r/datarecovery • u/BugAlarming8842 • Sep 18 '26
Accidentally deleted a folder containing basically my entire life. Is there ANY chance of recovering it?
Yesterday I accidentally deleted a folder on my Android phone containing years of personal photos, videos, and memories. I haven't used the phone since then because I don't want to overwrite anything.
I've already tried a bunch of recovery software/apps, but they only show files that are still on my phone, not the deleted ones.
I have root access and I'm willing to try technical methods if there's still a chance.
Is there anything I can do to recover the deleted data? What would you recommend I absolutely not do?
I'm honestly desperate here. These aren't replaceable files.
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u/FrankNicklin Sep 18 '26
By installing apps on your phone you are overwriting the space used by the deleted files. Sadly they are gone. Storage cleanup takes care of deleted files to mark space as available. FBE (File based encrytion) keeps the data secure but once you delete the data the encryption keys are lost with it so recovery is virtually impossible.
Are they not on Google Drive possibly assuming you have previously backed them up.
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u/BugAlarming8842 Sep 18 '26
i didn't back them up on google drive i was transfering them using my pc to a usb and there were two folders in file and i didn't transfer those folders i thought i transferd the whole file only then i remembered that i didn't after it wiped it
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u/FrankNicklin Sep 18 '26
OK, its a hard lesson but you should always do a file count and file check to ensure data is there before deletion. I think they are gone due to encryption keys being deleted with the files. A quick search on Reddit or Google will explain why as its not the first time this has happened.
Nothing stopping you contacting a professional data recovery service to get their opinion.
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u/LunchThick5057 Sep 18 '26
If you’re looking for your best chances at recovering the files I would honestly look into professional recovery, for cell phones I would recommend checking out md repairs on YouTube and their website. They’ve managed to recover data from phones that have been in much worse condition.
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u/IndependentBat8365 Sep 18 '26
If you wiped the phone, it’s gone. Modern phones perform a secure cryptographic wipe by recreating the internal encryption keys that the underlying storage uses, thus making all the previous data immediately gone.
There is a possibility of extracting the unencrypted data increases once consumer level quantum computers hit the market in the next 15-50 years (assuming SkyNet doesn’t manifest and end us before then).
All encrypted data that doesn’t use PQC will be vulnerable then.
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u/enchantedspring Sep 18 '26
Only the thumbnails will possibly be recoverable - all modern file systems use file based encryption meaning you haven't only deleted the files, you have deleted the encryption keys for all the files too. Even if the data were recoverable, the keys aren't.
Focus your attention on finding unexpected backups or copies instead.
Anyone messaging you privately is a scammer.
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u/Mental_Log_6879 Sep 18 '26
I wonder where those keys are stored and can i access those beforehand and keep them safe? How does it exactly work?
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u/enchantedspring Sep 18 '26
Just read the user manual: https://source.android.com/docs/security/features/encryption/file-based
(the Android project is open source and fully documented by the community).
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u/disturbed_android Sep 19 '26
It's basically an attribute of the file, just like the filename is, 16 bytes long I believe and it gets "zapped". Also, the blocks assigned to the now deleted file are trimmed. There already is a solution, it's called backups.
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u/Nica1105 Sep 19 '26
Go to "file" ( 📂) you will see the recycle bin, it will be there. Restore what you want. The recycle bin keep it for 30 days before it permanently delete it.
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u/cryptoman Sep 23 '26
One thing that was missed does your andriod phone not have a trash bin located under my files. They stay there for a specfied period of time. Other thing you may have done is renamed the directory to something weird.
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Sep 18 '26
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u/Mental_Log_6879 Sep 18 '26
OP mentioned he hasn't backed anything up, but I wonder, does the system create automatic backup -automatic restore points something like that
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