Accidentally emptied Mac trash! Can I recover it? Help!

[HellDiver]

Hi there, I’ve run into a bit of a situation. I went to the mountains with my friends and took a lot of photos with my Canon. When I got back home, I uploaded photos of my friend and his wife to a temporary cloud storage so he could download them. At the same time, I moved those photos to the Trash on my Mac.

 

A little later, I was clearing out other unnecessary files from the Trash and, out of habit, emptied it completely. Everything seemed fine until my friend told me that when he finally decided to download the photos, the link in the cloud service was already inactive…

 

So my question is, is there any way to recover photos that were deleted from the emptied Trash on my Mac? 😢

 

UPD: Big thanks to everyone who helped me recover my files! After working through everything step by step, we figured out that the right move was to scan the SD card with Disk Drill (or another data recovery program) - the one where my photos were originally stored before they ended up on my Mac and got deleted. And sure enough, Disk Drill found and recovered all my trip photos!

Edited July 7, 2025 by HellDiver
UPD

[D_Harris_05]

27 minutes ago, HellDiver said:

Hi there, I’ve run into a bit of a situation. I went to the mountains with my friends and took a lot of photos with my Canon. When I got back home, I uploaded photos of my friend and his wife to a temporary cloud storage so he could download them. At the same time, I moved those photos to the Trash on my Mac.

 

A little later, I was clearing out other unnecessary files from the Trash and, out of habit, emptied it completely. Everything seemed fine until my friend told me that when he finally decided to download the photos, the link in the cloud service was already inactive…

 

So my question is, is there any way to recover photos that were deleted from the emptied Trash on my Mac? 😢

Yes @verdazil is right.

Do you have Time Machine or any other backup software set up? It’s possible your files made it into a backup, allowing you to restore them without needing to recover the Trash on your Mac.
Let me clarify: if you have Time Machine backups configured but your backup drive wasn’t connected at the time when the files could’ve been backed up, your APFS system drive still creates hourly snapshots of modified files. This means your photos might be available there, even without a full Time Machine backup or after emptying the Trash.
If you didn’t know this, interacting with these local snapshots is straightforward- just open the Time Machine file recovery interface. Use the timeline as you would with regular backups to search for and retrieve your files.

[TechieGuru99]

I would like to add a comment to the previous post. If your Mac is running low on free space, it’s possible that local snapshots weren’t saved. Unfortunately, that’s just how this feature works - it prioritizes available storage, and when space is limited, snapshots may not be created or retained. Just something to keep in mind.

[PixelDreamer5]

@HellDiver What kind of Mac are you using? Does it have an HDD or SSD onboard? How long ago did the data loss happen, and have you used your device much since then?
I totally get that losing valuable photos can be overwhelming, but take a look at other topics on the forum - everyone usually shares details about their device, file system, reasons for the loss, and so on. This info helps the rest of us give better advice that can actually help you recover those deleted files from the Trash on your Mac. Let us know, and we’ll try to figure something out!

[UrbanExplorer7]

If you’ve got a Mac with an SSD, chances are your files are already chilling in Valhalla thanks to the TRIM command on your drive. Basically, TRIM reorganizes memory blocks on your SSD after deleting files to boost performance and extend the lifespan of your drive. Sounds great, right? Well, here’s the catch: once TRIM does its thing, those files are pretty much gone for good. Sorry, my dude… 😞

[HellDiver]

50 minutes ago, D_Harris_05 said:

Yes @verdazil is right.

Do you have Time Machine or any other backup software set up? It’s possible your files made it into a backup, allowing you to restore them without needing to recover the Trash on your Mac.
Let me clarify: if you have Time Machine backups configured but your backup drive wasn’t connected at the time when the files could’ve been backed up, your APFS system drive still creates hourly snapshots of modified files. This means your photos might be available there, even without a full Time Machine backup or after emptying the Trash.
If you didn’t know this, interacting with these local snapshots is straightforward- just open the Time Machine file recovery interface. Use the timeline as you would with regular backups to search for and retrieve your files.

Yes, I do have Time Machine set up, but I haven’t made any backups for over two months. I feel like crying over this—I really need to do one right away to protect the rest of my files.
I checked the local snapshots, but after searching through them, I couldn’t find anything. Are there any other ideas on how I can undo emptying the Trash on my Mac?

[HellDiver]

33 minutes ago, PixelDreamer5 said:

@HellDiver What kind of Mac are you using? Does it have an HDD or SSD onboard? How long ago did the data loss happen, and have you used your device much since then?
I totally get that losing valuable photos can be overwhelming, but take a look at other topics on the forum - everyone usually shares details about their device, file system, reasons for the loss, and so on. This info helps the rest of us give better advice that can actually help you recover those deleted files from the Trash on your Mac. Let us know, and we’ll try to figure something out!

I have a Mac Mini 2018 with an Intel processor. I googled some info about it, and yes, it does have an SSD.
Now, the answer from @UrbanExplorer7 about the impossibility of recovering files from a Mac with an SSD really scares me. I haven’t used my Mac much since deleting the files. When I told my friend about the situation, he suggested putting it into sleep mode, which I did. He also recommended contacting a professional data recovery service in my city, but after checking their prices, I honestly really want to find a MUCH cheaper solution.

[UrbanExplorer7]

Turn on your Mac and try installing a data recovery program, then scan your drive. Just make sure to use software that can run from a different disk - pretty sure Disk Drill can do that. If I’m not mistaken, you’ll need to install a kext to scan the system drive specifically. They’ve got detailed instructions for that on their website, and the app itself links to them too.

 

Yeah, I get it, you have an SSD, but most of these programs let you scan for free and see that is recoverable. At the very least, you’ll get to preview the results. Disk Drill, for example, can preview RAW photos from Canon (CR2, CR3, CRW), which is pretty handy.

 

If you’re lucky enough to find your files, just go ahead and buy the software right away to recover files from emptied trash on your Mac. Otherwise, after the next scan, those files might really be gone for good. Good luck, mate! 🤞

[MikeB76]

7 minutes ago, UrbanExplorer7 said:

Turn on your Mac and try installing a data recovery program, then scan your drive. Just make sure to use software that can run from a different disk - pretty sure Disk Drill can do that. If I’m not mistaken, you’ll need to install a kext to scan the system drive specifically. They’ve got detailed instructions for that on their website, and the app itself links to them too.

 

Yeah, I get it, you have an SSD, but most of these programs let you scan for free and see that is recoverable. At the very least, you’ll get to preview the results. Disk Drill, for example, can preview RAW photos from Canon (CR2, CR3, CRW), which is pretty handy.

 

If you’re lucky enough to find your files, just go ahead and buy the software right away to recover files from emptied trash on your Mac. Otherwise, after the next scan, those files might really be gone for good. Good luck, mate! 🤞

As an alternative to Disk Drill, I’d recommend the free PhotoRec, but it does have quite a few downsides. For one, it ignores your disk’s file system and restores files only based on their unique signatures. It also runs through Terminal and has pretty slow scanning speeds, which might be a dealbreaker depending on your situation. And the kicker—it doesn’t let you pick specific files to recover, it just restores everything it can, and you’ll have to sort through the results in Finder yourself.

[UrbanExplorer7]

@MikeB76, you’re way off here. The @HellDiver's Mac Mini has a T2 security chip, and that thing encrypts the system disk. PhotoRec won’t find any deleted files - it can only recover existing ones. Unlike Disk Drill, it doesn’t have the kext functionality to dig deeper into the system drive.

 

If you’re looking for alternatives to Disk Drill, you could check out R-Studio or EaseUS. R-Studio, though, has a much more pro-level interface, which makes it harder to use, and the results will be pretty much the same. Trust me, I’ve tested this a bunch of times. As for EaseUS, it’s actually delivered worse results compared to Disk Drill in my experience.

 

Just my two cents - take it or leave it, lol. 😅

[HellDiver]

I tried scanning my Mac with R-Studio and Disk Drill, but there were no traces of my files. I went through thousands of found images, but not a single one was what I needed.
I’m starting to lose hope that the files will ever be recovered… Maybe I should have taken my Mac to a data recovery service right away? 😞

[UrbanExplorer7]

12 minutes ago, HellDiver said:

I tried scanning my Mac with R-Studio and Disk Drill, but there were no traces of my files. I went through thousands of found images, but not a single one was what I needed.
I’m starting to lose hope that the files will ever be recovered… Maybe I should have taken my Mac to a data recovery service right away? 😞

So, I was just sitting here thinking about other solutions, and it hit me -maybe we’re looking at this all wrong? 🤔
Hey @HellDiver, can you clarify something real quick? Did you delete those photos directly from your Mac, like from the desktop, your Photos folder, or whatever? Or… could it have been your memory card that was connected to the Mac at the time? This might change everything.

[HellDiver]

14 minutes ago, UrbanExplorer7 said:

So, I was just sitting here thinking about other solutions, and it hit me -maybe we’re looking at this all wrong? 🤔
Hey @HellDiver, can you clarify something real quick? Did you delete those photos directly from your Mac, like from the desktop, your Photos folder, or whatever? Or… could it have been your memory card that was connected to the Mac at the time? This might change everything.

The photos were deleted from the SD card of my camera, and yes, it was connected to the Mac at that time. But why does that matter? Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I’m not very tech-savvy. 😅

[UrbanExplorer7]

Just now, HellDiver said:

The photos were deleted from the SD card of my camera, and yes, it was connected to the Mac at that time. But why does that matter? Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I’m not very tech-savvy. 😅

LMAO, and we’re only figuring this out now? Classicccc 😂 But yo, with this info, your chances of success just shot way up…!
Here’s the deal: when you delete files from an SD card, they’re not really gone. They’re just chilling in a hidden folder called .Trashes, and your Mac’s trash bin is basically just showing those files - it doesn’t actually move them to your Mac.
So, here’s what you do: use any of the recovery software you’ve already got installed and scan the SD card directly. If you haven’t written anything new to the card since deleting the photos, you should be able to get them back, no problem. If you have written over them… well, RIP, ‘cause nobody’s bringing those back. 😅

[HellDiver]

1 minute ago, UrbanExplorer7 said:

LMAO, and we’re only figuring this out now? Classicccc 😂 But yo, with this info, your chances of success just shot way up…!
Here’s the deal: when you delete files from an SD card, they’re not really gone. They’re just chilling in a hidden folder called .Trashes, and your Mac’s trash bin is basically just showing those files - it doesn’t actually move them to your Mac.
So, here’s what you do: use any of the recovery software you’ve already got installed and scan the SD card directly. If you haven’t written anything new to the card since deleting the photos, you should be able to get them back, no problem. If you have written over them… well, RIP, ‘cause nobody’s bringing those back. 😅

I didn’t know all that about the Trash, maybe it’ll come in handy for me in the future. For now, I’m off to scan my SD card.
By the way, I did take two photos of my cat on the card since then, but I don’t think it’ll be a huge issue considering there are over a thousand files from the trip… Fingers crossed!

[UrbanExplorer7]

2 minutes ago, HellDiver said:

I didn’t know all that about the Trash, maybe it’ll come in handy for me in the future. For now, I’m off to scan my SD card.
By the way, I did take two photos of my cat on the card since then, but I don’t think it’ll be a huge issue considering there are over a thousand files from the trip… Fingers crossed!

Good luck with the recovery, man! Let us know if you manage to pull it off or if the files are gone to file heaven. Fingers crossed for ya! 🤞

[HellDiver]

OMG!!! I recovered all my photos! Huge thanks to @UrbanExplorer7 for the help. I scanned the SD card with Disk Drill, and it managed to recover all my photos. I’m beyond happy about this!!! 

[oleksandr-lukashyn]

This thread turned out to be quite amusing. I’m glad the story ended successfully for @HellDiver! 😊
For anyone who might find themselves in a similar situation, trying to restore emptied Trash on Mac, here are my recommendations (many of which were already mentioned in this thread):

1. Always check available backups first: It doesn’t matter whether it’s a Time Machine backup, local snapshots, Google Drive, or any other cloud service. Backups should be your first stop.
2. Identify the device where the data loss occurred: As this topic shows, it’s not always immediately clear to the person experiencing the issue which device was responsible for the data loss.
3. Avoid using the device with the lost data: This prevents overwriting the deleted data with new files. Deleted files are marked by the system as ready for overwriting, but they remain on your device unless you’re dealing with SSDs with TRIM functionality. TRIM reorganizes memory blocks after deletion, making recovery impossible.
4. A note on TRIM for external SSDs: If the SSD controller supports TRIM and it’s connected to your Mac via Thunderbolt, TRIM may also be active.
5. Use reliable data recovery software: To retrieve deleted files, quality software is essential. In @HellDiver’s case, Disk Drill was the solution, but other good options include R-Studio, PhotoRec (free), EaseUS, and DMDE.

 

[Max.1974]

@oleksandr-lukashyn Grettings! I know only now one more CEO (Big Shark Boss) like my friend (brother) @Allan !! Welcome!! 

 

Congrats to all envolved for recovery files, i really recommend people have 2 HDs (SSD or HDD) and storage on clouds like iCloud or something like that. I save my files safety and never left on my internal HD/SSD/NVMe. Always backup and im not use Time Machine. 

 

Edited January 30, 2025 by Max.1974