If a photo or video is still in Google Photos Trash, select it and choose Restore. First make sure you are using the Google Account that backed it up. If the item is not in Trash, check Archive, Android device folders and your phone’s gallery Trash; an item permanently deleted from Google Photos cannot be restored through Google Photos.
Restore an item from Google Photos Trash
Google Photos Help currently says items in Trash are permanently deleted after 30 days. This is the current policy stated in Google’s help pages, checked on October 4, 2026; the pages do not specify when that policy was published. If the item is still there, restore it as soon as possible.
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In the Google Photos app
- Check the profile icon to confirm you are signed in to the Google Account that backed up the item.
- Open Collections → Trash. In some locales, Trash may be called Bin.
- Touch and hold the photo or video to select it, then tap Restore.
Google says a restored item returns to the Photos library and its albums; its Android instructions also say it returns to the phone’s gallery app. See Google’s Android restore instructions.
On a computer
- Go to photos.google.com and confirm that the correct Google Account is selected.
- Open Trash from the navigation panel.
- Select the item and click Restore.
These steps work only while the item remains in Trash. Google’s computer restore instructions state that items are permanently deleted after 30 days. Google Photos Help also says: “Items that are permanently deleted can’t be restored.”
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- Easily store and access 2TB to content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop
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If the photo or video is missing from Trash
Not seeing an item in the main Photos view does not necessarily mean it was deleted. Check these possible locations and settings before concluding it is gone.
Check the Google Account and backup settings
- Switch through Google Accounts you may have used on the old phone or when backing up. Google notes that items can appear to be missing when you are signed in to a different account.
- In Google Photos settings, check whether backup is on and which account it uses. If a photo was never backed up, it will not appear in the cloud library.
Google’s missing-photo guidance explains how to check for account and backup issues.
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- Easily store and access 1TB to content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive.Specific uses: Personal
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- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- The available storage capacity may vary.
Look in Archive
Archived items are hidden from the main gallery view, not deleted. Find the item in Archive and unarchive it to return it to the main Photos view. Google’s computer guidance for missing photos covers items that may be out of sight rather than deleted.
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Check Android device folders
On Android, open Collections → On this device and look in folders used by messaging or social apps. To see a folder’s contents in the cloud library, check whether that device folder is included in backup. Google’s Android missing-item instructions describe device-folder checks.
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Search by another date or keyword
Try a different date or search term if you cannot find an item in the library. Google says search indexing can take 3–5 days, so a newly backed-up photo may not appear in search immediately. If you suspect this is the issue, check again later.
Check the phone’s gallery Trash for a local copy
If the item may have been deleted on the phone before it was backed up, look in the Trash or recently deleted area of the device’s gallery app. The location and retention behavior depend on the phone manufacturer and gallery app. Google points Android users to device-specific help for this process in its device gallery guidance.
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What happens when you delete something in Google Photos?
Deleting an item in Google Photos can also remove it from connected devices when backup is on, so do not assume a phone still has a separate copy. Google describes this behavior in its photo and video deletion guidance. A local gallery Trash is worth checking, but it is not a guaranteed backup.
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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Can you recover a permanently deleted Google Photos item?
Google says permanently deleted items cannot be restored through Google Photos. Google Takeout is not a way to retrieve an item that has already been permanently deleted from Photos. If it is absent from Trash and the other locations above, Google’s documented recovery flow does not provide a restoration method.
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