Recently Deleted Photos Mac Not Showing | How to Find Recently Delete Album

Deleting an item on Mac means moving it to the Trash bin, a program with macOS that saves your deleted files or folders for 30 days, during which time you can recover deleted files on Mac.

But the deleted photos from the Photos app on Mac won't go to the Trash bin, so where do deleted photos go on Mac? The answer is the Recently Deleted album.

If you are a photography enthusiast with many great photos stored on your Mac, and you accidentally deleted some of them while organizing disk space, don't be afraid; you can easily recover them with the Recently Deleted album. However, Mac users have reported that the Recently Deleted photos on Mac were not showing.

If the Recently Deleted photos on Mac not showing, don't worry; this article will detail 6 reliable ways to solve this problem and restore the deleted photos if you want:

1. 🏆Fix 1. Recover Missing Recently Deleted Photos Using Software
2. 🖼️Fix 2. Access Recently Deleted Photos from the Photos Sidebar
3. ⚙️Fix 3. Show Recently Deleted Option in File Menu
4. 🗑️Fix 4. Delete a Photo to Access Recently Deleted Album
5. 🔓Fix 5. Unhide Recently Deleted Album Using Mac Terminal
6. ⏱️Fix 6. Restore Recently Deleted Photos with Time Machine

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

Can't Find Recently Deleted Photos on Mac: Possible Causes

By default, if the settings are correct, the recently deleted photos on Mac are visible. Once you delete a photo on your Mac, you can find the Recently Deleted Photos on your Mac by opening the Photos app on your Mac to find the Recently Deleted Photos on the sidebar.

Suppose the Recently Deleted album in your Photo Library on your Mac is missing. In that case, it means you haven't deleted a photo in 30 days, or the 30-day waiting period has expired, so your deleted photos have been permanently deleted.

Is it possible to recover permanently deleted files on Mac? The answer is yes. Mac's professional photo recovery software can help you regain permanently deleted photos! Read on to learn the detailed steps.

How to Fix Recently Deleted Photos on Mac Not Showing

Here are 6 effective ways to fix the Recently Deleted Photos on Mac not showing issue; take a look.

Fix 1. Recover Missing Recently Deleted Photos Using Software

In more than 30 days after the retention period, the photos will be permanently deleted, and there is no way to recover them through the Recently Deleted album; you can only use a backup tool, like iCloud or Time Machine on Mac, to retrieve these permanently deleted files, or utilize more effective and convenient way, professional data recovery software EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac.

It can recover permanently deleted photos on Mac even if the Recently Deleted album deleted them after 30 days. With its user-friendly interface, you can recover photos without any computer experience. Check out the steps below to learn how to recover the deleted photos when the Recently Deleted photos are missing on your Mac:

Note: You can create a backup by clicking the "Disk Backup" on the left first and then recover from the backup image, it can prevent further damage to the photos in Mac Library, making it safer and more reliable.

Step 1. Search for lost photos

Launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac, hover the mouse over the system drive where the Photos Library is, and click "Search for lost files".

Step 2. Find pictures from the library

After finishing the scan, click "Photos" under the "Path" tab. All your lost photos will list here.

Step 3. Recover photos from the library

Double-click to preview the photo, select the right one and click "Recover" to save the images to another secure location on your Mac.

Fix 2. Access Recently Deleted Photos from the Photos Sidebar

If you've deleted some photos, but the Recently Deleted folder doesn't appear in the sidebar of the Photos app, you probably haven't turned on the Show Sidebar setting. Check out the following steps:

Step 1. Open "Photos" on your Mac, and opt for the "View" tab to view all options listed.

Step 2. Select "Show Sidebar" from the options and find the Recently Deleted folder.

Fix 3. Show Recently Deleted Option in File Menu

Unmasking the Recently Deleted option may also make it not show on your Photos app. Check out the steps here:

Step 1. Launch the Photos app on your Mac, and select the "File" tab on the top menu.

Step 2. Click on "Show Recently Deleted" to make the deleted photos visible on your Mac.

Fix 4. Delete a Photo to Access Recently Deleted Album

As mentioned above, the disappearance of Recently Deleted photos on Mac could be that you haven't deleted any photos in 30 days. To verify if your Recently Deleted Photos feature is working properly, you can try deleting an unwanted photo to check if it appears properly in the sidebar.

Note: Don't use the Move to Trash shortcut on Mac, such as "Command + Delete", or use the Deleted Immediately on Mac by right-clicking that will permanently delete an item and skip the Trash bin or Recently Deleted folder.

Share this article on social media to help others learn how to fix the Recently Deleted photos not showing on Mac and how to recover the deleted photos in this case.

Fix 5. Unhide Recently Deleted Album Using Mac Terminal

Sometimes, you may hide important photos for privacy reasons and then forget that he ever did so. In addition, a malware infection may cause files to be hidden. If this is the case, then you may want to unhide all files and folders on your Mac. Follow the steps here:

Step 1. Open Terminal in the Applications > Utilities folder on Mac.

Step 2. Type the command defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE, and press "Enter".

Step 3. Type Killall Finder, and press "Enter" to make your hidden files on Mac to be visible in Finder.

Fix 6. Restore Recently Deleted Photos with Time Machine

After making sure that your Recently Deleted folder function is not abnormal and the deleted photos are not showing on Mac because they have exceeded the 30-day retention period, in addition to using the professional data recovery software we mentioned before to restore these permanently deleted photos, you can also use restore Mac from Time Machine backup to recover them. Take a look:

Step 1. Go to "Time Machine" and check the "Show Time Machine in the menu bar" option.

Step 2. Click on the Time Machine icon on the menu bar, and select a backup that stores the deleted photos.

Step 3. Click "Restore" to return the deleted photos to their original location on your Mac.

Conclusion

The Recently Deleted photos not showing on Mac may occur due to you haven't deleted a photo in 30 days, or the 30-day waiting period has expired, so your deleted photos have been permanently deleted. And you can recover the permanently deleted photos that can't find in the Recently Deleted folder by using EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac.

Recently Deleted Photos on Mac Not Showing FAQs

Here are questions people frequently ask when they search for how to fix the Recently Deleted photos on Mac not showing:

1. Why can't I see recently deleted photos on Mac?

The reasons may be that you hide the Recently Deleted album, you haven't deleted a photo in 30 days, or the 30-day waiting period has expired, so your deleted photos have been permanently deleted.

2. Where are my recently deleted photos on Mac?

Your deleted photos on Mac will move to a folder called "Recently Deleted". You should open the Photos app on your Mac, and you can find the Recently Deleted photos in the sidebar.

3. Why can't I recover photos from recently deleted?

Photos that have been deleted over 30 days will be permanently deleted from your Mac, so you can't recover them from the Recently Deleted album. But you can recover permanently deleted photos using EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac, which is a professional and trusted photo recovery software.