How to Find Deleted Videos on iPhone and Android Phones?

recover deleted videos

The reason we record videos is so that we can view certain events in the future. However, someone may delete your videos without your knowledge. Also, you may delete your own videos or photos mistake. In this article, we will show you how to recover deleted videos on iPhone and Android devices. Before we show you the solutions you can use to recover video files, let’s see whether it is actually possible to recover deleted videos from iPhone and Android devices.

Can I Recover Deleted Videos?

On iPhone

If You Deleted Your Videos Less Than a Month Ago

If your video was accidentally deleted less than 30 days ago, you can easily restore the video from the Recently Deleted folder. iOS will store the deleted videos in the Recently Deleted folder for 30 days. After 30 days have elapsed, iOS removes deleted videos from the folder.

Videos that Are Not in the Recently Deleted Folder but Are Yet to Be Overwritten

After a video gets removed from the Recently Deleted folder, it will still be available on the device. However, the iOS system marks the space occupied by the video as “unallocated”. When you create new data, the iOS system may store this data on the space occupied by the removed video. If this happens, your deleted video will be overwritten.

If the deleted video is yet to be overwritten, you can recover it from your iPhone using a third-party video recovery software. If new data has already overwritten the video, recovering it directly from the iPhone may be impossible.

If Your Video Has Been Overwritten

If the video has already been overwritten, you will have to rely on your iPhone backups. If you had created a backup on either iTunes or iCloud, there is a chance that your videos may be available in one of the backup files. Currently, there is no iPhone data recovery tool that has the ability to recover overwritten data. To reduce the chances your data getting overwritten, you should stop using your iDevice the moment you realize that some of your data is missing.

On Android

If Your Deleted Videos Are in the Google Photos’ Trash Folder

If your back up and sync for videos is enabled on your Android device, the videos you delete will stay in the Google Photos Trash folder for 60 days. After the 60 days have elapsed, Google Photos will delete the videos permanently. If you deleted your videos less than 2 months ago, you can easily restore them from the Trash folder in Google photos.

If the Back-Up and Sync for Videos is Off but the Videos Are Not Overwritten

Although Android devices do lack a Recycle Bin, you can recover recently deleted videos from the device using a third-party video recovery software. Similar to iPhones, your video will only disappear permanently from your Android device when it is overwritten by new data. If the videos are yet to be overwritten, you can use Android data recovery tools to get your data back.

If the Videos Have Been Overwritten

If your videos have been overwritten already, you will have to rely on your backup. The primary backup service for Android device users is Google Drive. If you had created a backup on Google Drive before your videos vanished, you can use the backup to recover your lost videos.

How to Recover Deleted Videos from iPhone?

Recover Deleted Videos from iPhone Via the Recently Deleted Album

If the video you wish to recover was deleted less than a month ago, you can recover it from the Recently Deleted folder. To learn how to recover deleted videos from iPhone via the Recently Deleted folder, follow the steps below:

Step 1: On your iPad or iPhone, launch the Photos app.

Step 2: Tap the album button which is available on the bottom-right corner.

Step 3: Tap Recently Deleted to access the recently deleted album. Locate the video you intend to recover.

Step 4: On the top-right corner, click Select. Next, select the video and click Recover at the lower-right corner of the screen.

Download the Deleted Video from iCloud

If you do save your videos on iCloud, there is a likelihood that your deleted video is still available in Apple’s cloud storage. The following steps will show you how to find deleted videos on iPhone by downloading them from iCloud:

Step 1: Launch a web browser on your PC and visit icloud.com. Using your Apple ID and password, log into your account.

Step 2: Select Photo and then select Videos on the menu available on the left. This will show you all the uploaded videos.

Step 3: Locate the video you would like to get back and click on it. On the top-right of the screen, click the download button.

How to Recover Deleted Videos from iPhone Via the iTunes Backup?

If you had created a backup on iTunes before your videos got deleted, your videos may be available in the backup. To learn how to recover video files from the iTunes backup, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Launch iTunes on the PC where you had backed up your iPhone. Using a USB cable, connect your iPhone to the computer.

Step 2: Click the iPhone icon on iTunes. Next, tap Restore Backup…

Step 3: Check the backup files currently available. Select the one you think may have your videos and then click Restore.

Note: It is worth noting that when using an iTunes backup to restore your videos, all the data you had generated on your iPhone since the backup creation will be lost. After the backup restoration is complete, you may need to restart the computer and leave the iDevice connected to the PC for synchronization to occur.

How to Recover Deleted Videos from iPhone Using the iCloud Backup?

If you have been using iTunes to back up your iPhone, your lost videos may be available in one of the iCloud backup files. To learn how to find deleted videos on iPhone by restoring the iCloud backup, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Launch Settings > Tap General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings.

Step 2: After factory-resetting your iPhone, follow the onscreen instructions up to the App and Data screen. Here, select Restore from iCloud Backup.

Step 3: Using your Apple ID and password, sign into iCloud and select the backup that you think may have your lost videos. Wait while the backup gets restored.

Step 4: After the restoration, complete the setup process.

Note: Similar to iTunes, iCloud will replace all the data that you had in your iPhone with the data available in the backup file. You will lose the data you had stored on your iPhone after creating the backup.

Using a Video Recovery Software [Recommended Way]

The solutions we have outlined above can help you recover deleted videos from iPhone. However, some of them may not work for you. For example, if you do not have an iTunes or iCloud backup, recovering your videos from the backups will be impossible. Also, both iTunes and iCloud will cause data loss on your iPhone.

Video recovery software offers its users a much higher success rate. It may be able to recover your lost videos even if you do not have a backup. Also, it won’t overwrite the data you currently have on your iPhone. A good example of a video recovery software you can use is iMyFone D-Back. The tool has the ability to recover deleted videos from your iPhone after scanning it for a few minutes.

To learn how to recover deleted videos from iPhone using a video recovery software, follow the steps below:

Step 1: After launching iMyFone D-Back, select “Recover from iOS Device” on the left-hand column. Connect your iOS device to the PC using a USB cable and click Start.

Step 2: On the page that requires you to select the data types you want to recover, select Video. Next, click Scan.

Step 3: After the scan, all your videos will be displayed. To view the deleted videos only, tap “Show only deleted videos”. Preview the files and select the ones you wish to recover. Finally, click Recover.

How to Recover Deleted Videos on Android?

If the videos you lost were stored on your Android device, you can recover the deleted videos too. Below we take a deeper look at the top solutions you can use to recover deleted videos on Android.

Recover Deleted Videos on Android Via Google Photos

As we had mentioned earlier on, this solution will only work if both back-up and sync are enabled on your Android device. Google Photos retains deleted videos for 60 days before removing them from your device permanently. To recover deleted videos on Android via Google Photos, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Launch Google Photos on your android device.

Step 2: On the top-left corner, tap the menu icon and then click Trash.

Step 3: Select the videos you would like to recover and then click the Restore button.

Recover Deleted Videos on Android Via the Google Drive Backup

If you have been creating backups on Google Drive, there is a chance that your deleted videos are available on the Google Cloud storage. To recover the deleted videos from iPhone, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Using the email address you used to create your backup, log into the Google Drive app or https://www.google.com/drive/

Step 2: After logging in, click the menu icon and then select Videos. Now, you can download the videos you intend to restore.

Recover Deleted Videos on Android Use a Video Recovery Software

If the deleted videos are yet to be overwritten, you can use a video recovery software to recover video files. A good example of an Android video recovery software you can use is dr.fone -Recover (Android). The tool is not complicated to use. According to its official website, it supports more than 6000 Android devices. Therefore, it should work with your device.

To learn how to recover deleted videos on Android using a video recovery software, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Download and launch dr.fone Recover (Android). Select the Recover option.

Step 2: Using a USB cable, connect your Android device to the computer. Enable USB debugging on the phone.

Step 3: On the screen that requires you to select the file types you intend to recover, select Videos and then tap Next.

Step 4: Select “Scan for deleted files” and then tap Next. The video recovery software will locate your deleted video files and display them.

Step 5: You can preview the files and select the ones you wish to recover. Tap Recover to get the files back.

Summary

If you have lost your important video files, you do not have to panic. You can recover the files quite easily. In this article, we have outlined all the top-rated solutions you can use to recover deleted videos from iPhone and Android devices.

Not all solutions will work for every device. However, if you are an iOS device user, you may find the video recovery software to be an ideal solution. Video recovery software will make things much easier for you. Also, unlike iTunes and iCloud, it will not overwrite the data you have on your iOS device.  

Author: Raymond Lei

A tech editor for Starzsoft.com offering professional how-to articles for Windows, Android and Apple users.