How to Recover Deleted Photos on Android: From the Trash to a Full Scan

Step 1: Check the gallery trash (the 30-day rule)

Android galleries (Google Photos, Samsung Gallery and others) don't delete photos right away — they move them to a trash folder, usually kept for 30 days before being permanently removed. If it's been less than a month, this is where you'll most likely find your photo.

• Google Photos: Library → Trash, long-press the photo and tap Restore
• Samsung Gallery: Menu (☰) → Trash → Restore
• Your device's system trash may hold it too — Recovo's Quick Scan checks this area and marks those files with a TRASH badge.

Step 2: Look for hidden copies

Gone from the gallery doesn't mean gone from storage. Apps create thumbnails, pre-edit originals and downloaded copies that often survive in hidden folders (like .thumbnails). Your gallery simply doesn't index hidden folders, so it never shows them.

You can enable "show hidden files" in a file manager and dig manually, but with hundreds of folders that's rarely practical. A scan tool that walks hidden folders for you is much faster.

Step 3: Scan your entire storage

If the photo isn't in the trash or a hidden folder, it may still exist on storage but be missing from the gallery's index — typically files interrupted while being moved between folders or copied from an SD card. These unindexed files can only be found with a full storage scan.

Do all three steps at once with Recovo

Recovo automates the whole process. Quick Scan checks the system trash and hidden media in seconds; Deep Scan walks your entire storage, hidden folders included. The results show only real recovery candidates — no flooding the list with photos still in your gallery — and after previewing, restored photos are saved to your Download/Recovo folder. Everything runs 100% offline, no signup.

• Open Recovo and choose Pictures
• Run Quick Scan for trash and hidden media, or Deep Scan for a full storage search
• Preview the found photos and select the ones you need
• Tap Restore — your photos are saved to Download/Recovo

The honest limit: when recovery isn't possible

If the trash retention period (30 days) has passed and no hidden copy exists, the photo's data may already be overwritten by new data. Files that were fully overwritten can't be recovered by any app without root — be skeptical of apps that claim otherwise. That's why scanning as soon as you notice the deletion matters most.