Photos were deleted from my iPhone roughly a year and a half ago after a former partner accessed the device. They may now be relevant to a criminal case, so I'm trying to find out whether Apple, iCloud, an old device backup, or another official service could still provide them. Who should I contact, and is recovery possible after this much time?
2 Answers
Apple Support generally can’t restore photos once they’ve been permanently deleted. Photos in the Recently Deleted folder are normally removed after about 30 days, or sooner if that folder was emptied. The main possibilities would be an existing iCloud or computer backup, another device that still had the photos, or a separate copy saved elsewhere.
After 18 months, Apple is very unlikely to have a recoverable copy available. If the images may be evidence, speak with the police investigator or a lawyer handling the case and tell them when the deletion happened. They can advise whether any formal request or forensic examination of other devices, accounts, or backups is appropriate.
Thanks. I was hoping Apple might still be able to retrieve them, but I’ll raise it with the investigator and check whether any older backups exist.