iOS 18 adds 'Recovered' photo album in Photos app

Soon, users will be able to recover lost or damaged photos thanks to a new feature Apple will be rolling out in this fall's operating system updates — here's how beta participants can try it out now.

Apple has begun testing a new feature in its iOS 18 beta — a "Recovered" album that will show users lost and damaged photos. The new feature will be part of the upcoming revamp of the Photos app.

Apple says that devices running iOS 18, iPadOS 18, or macOS Sequoia will automatically detect lost or damaged photos and videos. Once identified, users will be able to permanently delete or restore them to the Photos library.

It also notes that photos and videos can become lost for any number of reasons, ranging from database corruption to photos that simply didn't save correctly after they were taken.

How to delete or restore photos on iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia

Open Photos
Tap Albums
Scroll down and tap Recovered
Use Face ID or Touch ID to unlock the album
Tap the media you wish to restore
Tap Permanently Delete or Restore to library

The "Recovered" album will only appear on a user's device if there are images on a user's device that are not part of the Photos library. If you do not have any corrupt or missing images, the album will not be available.

In addition to the new media recovery tool, Apple has added a handful of new features to its Photos app as part of the iOS 18 family of updates. This includes a handy new Clean Up tool, which allows users to select objects within an image, and remove them through Apple's on-device AI software.