How to recover deleted screenshots

You have accidentally deleted some screenshot that you had made on your smartphone or on your PC and, now, you are looking for a solution to be able to recover them. Unfortunately, however, you are not very practical with technology and, therefore, would like a hand to succeed in this endeavor. That's actually how it is, isn't it? Then don't worry, because I can give you several tips in this regard.

Courage: sit down comfortably and take just a few minutes of free time to read and put into practice the procedures that I will illustrate to you in this guide of mine. I'm sure that, by the end of reading, you will have managed to restore the screenshots that you had mistakenly deleted. At this point, all I have to do is wish you a good reading and, above all, good luck for everything!

Index

• Preliminary information
• How to Recover Deleted Screenshots on Android
  • Google Photos/Gallery
  • DiskDigger
  • EaseUS MobiSaver
• How to recover deleted screenshots on iPhone and iPad
  • Photo
  • Google Photos
  • EaseUS MobiSaver
• How to recover deleted screenshots on PC
  • Trash can
  • Cloud storage services
  • PhotoRec (Windows/macOS/Linux)
  • Revive (Windows)
  • DiskDrill (Windows/macOS)

Preliminary information

If your intent is to recover deleted screenshots from your smartphone, your tablet or your computer, you have to cross your fingers that they have not been deleted from the Recycle Bin, that is, from the default section of the operating system where the deleted data temporarily resides before being permanently deleted.

If the files are also deleted from these sections, everything gets complicated, as you have to turn to software for the recovery of deleted data, which cannot guarantee certain results. The reason is obvious: when you delete a file, it actually remains on the memory of the device in use until the portion of memory that housed it is not overwritten by other data.

In short: you will be able to recover your permanently deleted screenshots only if the portion of memory that housed them has not already been overwritten by other data. In this regard, my advice is to limit the use of the device on which you want to restore the deleted screenshot, to avoid that further data is written to the portion of memory where the file to be recovered resides.

How to Recover Deleted Screenshots on Android

recover deleted screenshots your one smartphone or a tablet Android, carefully follow the suggestions that I will give you in the next chapters. There are various resources you can turn to.

Google Photos/Gallery

On some smartphones and tablets Android, there is a native feature that allows you to recover images that have been deleted by mistake. For example, if you use the app Google Photos, puoi will access the sezione Trash can, to view and recover all media files that have been deleted in the last 60 days: if it has not been this period since the deletion of the screenshots, you can easily recover them.

To proceed, launch the app Google Photos and press the icon ☰, located at the top left. On the screen that appears to you, then press on the item Trash can, to view all deleted files. Then tap on miniature of the screenshot you want to recover and press the button Restore, which you find at the bottom right. Simple, right?

In case you don't make use of Google Photos, you can use the app Gallery, which also allows you to recover recently deleted screenshots, via the album Recently deleted present in the card Album.

Again, just tap on miniature of the screenshot to retrieve and press the key Restore, below, to retrieve it. Generally, the maximum time within which deleted screenshots can be recovered is 30 days.

DiskDigger

If you failed to recover the deleted screenshot via Trash of Google Photos or Gallery app, you can turn your attention to third-party apps that scan your device memory to recover deleted files.

Among these, the one I recommend you to use is DiskDigger, which you can download completely free of charge, but a version is also available Pro at a cost of 3,37 euros, which also allows you to recover files other than images.

Since your interest is precisely in recovering screenshots, you can use the free version of this app by reaching this link and pressing the button Install. After the download and installation of DiskDigger, tap the button apri, to start the app in question.

DiskDigger can work even without i root permissions, but it will only act on the Android cache, fetching low-resolution images. For best results, you need to unlock these permissions: if you don't know how to do it, you can consult my guide dedicated to the topic.

On the main screen of the app, then press on the item Conceded, to grant the app root permissions, in case they have been unlocked on the device in use. Once this is done, you have two alternatives: press the key Start basic photo scan, to analyze and recover low resolution images (root permissions are not required) or select one of the partitions found under the section Full Scan (Root required), to perform a deeper scan (with root).

Now, all you have to do is choose the screenshot image format, which can be JPG o PNG, according to the Android device, and grant access permissions to the operating system features, in order to start the scan.

EaseUS MobiSaver

Another free app that can help you scan and recover deleted screenshots from Android device storage is EaseUS MobiSaver. Quest'app allows the recovery of multimedia files in the format JPG ed MP4. In case you need to recover screenshots in other formats different from that JPG, as the PNG, you will need to purchase the paid version, which costs 6,49 €.

If you are interested in the app EaseUS MobiSaver, reach this link, to view its profile on the Android Play Store. To download it to your device, press the button Install and wait for the procedure to finish. Then press the button apri, to start it.

After opening EaseUS MobiSaver, grant root permissions to the app, so that it can scan the memory deeply. If your Android smartphone or tablet does not have these permissions unlocked, it will scan the cache, giving you the option to recover low-resolution screenshots.

On the main screen of the app, press the button Photo & Video to start memory analysis immediately. When you have identified the screenshot to recover, in the section Photo, place a check in the appropriate box on its thumbnail and then press the button Recover, located at the top.

The file will then be saved in a folder on your device. Pressing oneye icon, at the top right, you will be able to access the recovered files section.

How to recover deleted screenshots on iPhone and iPad

recover screenshots mistakenly deleted from yours iPhone o iPad, you can act through the default iOS "Trash" or using third-party solutions.

Photo

The iOS media gallery is accessible through the app Photo, pre-installed in the operating system. This app allows you to manage images and videos, with the possibility of recovering those that have been mistakenly deleted.

To do this, launch the app Photo, by tapping on its icon that you find on the home screen. At this point, press on the card Album, which you find at the bottom, and scroll the screen until you find the item Recently deleted.

At this point, tap on this item to access the list of all recently deleted files. This section contains media files for 40 days, after which their permanent removal from the device is initiated.

If you have identified the screenshot to recover, press on the wording Select, top right, and presses on miniature of the file to restore, so that it is highlighted. Once this is done, press the button Recover, bottom right, to complete the recovery operation. Easy, right?

Google Photos

In case you used the app Google Photos, to manage the backup of your multimedia files on iPhone and iPad, you can recover deleted files by following the same procedure that I have already described in a previous chapter of the tutorial.

You must therefore start the app in question, press on the icon ☰, located at the top left, and select the item Trash canfrom the side menu. In the list of deleted files that you find in this section, locate the screenshot to recover and press on it miniature. Then press the key Restore, which you find at the top, to recover the file you had deleted.

EaseUS MobiSaver

Another solution you could make use of for recover deleted screenshots su iPhone or on iPad, it is EaseUS MobiSaver, a desktop software for Windows e MacOS which, in its free version, allows you to recover only one file at a time. To remove this limitation, a license must be purchased, at a cost of 69,42 €.

Before downloading this software, it is important that iTunes is updated to the latest version. If you act as a PC Windows, download iTunes from the Apple website, as EaseUS MobiSaver fails to recognize the version of iTunes downloaded from the Windows 10 Microsoft Store.

At this point, download EaseUS MobiSaver on your PC from the program's official website. On the web page you see, press the button Free download and then Download, under the heading Free. After taking the .exe file, double click on it and press up Yeson the Windows User Account Control screen.

In the installation box, click on OK, then up NEXT and then check the box to accept the terms of use of the software. Now, press the button NEXT twice in a row and uncheck the boxes that require you to install additional software. Finally, press the key again NEXT, followed by the buttons Install e end, but will conclude the setup.

Su MacOSinstead, go to this link and press the button Scarica free. This will start the download of the .dmg file for installing the program. After downloading it, double click on it and drag the icon of EaseUS MobiSaver in the folder Applications of macOS. Then right-click on its icon and choose the item apri from the context menu. Then confirm the start of the program by pressing the key apri, in the on-screen alert.

At this point, connect the iPhone or iPad to the computer, using the supplied cable, and select the tab Recovers from iOS Device, on the main screen of EaseUS MobiSaver. Once this is done, press the key Scan and wait for the analysis process to complete.

We're almost there: put a check in the box above the thumbnail of the screenshot you want to recover (you can find it in the section Photo / Video) and press the button Recover, which you can find below. Now, choose the destination path where to save the screenshot and press the confirmation button to complete the procedure.

How to recover deleted screenshots on PC

If you have taken screenshots of the screen on your PC Windows or yours Mac and you have mistakenly deleted them, you can act through the solutions that I will propose in the next chapters.

Trash can

When you delete a file on computers running Windows or sui Mac, this is automatically moved within the Trash can. In this case, you can easily recover it, using the recovery feature offered by this tool.

The first thing you need to do, therefore, is to open the screen of the Trash can, using its icon that you find on the desktop with (Windows) o sul Dock (macOS). With that done, locate the screenshot you just deleted and right-click on it. In the context menu that appears, then choose the item Restore, to recover the image from the Recycle Bin, which will be placed back in its original folder.

Alternatively, select the screenshot to recover and drag it out of the Trash, moving its icon to the desktop with (Windows) or on Desk (macOS). You can also drag it to any other folder on your PC.

Cloud storage services

If you have uploaded the screenshots to cloud storage services, such as dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive o iCloud Drive, in case you have deleted them, you can recover them through a special section present in the respective Web panels. Let's see together how to recover the screenshots deleted on these cloud storage services.

If you have used dropbox, go to its website and log in with your account credentials. On the main screen, click on the entry File > Deleted Filesin the sidebar. Put a checkmark on the screenshot to recover and press the key Restore, top left.

For Google Drive o OneDrive, access the respective services via the links I have provided and log in with your credentials. At this point, move to the tab Trash can, which you find in the sidebar, and locate the screenshot to recover by clicking on it. Now, press thespinning arrow icon (Restore) that you find at the top, to restore the deleted file.

Finally, if you have used iCloud Drive to archive your screenshots, you can recover the one deleted by mistake, by accessing the section Recently deleted. Then log in with your credentials to the iCloud website and click on the icon iCloud Drive, among those that are shown to you.

Now, click on the wording Recently deleted, which you find in the lower right corner. After locating the screenshot to recover, simply click on its miniature And that's it.

PhotoRec (Windows/macOS/Linux)

If the solutions that I have indicated to you in the previous chapters should not give you a positive outcome, you can rely on third-party solutions, such as for example PhotoRec. This free and open source software allows you to restore deleted files located on memory units, such as hard drives or SD cards or USB sticks.

If you are interested in this software, you can get it from the official website to run it on PC running OS Windows, MacOS o Linux (on the latter two systems, however, it does not have a graphical interface but must be used from the command line). After reaching the indicated web page, press on the entry Download, in the sidebar, then click on version of the operating system installed on your computer. I advise you not to download the beta versions, but to focus on the stable ones, on which you are more likely not to run into errors.

in case you want to recover a screenshot from your PC Windows, after downloading the file .zip, extract its contents to any folder on your computer. Once this is done, access the latter and start the file qphotorec_win.exe.

On the screen that appears, select thememory unit you want to analyze and choose the item FAT/NTFS/HFS+/ReiferFS in the section File system type. At this point, press the key File formats, found below, and use the checkbox to check the file extensions you want to recover (PNG o JPG).

Now confirm the operation by pressing the key OK, and click the button You may also like..., to select the destination folder, where all the recovered files will be saved. All you have to do now is press the button Search, to scan and recover all files with the selected extensions.

For more information, you can consult my guide on how to recover deleted photos.

Revive (Windows)

Recuva is a well-known free deleted file recovery software, available on PCs with the operating system Windows. You also have the option to purchase the version Professional, at the cost of 19,95 €, which allows you to get automatic updates and advanced file search tools, including support for virtual partitions, but the free should be just fine.

To use Recuva in a simple way, you can rely on its portable version, downloadable from this link, which does not require any installation. You simply have to extract the contents of the.zip archive on your PC and launch the file .exe contained within the folder.

Now, to recover deleted screenshots, launch Recuva via its file .exe. Then press the button NEXT, select the option Images and specify where the screenshot you deleted was located (for example In the trash). Then the analysis process begins, using the key starts.

After the analysis is finished, you will be shown all the found images. Put a check mark under the thumbnail of the screenshot to recover and press the button Recover, bottom right. Then choose the destination folder in which to keep the recovered screenshot and press the button OK, to complete the procedure.

For more information, you can read my tutorial on how Recuva works.

DiskDrill (Windows/macOS)

In addition to the tools I told you about in previous chapters, you can also rely on Disk Drill, available for free on Windows e MacOS. Its free version has a limitation of only 500MB of recoverable data, which you can remove by purchasing the version Pro a dollars 89.

If you are interested in this software, you can download it at Windows from this link and pressing the button Scarica free. After taking the file . MSI, double click on it and press on the keys NEXT (three consecutive times), Yes and finally, Close.

Su MacOSinstead, go to this web page and press the button Scarica freeto get the file .dmg. After downloading it, double-click it and drag theicona di Disk Drill in the folder Applications. Once this is done, right click on its icon and select the entry apri, in the context menu. Press the key again apri, in the on-screen alert, to confirm that the software is running.

At this point, start Disk Drill, using its quick launch icon and, in the box that appears, press the key Continue and then Start. Enter the Password of the Mac in the appropriate screen and press the key OK to continue.

For more information, I suggest you read my tutorial on how to recover deleted files on Mac.

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