"Recently Deleted Photos" Not Showing on Mac | How to Find the "Recently Deleted" Album

Deleting items on Mac means moving them to the Trash, a macOS program that keeps your deleted files or folders for 30 days, during which you can recover deleted Mac files from the Trash.

However, photos that you delete from the Photos app on your Mac don't go to the Trash. So, where do deleted photos go on Mac? The answer is the Recently Deleted album.

If you're an enthusiast photographer with loads of great photos stored on your Mac, and you accidentally deleted some while cleaning up disk space, don't worry; you can easily restore them from the Recently Deleted album. However, there are reports of the photos not showing up in the Recently Deleted album on the Mac.

If your Recently Deleted photos folder on Mac is not showing, don't worry; this article covers six reliable ways to resolve the issue and retrieve deleted photos when necessary:

1. Solution 1: Recover Recently Deleted Photos Using Software
2. Solution 2: Access Recently Deleted Photos from the Photos Sidebar
3. Solution 3: Show "Recently Deleted" Option in File Menu
4. Solution 4: Delete Photos to Access the Recently Deleted Album
5. Solution 5: Unhide the "Recently Deleted" Album Using the Mac Terminal
6. Solution 6: Restore Recently Deleted Photos Using Time Machine

Before learning how to fix 'Recently Deleted' photos not showing, you should first know why it happens. Read on to find out the possible reasons!

Unable to Find Recently Deleted Photos on Mac: Possible Reasons

By default, and if set up correctly, the Recently Deleted album on a Mac is visible. Once you delete a photo on your Mac, you can find the Recently Deleted album by opening the Photos app on your Mac and looking for it in the sidebar.

If the Recently Deleted album is missing from your Mac, it might be because you haven't deleted any photos in over 30 days, or the waiting period has ended and your deleted photos were permanently removed.

Can you recover permanently deleted files on Mac? The answer is yes. A professional photo recovery tool for Mac can help you get back your permanently deleted photos! Read on to learn the details.

How to Fix the Issue of Photos Not Showing Up in "Recently Deleted" on Mac

Here are 6 effective solutions to fix the issue of Photos Not Showing Up in Recently Deleted on Mac. Let's check them out.

Fix 1: Recover Lost Recently Deleted Photos Using Software Method 1: Recover Lost Recently Deleted Photos with Software

After 30 days, these photos will be permanently removed and cannot be recovered from the Recently Deleted album. You can only retrieve such permanently erased files with backup tools like iCloud or Time Machine on Mac, or use a more efficient and convenient professional data recovery utility like the Mac Data Recovery Wizard.

It can even recover permanently deleted photos on Mac, even if they've been removed from the Recently Deleted album after 30 days. With its user-friendly interface, you can restore your photos without any computer expertise. Here's how to retrieve deleted photos when they're lost from the Recently Deleted on Mac:

Note: You can create a backup first by clicking "Disk Backup" on the left, and then restoring from that image. This can be safer and more reliable, as it prevents further damage to the photos in your Mac library.

Step 1: Find the Missing Photos

Launch the “Data Recovery Wizard” for Mac, hover the mouse over the system drive that contains your “Photos Library,” and click “Search Lost Files.”

Step 2: Search for an image from the library

When the scan is finished, click on “Photos” under the “Paths” tab. All your lost photos will be listed here.

Select photos from Mac's Photo Library

Step 3: Retrieve your photos from the cloud

Double-click the photo to preview it, select the correct one, and then click “Recover” to save the picture to another secure location on your Mac.

Solution 2: Access Recently Deleted from the Photos sidebar

If you've deleted some photos but don't see the Recently Deleted folder in the Photos app sidebar, it might be because you don't have the Show Sidebar setting turned on. Follow these steps:

Step 1: Open the “Photos” app on your Mac, and then choose “View” to see all the listed options.

Step 2: Select “Show Sidebar” from the options, and then find the “Recently Deleted” folder.

Fix 3: Show Recently Deleted Option in the File Menu

Hiding "Recently Deleted" might also prevent it from showing in your Photos app. You can check by:

Step 1: Open the Photos app on your Mac, and then click the “File” option in the top menu bar.

Step 2: Click “Show Recently Deleted” to make your deleted photos visible on your Mac.

Solution 4: Delete Photos to Access the “Recently Deleted” Album

As mentioned above, the disappearance of photos from Recently Deleted on your Mac might be due to not having deleted any photos within the last 30 days. To verify if your Recently Deleted feature is working correctly, try deleting an unnecessary photo and check if it appears properly in the sidebar.

Important: Don't use the “Move to Trash” keyboard shortcut on a Mac, such as Command+Delete, or choose “Delete Immediately” from the context menu, as this bypasses the Trash and the Recently Deleted folder, removing the item permanently.

Please share this article on social media to help others learn how to fix the issue of missing photos in Recently Deleted on their Mac and how to recover deleted photos in such situations.

Fix 5: Display the "Recently Deleted" Album Using Mac Terminal If you can't find the "Recently Deleted" album in Finder, you can try to reveal it using the Mac Terminal. Follow these steps: 1. Open "Terminal," which you can locate in "Applications" > "Utilities" > "Terminal." 2. In the Terminal window, type the following command and press Enter: ``` sudo rm -rf /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/Resources/English.lproj/Localizable.strings ``` **Note:** This command will remove an internal file from the Finder app, which might cause issues. Before proceeding, make sure you've backed up your important data. 3. Enter your administrator password and press Enter. The terminal may not show your password as you type, which is normal. 4. Restart your computer, then open Finder to check if the "Recently Deleted" album is now visible. If this method doesn't resolve the issue or you're concerned about potential side effects, it's recommended to contact Apple Support or seek professional technical assistance.

Sometimes, for privacy reasons, you might hide some important photos and then forget that you did so. Also, a malware infection could cause files to become hidden. If this is the case, you might need to unhide all of your files and folders on your Mac. Here's how:

Step 1. Open the Terminal on your Mac by navigating to Applications > Utilities.

Step 2: Type the command defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE and press “Enter.”

Step 3: Type killall Finder, then press “Enter.” This will make hidden files visible in the Finder on your Mac.

Fix 6: Recover Recently Deleted Photos using Time Machine

After making sure that the Recently Deleted album is working as expected and that the photos you erased haven't exceeded their 30-day retention period, apart from using the professional data recovery software we mentioned earlier in Method 1, you can also try to restore your Mac from a Time Machine backup to get them back. Let's take a look:

Step 1: Open Time Machine and check the box for Show Time Machine in menu bar.

Select Show Time Machine in the Menu Bar:

Click the Time Machine icon in the menu bar, and choose a backup that contains the deleted photo.

Select the “Time Machine backup” option.

Clicking "Recover" will restore the deleted photo to its original location on your Mac.

Conclusions

If your "Recently Deleted" photos are not showing up on your Mac, it might be because you have either deleted them over 30 days ago, or the 30-day grace period has passed, causing your deleted photos to be permanently removed. You can use a tool like Data Recovery Wizard for Mac to recover permanently deleted photos that cannot be found in the "Recently Deleted" folder.

Common Issues with Missing Photos in the "Recently Deleted" Album on Mac

Here are some common questions people ask when searching for how to fix missing photos in Recently Deleted on their Mac:

**Why can't I see Recently Deleted photos on my Mac?**

Your deleted photos might be gone because you might have hidden the Recently Deleted album, it's been more than 30 days since you deleted any photos, or the waiting period has ended and your deleted photos were permanently removed.

2. Where are my Recently Deleted photos on Mac?

On a Mac, your deleted photos are moved to a folder called “Recently Deleted.” You'll need to open the Photos app on your Mac and find the “Recently Deleted” photos in the sidebar.

Why can't I recover photos from the Recently Deleted album?

Photos that haven't been restored for more than 30 days are permanently removed from your Mac and can't be recovered from the Recently Deleted album. However, you can use professional data recovery software, such as Data Recovery Wizard for Mac, to recover photos that have been permanently deleted.