New in iOS 18: Apple Adds ‘Recovered’ Album to Photos App

Apple’s latest iOS 18 update brings a new ‘Recovered’ album feature designed to help users locate and restore photos and videos that were previously lost or damaged.

As noted by 9to5Mac, this functionality extends across iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, and aims to address a variety of issues where photos and videos might have been lost or corrupted.

Common scenarios include database corruption or instances where media fails to save correctly to the Photos library. Third-party apps with access to the Photos library may also inadvertently cause photos and videos to become lost or damaged. The new feature scans the device for such recoverable media and consolidates them into the Recovered album.

This new album is designed to work seamlessly alongside the existing ‘Recently Deleted’ album, enhancing the overall functionality of the Photos app.

Here’s how users can access the new Recovered album in iOS 18:

• Open the Photos app: Navigate to the app from the home screen.
• Locate the Utilities section: Scroll down until you find “Utilities.”
• Tap on Recovered: Authenticate with Face ID or Touch ID for access.
• Manage your media: Users can either permanently delete the items or restore them to their library.

It’s important to note that the Recovered album will only be visible if there are lost or damaged photos or videos on the device. If no such media is found, the album won’t appear as an option.

The development of the Recovered album follows issues from iOS 17.5, where a database corruption bug caused previously deleted photos to resurface. Although Apple identified the bug as affecting a minimal number of users, the new feature aims to provide a more robust solution.