Apple has introduced a new feature in iOS 18 that will help users recover lost or damaged photos and videos. The new Recovered album in the Photos app will automatically detect and show previously inaccessible media still stored on the device, giving users a second chance to save it.
Image Source: Apple
The innovative feature is available not only in iOS 18, but also in iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia. Apple says the new technology can identify and locate previously lost or damaged media, displaying it in a new Recovered album in the Photos app. This album will exist in parallel with the “Recently Deleted” album, which is already familiar to users. It is noted that when updating to iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia, the device will automatically scan for recoverable photos and videos.
There are several reasons why photos or videos may be lost or damaged. For example, this can happen due to database corruption issues or when a photo you take is not saved properly in the library. Additionally, third-party apps that have permission to manage your Photos library can also cause problems.
To find this album, users need to follow these steps:
- Open the Photos app
- Scroll down and find the “Utilities” section
- Click on “Recovered” and authenticate using Face ID or Touch ID
- Select a photo or video and decide whether to “Delete permanently” or “Restore to library”
It is important to note that the new album will only be visible if there are indeed lost or damaged media files on the device. Otherwise this option will not appear.
The arrival of this useful feature in iOS 18 follows a recent incident involving a database corruption bug in iOS 17.5 that resulted in deleted photos reappearing. At the time, Apple stressed that the issue was random and affected a small number of users. The addition of a new feature gives you more control over the process of deleting photos and videos, as well as the ability to recover media files that were thought to be lost.