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Start with the place the video was stored: Photos > Recently Deleted for a clip in your Photos library, or the Trash for a regular Finder file. If it is no longer there, check iCloud Drive recovery or a Time Machine backup made before deletion. Recovery after permanent deletion is not guaranteed.

First, identify where the video was stored

Photos and Finder use separate deletion locations. A video deleted from the Photos library goes to Photos’ Recently Deleted album; a regular file deleted in Finder goes to the Mac’s Trash. If you are unsure, check both before trying recovery software.

  • Imported or recorded into Photos: check Photos > Recently Deleted.
  • Saved in a folder such as Movies, Downloads, or Desktop: check Trash.
  • Stored in iCloud Drive: check iCloud’s deleted-file recovery.
  • Already removed from those locations: look for a pre-deletion Time Machine backup.

Recover a video from Photos’ Recently Deleted album

  1. Open Photos on your Mac.
  2. In the sidebar, find Utilities and select Recently Deleted. If Utilities is collapsed, expand it.
  3. Select the video and click Recover. If the album is locked, choose View Album and authenticate first.

Apple says deleted photos and videos remain in Recently Deleted for 30 days. After that, items are permanently deleted from that album and cannot be restored there, according to Apple’s Photos User Guide for macOS 26.

If you use iCloud Photos, deleting a video from the library can also remove it from other devices signed in to the same Apple Account. Check Recently Deleted in Photos rather than assuming another synced device still has an independent copy.

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Put a Finder file back from Trash

  1. Open Trash from the Dock.
  2. Locate the video.
  3. Drag it out of Trash, or select it and choose File > Put Back.

Put Back returns the file to its original location. This Finder workflow does not apply to a video deleted from the Photos library, which has its own Recently Deleted album. Apple’s Mac file deletion guide describes the Trash workflow.

Check iCloud Drive recovery for a deleted file

If the video was a file in iCloud Drive rather than part of an iCloud Photos library, Apple’s surfaced recovery guidance says deleted iCloud Drive and other app files can be recovered within 30 days. This is a separate route from Photos’ Recently Deleted album. Apple’s iCloud support information describes the recovery window; the exact web interface steps are not established here, so use Apple’s current iCloud recovery page rather than relying on instructions for a possibly changed layout.

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Restore the video from a Time Machine backup

Time Machine can help if a backup contains the video from before it was deleted. Apple says restored items return to their original location, and notes that Time Machine can recover lost items or older file versions.

  1. In Finder, open the folder where the video was stored before deletion. For a Photos library item, restoration may involve the photo library rather than an isolated exported video file.
  2. Open Time Machine.
  3. Browse the timeline or backups to a date before the deletion.
  4. Select the video or relevant library item and click Restore.

See Apple’s Time Machine restore guide for the backup workflow. A backup created only after the video was deleted will not contain that earlier copy.

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If the video is not in Trash, Recently Deleted, iCloud recovery, or backup

There is no guaranteed recovery method once the normal deletion window has passed and no usable backup exists. Apple documents the Photos recovery window and points to backups as a route for permanently deleted items; it does not promise that third-party software can recover them.

If the footage is valuable, avoid saving or installing additional data on the affected storage and consider contacting a reputable data-recovery professional before attempting utilities on the same disk. This is a cautious step, not a guarantee of success. Results depend on the storage device and what has happened to its data since deletion; no general success rate is established.

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Set up a backup for next time

Time Machine requires a backup that already contains the file from before it was deleted. An external drive for Time Machine can help protect future files, but buying one now cannot restore a video that was never backed up.

Quick Recap

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Seagate 2TB Portable Hard Drive | USB 3.0 (STGX2000400)
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