing away with its My Photo Stream service July 26, but that doesn't mean photos are going away anytime soon.