Photos were deleted from my iPhone roughly 18 months ago by a former partner who had access to my password. The images may now be relevant to a criminal investigation, and I'm trying to find out whether Apple, an iCloud backup, or another support channel could help recover them. Who would be the right person or organization to contact, and is recovery still possible after this much time?
3 Answers
Apple Support generally can’t recover photos that were permanently deleted. Photos in the Recently Deleted folder are normally removed after 30 days, and emptying that folder deletes them sooner. Apple doesn’t keep a separate accessible copy after that period.
If your former partner knew your password, change it immediately, enable two-factor authentication, review the devices signed in to your Apple Account, and check whether any unknown backups or synced devices remain. Those steps may not restore the deleted photos, but they can protect anything still in the account and help preserve relevant evidence.
The only realistic possibilities are an older iCloud or computer backup, another device that still had the photos, or a separate cloud storage service where they were saved. If this relates to a criminal case, preserve any remaining devices and account information and ask the investigating officer or a qualified digital-forensics professional about lawful recovery options rather than relying on standard Apple Support.
That makes sense. I’ll secure the account and ask the people handling the case whether they can advise on preserving or examining any remaining devices.