Accidentally deleting important app data on your iPhone can be extremely frustrating. Whether it’s photos, videos, documents, or chat history, losing precious app data is a common issue that many iPhone users face.
The good news is – with the right tools and techniques, recovering recently deleted iPhone app data is possible in many cases. In this comprehensive guide, I will provide step-by-step instructions on how to restore deleted app data on your iPhone.
Table of Contents
Common Causes of Deleted App Data on iPhone
Before looking at solutions, let’s first understand what causes app data to get deleted in the first place:
- Accidental deletion – A simple mis-tap can cause entire app data to be erased. This is one of the most common reasons for deleted app data.
- Restoring from backup – Sometimes when you restore iPhone data from an older backup, it can overwrite newer app data that’s not present in the backup.
- Offloading unused apps – The iPhone has an ‘Offload Unused Apps’ feature that deletes app data to free up storage space. If enabled, this can delete app data.
- Jailbreaking – Jailbreaking iPhones and installing unsupported apps can lead to system instability causing data loss.
4 Ways to Recover Recently Deleted App Data
If you’ve accidentally deleted app data or lost it due to any reason mentioned above, use any of these 4 methods to get it back:
1. Restore from iTunes or iCloud Backup
If you have a recent iTunes or iCloud backup available, you can easily restore app data from the backup. Just erase your iPhone and restore from the backup during setup. This will reinstate app data along with everything else saved in the backup.
However, this method only works if you have a backup. Also, restoring from backup will delete any new data saved on the phone after the last backup.
2. Use iPhone Data Recovery Software
Specialized iOS data recovery software provide the safest way to restore recently deleted app data from iPhone. They can recover data even without backup, directly from the iPhone storage.
Some things to look for when choosing data recovery software:
- Directly scans iPhone storage to find deleted data
- Allows previewing recoverable data before restoring
- Recovers various data types – photos, messages, documents etc.
- Safe, read-only recovery that won’t damage iPhone data
iMyFone D-Back and iSkysoft iPhone Data Recovery are two excellent data recovery apps for iPhone.
3. Check the ‘Recently Deleted’ Folder
Some iPhone apps like Photos have a ‘Recently Deleted’ album where deleted items are stored for up to 40 days. You can restore deleted photos and videos from here before they are permanently erased.
While this folder isn’t present for all apps, it’s worth checking if the app supports this feature.
4. Re-download Deleted Apps
If you’ve deleted an app itself, you can re-download it from the App Store and regain access. However, any app data will still be erased.
For paid apps purchased earlier, you can install them again for free. Just tap your profile icon on App Store > Purchased > Not On This iPhone.
Tips to Avoid Losing iPhone App Data
Here are some handy tips to ensure you have app data backups ready, should you ever need to restore deleted files:
- Setup automatic iCloud backups on iPhone
- Manually backup to iTunes occasionally
- Disable ‘Offload Unused Apps’ in iPhone settings
- Handle iPhone carefully to prevent accidental data loss
- Update to latest iOS version for system stability
Conclusion
Losing precious memories and information saved within iPhone apps can be disheartening. However, in most cases, recently deleted app data is recoverable with the right tools and techniques.
I hope this guide gives you a good understanding of how to restore deleted app data on your iPhone. Let me know if you have any other questions!
