How to Recover Deleted Photos from Text Messages on iPhone

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By Jenefey Aaron

2025-07-10 / iPhone Recovery

You can recover deleted photos from text messages on iPhone from the Recently Deleted album, backup retrieval, data recovery tool, and many other methods.

iPhone users often delete messages and photos from their phones to free up storage space and make the device less cluttered. However, there are unexpected situations when you accidentally delete important photos from text messages directly from the Photos app or by deleting the message thread. This raises the question of how to recover deleted photos from text messages on iPhone.

We conducted research and found several effective methods to get back deleted text message photos. So, stick with this guide to learn the best methods to retrieve photos from text messages without any technicalities.

recover deleted photos from text messages iphone

Part 1: Can You Recover Deleted Photos from Text Messages on iPhone?

Absolutely! When photos are deleted, you can retrieve them from the "Recently Deleted" album within 30 days. You can also redownload them from the message thread. Other than that, you can also recover them by restoring iCloud or iTunes backup.

If none of the above methods work for you, you can recover iPhone delete photos in text messages using an iPhone data recovery tool. In short, you have multiple ways to restore photos from your iPhone. Head to the next part to learn all about these methods.

Part 2: How to Recover Deleted Photos from Text Messages iPhone (Working Methods)

From all the ways to recover photo text message on iPhone, below are the five proven methods you should try:

Method 1: Check the Recently Deleted Album in the Photos App

The very first thing you should do is visit the "Recently Deleted" album in your Photos app. This album is dedicated to storing the deleted photos for 30 days before permanent deletion. If your photos have just been deleted or 30 days have not passed, you may find the photos in this album.

Follow the steps below to check the Recently Deleted album and recover deleted photos from text messages on iPhone:

  • Go to the Photos app. Scroll down and click Recently Deleted.
  • selecting recently deleted album
  • If you found the deleted photos in this album, click the Select button from the top and select the photos you want to recover.
  • Click the 3 dots icon from the bottom and tap Recover.
  • recover deleted photos

All the selected photos will be restored to their previous locations.

Method 2: Recover from iMessage Conversation (If Not Fully Deleted)

Sometimes, the scenario is that you have accidentally deleted photos from the Photos app, but the message thread is still present. If that's the case, you can access the photos from that message thread and redownload them.

Here are the steps to recover delete photos from text messages iPhone from iMessage conversation:

  • Open the Messages app and go to the conversation that contains the photo(s).
  • Scroll the chat until you find the photo. Click the Download icon next to the photo, which will save it to the Photos app.
  • download the photo from message thread

Redo the above steps to recover all the deleted photos from other chats as well.

Method 3: Restore from iCloud or iTunes Backup

iPhone users have a handy option to create a phone backup in iCloud and iTunes. This approach backs up the entire iPhone's data, including text messages and photos.

If you have an iCloud or iTunes backup, you can restore it to retrieve the deleted photos. However, keep in mind that this method will wipe out iPhone's existing data and replace it with backed-up data.

Follow the steps below to restore iPhone text message photos from iCloud or iTunes backup:

From iCloud

  • ou have to factory reset your iPhone to initiate the iCloud restore process. To do so, go to the Settings app and click General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings.
  • factory reset iphone
  • Begin the iPhone setup and follow the on-screen instructions until you see the Transfer Your Apps & Data window. From there, click From iCloud Backup.
  • iphone restore from icloud backup
  • Sign in using the Apple ID credentials. Pick the backup file and initiate the restore process.

Once the restoration is completed, head to the Photos app and look for the deleted photos.

From iTunes

  • Connect your iPhone to the computer using a USB cable and launch iTunes.
  • Tap on your phone name from the left and click Restore Backup.
  • restoring backup from itunes
  • Select the backup file and enter the password. Once done, click Restore.
  • selecting the backup to restore

Method 4: Use iPhone Data Recovery Software

Many times, iPhone users don't have a backup to restore, and photos also don't appear in the Recently Deleted folder. That's where iPhone data recovery software steps in.

UltData iPhone Data Recovery is a powerful recovery tool for iPhone that can recover all types of deleted or lost data from an iPhone. It can recover deleted photos, text messages, videos, and other data types by performing a deep scan of the internal storage. In this scan, it retrieves all recoverable data and then allows you to preview and restore the deleted files.

The key features of UltData iPhone Data Recovery include:

  • Recover deleted photos from text messages on iPhone without backup.
  • Recover photos from unintentional deletion, factory reset, iOS upgrade bug, system crash, etc.
  • Deep scanning to retrieve all lost data.
  • Recover other data types as well, including videos, contacts, notes, calendar, third-party apps, etc.
  • Preview of recoverable files, followed by selective recovery of files.

Simply put, UltData iPhone Data Recovery is your all-in-one platform to recover deleted photos, text messages, and other data types.

Check out the steps below to learn how to recover deleted photos from text messages on iPhone using UltData iPhone Data Recovery:

  • Dwonload and Install and run the tool on your Windows/Mac computer. Click iPhone/iPad Data Recovery from the list of options.
  • selecting iphone/ipad data recovery
  • Link your computer with the iPhone using a USB cable.
  • connecting iphone to computer via usb cable
  • Select Photos, Messages, and other data types you want to recover and click Start.
  • selecting the data types to scan
  • Once the scan is finished, preview and select the files to retrieve. Lastly, hit the Recover button.
  • preview-based recovery

That's it! So, a 4-step process lets you retrieve the deleted photos without any hassle.

Bonus Tip: You can also use UltData iPhone Data Recover to recover selective files from iCloud or iTunes backup without the need to overwrite existing iPhone data.

Method 5: Ask the Sender to Re-Send the Photo (if possible)

The last and simplest method to recover iPhone text message photos is to ask the sender to re-send the photo. If you believe the sender won't mind re-sending the photos, then this approach is the best and the easiest one.

You can gently send a message or make a call to explain the situation and request that they share the photo with you again.

Part 3: How to Prevent Losing iPhone Text Message Photos in the Future

Losing iPhone text message photos is avoidable if you create regular backups of your iPhone. You can use iCloud or iTunes to create a backup, but their restoration process isn't friendly.

In contrast, UltData iPhone Data Recovery provides a convenient way to backup and restore iPhone text message photos. Here's how you can quickly back up iPhone data with it:

  • Launch UltData iPhone Data Recovery. Select the iPhone Data tab and click Data Backup.
  • selecting data backup
  • Connect your iPhone to the computer using a USB cable.
  • choosing data types to backup
  • Select the data types to backup and tap Scan.
  • choosing data types to backup
  • After the scan, preview and select the photos and other data to backup. Once done, click Save to PC.
  • preview-based backup of selective data

This way, you can easily create iPhone backups on your PC. When you need to restore it, you can again use the UltData tool, press a few simple clicks, and recover all or selective data.

To Sum Up

It isn't a big hassle to recover deleted photos from text messages on iPhone. You just need to use the right method to retrieve those photos. Above, we have learned five methods to recover photos. You can choose any of them that fits you the best.

Out of all of them, UltData iPhone Data Recovery offers the most promising solution with its deep scanning and preview-based recovery. Therefore, we recommend that you install UltData iPhone Data Recovery and get back your deleted photos from text messages right away.

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