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Find or recover missing iCloud Drive files

Check Recently Deleted first: Files app → Browse → Recently Deleted on iPhone or iPad, or icloud.com/iclouddrive → Recently Deleted. Apple removes files from there after 30 days (PR30). If the file isn’t there, use Data Recovery on iCloud.com and leave iCloud Drive alone while it runs.

9 min readiCloud Drive on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows PC and iCloud.comChecked October 2026

Before you start recovery. Don’t edit, delete or even browse iCloud Drive in another browser window while data recovery runs — Apple says it can interrupt the process (PR32). And remember that deleting a file in iCloud Drive on one device removes it from every device signed in to the same Apple Account (PR43).

Where you deleted it

Your device or situation

Look in: Files → Browse → Recently Deleted

You have 30 days to get files back from Recently Deleted (PR52); recovered files return to their original location (PR44). Path: Browse → Locations → Recently Deleted (PR36).

How many days ago did it happen?

Uses the choice above. Where a period depends on your plan or admin, the page says so.

Where an iCloud Drive copy may still exist

Possible places, not a guaranteed order. Which ones exist depends on your devices, your backups and how long ago the file went missing.

Steps

Confirm the Apple Account, sync and the appApple: make sure you’re signed in to the same Apple Account on each device (PR59) — a device that isn’t signed in, or has iCloud Drive turned off, won’t show your files (PR99). On iPhone or iPad check Settings → [your name] → iCloud (PR100) → Drive → Sync this [device] (PR101); on a Mac, Sync this Mac (PR102). Files sync each time a device connects to the internet (PR103), so a file made offline may not have reached iCloud yet. If you use a third-party cloud service, check its folder under Locations in Finder or Files (PR58).
Look in Recently Deleted on iPhone or iPadFiles app → Browse → Locations → Recently Deleted (PR36) → More → Select → choose the files → Recover (PR53). Recovered files return to their original location (PR44).
Check Recently Deleted on iCloud.comicloud.com/iclouddrive → sign in → Recently Deleted in the sidebar (PR40) → select the files → Recover, or Recover All (PR54). This covers files deleted on any device that has iCloud Drive turned on (PR37).
Use Data Recovery if it isn’t thereApple: if the file isn’t in Recently Deleted, check Data Recovery (PR31). icloud.com/recovery → sign in (PR39) → Restore Files → select the files → Restore Files (PR55); on iCloud.com it is also in the toolbar under Data Recovery (PR56). Then leave iCloud Drive untouched until it finishes (PR32). Look for the file in the folder it was in when deleted (PR41).
Check the computer’s own binMac: open the Trash in Finder, Control-click the file → Put Back to return it to its original location (PR49). Windows: open the Recycle Bin, drag the file to your desktop or another location (PR57), then drag it into iCloud Drive in the Navigation pane (PR50). Apple lists both bins as places for recently deleted files (PR30).
Look outside iCloudOn a Mac, Finder → Macintosh HD → Users → your user name → iCloud Drive (Archive) if it exists (PR34). Check a Time Machine backup (PR33), and search with Spotlight by name or keywords (PR51).

Which iCloud route covers what

Route	Use it for	Period Apple gives	Watch out for
Recently Deleted (Files app)	Files deleted on iPhone or iPad	30 days (PR52)	Deleting from Recently Deleted is immediate and final (PR42)
Recently Deleted (iCloud.com)	Files deleted on any device with iCloud Drive on	Last 30 days (PR37)	Files can be removed before the 30 days are up (PR46)
Data Recovery (icloud.com/recovery)	Files not found in Recently Deleted, files from other apps	Last 30 days (PR37)	Changes to iCloud Drive during recovery can interrupt it (PR32)
Mac Trash / PC Recycle Bin	Files deleted on that computer	The official help does not describe this	Only on the computer where it was deleted (PR30)
Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Drive	A file missing on one device only	Not a time window	Device not signed in or iCloud Drive off (PR99)
Time Machine / iCloud Drive (Archive)	Copies kept outside iCloud	The official help does not describe this	Exists only if a backup or archive was made (PR33, PR34)

Codes like (PR30) point to the quote in our fact journal. Apple’s iCloud help gives 30 days for Recently Deleted and iCloud.com recovery; it does not give a period for the Mac Trash, the Windows Recycle Bin or Time Machine — those depend on your own computer and backup.

Why one deletion reaches every device

iCloud Drive is one library shared by all your devices. Apple says that deleting a file in iCloud Drive on one device removes it from every device signed in to the same Apple Account (PR43), and deleting it on iCloud.com removes it from all devices with iCloud Drive turned on (PR45). So a file that vanished from your Mac after someone used your iPad was most likely deleted once, everywhere — the place to look is Recently Deleted, not each device in turn. If you only wanted space back on one device, Remove Download keeps the file in iCloud Drive while freeing the device (PR47). Recently Deleted does not count toward your iCloud storage (PR48), but files in it can still be removed early (PR46), so do not clear it while you are still looking. If another person used your device and you think files were removed on purpose, secure your Apple Account first — our guide “Files changed after someone got into your cloud account” in the related guides below walks through it — then come back to recovery.

Limits: when nothing is left

Removed from Recently Deleted. Files deleted from Recently Deleted are deleted immediately and are not recoverable (PR42); iCloud.com can’t restore files you permanently remove (PR38).
Past 30 days. Apple removes files from Recently Deleted after 30 days (PR30), and iCloud.com recovery reaches back 30 days (PR37).
Interrupted recovery. Editing, deleting or browsing iCloud Drive in another window during data recovery can interrupt it (PR32).
Removed early. Files you delete from iCloud Drive are recoverable for 30 days, but deleted files can be removed before the 30 days are up (PR46).
Device not signed in or not syncing. A device that isn’t signed in to your Apple Account, or has iCloud Drive turned off, can’t access your files (PR99) — and a file made there may never have reached iCloud (PR103).

Questions

How long does iCloud Drive keep deleted files?

Apple says files are removed from Recently Deleted after 30 days, and iCloud.com can recover files deleted within the last 30 days.

Where is Recently Deleted on my iPhone?

Open the Files app, tap Browse, then under Locations tap Recently Deleted. Select the files and tap Recover.

What is Data Recovery on iCloud.com?

It is Apple’s route for files you don’t find in Recently Deleted, including files from other apps. Go to icloud.com/recovery and sign in to your Apple Account.

I deleted a file on my Mac and it disappeared from my iPhone too. Why?

Apple says deleting a file from iCloud Drive on one device removes it from every device signed in to the same Apple Account. Recover it from Recently Deleted.

I emptied Recently Deleted. Can I get the file back?

Apple says files deleted from Recently Deleted are deleted immediately and are not recoverable. Check a Time Machine backup or the iCloud Drive (Archive) folder.

Where does a recovered file go?

Back to its original location. On iCloud.com, look in the folder it was in when you deleted it.

Can I keep using iCloud Drive while recovery runs?

Better not. Apple warns that editing, deleting or even browsing iCloud Drive in another window can interrupt recovery.

A file shows on my Mac but not on my iPhone. Is it deleted?

Not necessarily. Apple says each device must be signed in to the same Apple Account with iCloud Drive turned on, and files sync each time the device connects to the internet.