Why When I Delete A Photo It Comes Back on Android Phone, iPhone and Computer

Sophie Green
2024-04-11
Home > Resources > Phone Clean > Why When I Delete A Photo It Comes Back on Android Phone, iPhone and Computer

Summary

"Why when I delete a photo, but it comes back to my device. And I delete it again, but it still reappears. It has never happened before. What can I do? Is something wrong with my device?"

If you meet the same case as above and leave you scratching your head, please read this article. It has provided effective fixes, no matter what your device is Android, iOS or computer. Then you can delete your pictures without reappearing.

why when i delete a photo it comes back

Part 1: Why Do My Photos Keep Reappearing After I Delete Them?

"When I try to delete a photo, it comes back? Why do my deleted photos keep coming back on my Android phone/iPhone/computer?" It's important to find out why deleted photos keep reappearing on a device, which will play a critical role in solving the problem. Here are the common causes:

  • Your photos are synced to the cloud, so when you remove them from your device, the backup on the cloud will be synced to your device.
  • The automatic restoration feature is enabled on your device, so it will restore your deleted photos on its own.
  • The backup app that you installed on your device can automatically restore deleted pictures.
  • There are system bugs on your device that make your deleted photos reappear.

See more: Delete Everything on Your Phone Samsung - 3 Pivotal Methods

Part 2: Fix Deleted Photos Coming Back on Android

"I keep deleting photos and they reappear on my Android phone." For Android users, you can address the issue of deleted photos coming back with 6 easy methods. In general, they can help you solve the problem thoroughly.

2.1 Turn Off Photo Sync

As you turn on the Photo Sync feature on your Android phone, it will synchronize your pictures between your Android device and your cloud storage space when the network is available. Thus, turn it off to prevent your deleted pictures from reappearing.

Turn off Photo Sync in Android Settings:

Step 1: Go to Settings on Android, and choose "Accounts and backup".

Step 2: Tap "Accounts" and choose your Google Account.

Step 3: Disable the "Photos" option. Then delete the pictures again.

switch off photo sync on android settings

Switch off Photo Sync on Android Gallery:

Step 1: On Samsung Galaxy devices, you need to toggle off the Gallery sync with OneDrive. Please go to the Gallery app.

Step 2: Click the "Menu" icon at the bottom, and turn off the "Sync with OneDrive" feature.

stop deleted photos from keeping appearing on android by turning off photo sync with onedrive on the gallery app

Disable the Photo Sync on Google Photos:

Step 1: If you have used Google Photos to back up your images on your Android phone, you need to turn off the backup and syncing feature. Please open Google Photos.

Step 2: Tap your profile and "Google Photos settings".

Step 3: Turn off the "Back up & sync" option.

stop the backup and sync feature on google photos

Learn more: Wipe a SIM Card with Android Completely Using 3 Ways

2.2 Clear Gallery Cache

How come when I delete a picture but it comes back? The cache files will impact the performance of the Gallery app, so you can remove the caches of the Android Gallery app to fix the issue.

Step 1: Go to Settings and click "Apps".

Step 2: Find and click the "Gallery" app.

Step 3: Tap "Storage" > "Clear cache". Then remove your photos again.

clear cache of gallery to fix deleted pictures reappearing

2.3 Remove Pictures from Google Photos

If you have backed up your photos with Google Photos and failed to remove them on your Android phone, you can remove the backup from Google Photos, and then the images will not appear.

Step 1: Go to Google Photos, and log in to the Google Account that you backed up your photos.

Step 2: Locate the pictures that you don't need anymore, and remove them completely from your account.

Step 3: Delete the pictures from your Android device.

delete pictures from google photos

Further reading: Find Hidden Photos on Android Devices - Unveiling Hidden Treasures

2.4 Format SD Card

Why do my photos keep coming back after I delete them? If you insert an SD card into your Android phone, your photos stored on the SD card will be displayed on the phone's Gallery app. Maybe that is why your deleted images reappear. To solve the problem completely, formatting your SD card is the best way. Of course, if you don't use the card anymore, you can uninstall it directly from your phone without formatting it.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on Android, and click "Storage".

Step 2: Tap "SD card" > "Menu" > "Storage settings" > "Format" > "Format SD card", and wait for the formatting process to end.

Step 3: Eliminate the photos again.

format sd card to fix deleted photos coming back

2.5 Restart Android Phone

Restarting your Android device may fix the bugs of your photo deletion.

Step 1: Scroll down the screen of your Android phone, and click the "Power" icon.

Step 2: Choose the "Restart" option. Then tap "Restart" again for confirmation.

Step 3: Delete your unwanted photos again.

restart android phone to fix deleted pictures keeping coming back

2.6 Erase Android Device

When all the ways in the previous sections are invalid, you still have the last but not least option - using Samsung Eraser. This tool can erase your Android device thoroughly. This tool will wipe all the data and customized settings from your Android phone/tablet, so there is no way for your deleted photos to come back. However, for those important files, please back them up first, or you will lose them forever.

Key features of this Android eraser:

- Erase photos and other data from Android permanently.

- Overwrite your deleted data to guarantee there is no possibility of recovery.

- Support most Android phones and tablets, ranging from Android OS 4.0 and upper.

- Offer 3 levels of erasing to you.

Download the eraser to delete photos from Android without coming back.

download windows version of android eraserdownload mac version of android eraser

Here's how to use it:

Step 1: Download and install the eraser software on your computer, and then connect your Android phone to the PC via USB.

Step 2: Enable USB debugging on Android and then click "Erase".

erase photos completely from android

Step 3: Click "Medium" to select a level of erasing, and input "delete" to confirm.

choose a level to erase android device

Step 4: Click "Erase" on the interface, and tap "Yes" on your Android device. Then the software will begin to erase your Android handset. Once done, factory reset your phone. Then your photos will be gone for good.

delete photos permanently

Part 3: Fix Deleted Photos Keeping Reappearing on iPhone

"Why are my deleted photos coming back on my iPhone?" For iOS users, you can use the following 4 easy fixes to prevent your deleted pictures reappearing on your iPhone.

3.1 Restart iPhone

Restarting your iPhone is one of the fastest and most effective ways to solve your photos coming back again and again. Also, it can fix other system glitches like app crashing, etc.

Step 1: Press the "Side" button on your iPhone, and drag the slider to turn off the device.

Step 2: After a while, press the "Side" key again to turn the iPhone on.

Step 3: Unlock the screen and go to the Photos app to remove your photos again.

restart the iphone to fix deleted photos reappearing

3.2 Switch Off iCloud Photos

If you have enabled iCloud Photos on your iPhone, when you remove the pictures from your iPhone, iCloud may restore them automatically.

Step 1: Go to iPhone Settings, and tap your Apple ID.

Step 2: Choose "iCloud" > "Photos".

Step 3: Disable the "Sync this iPhone" feature. Then iCloud will not sync your photos.

stop icloud syncing photos on your iphone

Read also: Why doesn't Google Photos ahowing all photos? Work it out by following this useful guide.

3.3 Delete Photos from iCloud

You can also delete your photos from your iCloud account to stop your pictures from reappearing. However, please make sure that you don't need those images exactly.

Step 1: Visit https://www.icloud.com/ on your computer, and click "Sign In" to enter your iCloud account and password.

Step 2: Choose the "Photos" icon on the icloud panel. Then you can remove the images that you want from iCloud directly.

remove photos from icloud to stop the images coming back

3.4 Empty Recently Deleted Album

There is a Recently Deleted album on your iPhone's Photos app, and your deleted photos will be stored there temporarily. Therefore, you can remove them from the album forever.

Step 1: Open the Photos app on your iPhone and tap the "Albums" tab.

Step 2: Click "Recently Deleted". If prompted, please enter your Face ID or Touch ID to unlock the album.

Step 3: Select the photos that you want to remove, and click "Delete All" > "Delete Photo". Now, your photos will not come back.

empty the recently deleted album on iphone

You may like: Your photos on your Huawei phone can be transferred to your PC without any hassle. Let's check it out.

Part 4: Fix Deleted Photos Coming Back on Computer

When your deleted pictures come back on your computer, how can you remove them permanently? Don't worry. There are still 3 practical methods for your reference.

4.1 Empty Recycle Bin

As we know, there is a recycle bin on our computer. When you delete an image on your PC, it will go to the recycle bin. The deleted picture will not disappear until you remove it from the recycle bin. If you press "Ctrl" and "Z", your deleted file will appear in its original location again. To prevent its reappearance, the best way is to empty the recycle bin.

Step 1: Double-click "Recycle Bin" on the desktop to enter it.

Step 2: Right-click on the blank space, and choose "Empty Recycle Bin".

Step 3: After that, your photos will be removed completely.

empty the recycle bin on pc

4.2 Restart Computer

You can restart your computer to try fixing deleted photos coming back.

Step 1: Click "Start" > "Power" > "Restart" on the PC.

Step 2: Then your computer will restart itself. Once done, delete your pictures again.

restart the computer to fix removed photos reappearing

4.3 Disable OneDrive Sync

If you have enabled OneDrive Sync on your PC's Photos app, OneDrive will sync your photos automatically on your computer. Thus, you need to stop the synchronization on your PC.

Step 1: Click the "Search" icon and type "Photos".

Step 2: Click "Settings" at the top right. Then find "OneDrive Account".

Step 3: Turn off the "OneDrive" option. Your OneDrive photos will not be synced to your PC again.

stop onedrive from syncing photos on computer

Conclusion

Now you have known why when you delete photos but they come back and how to solve it without trouble. The methods are all reliable and easy, but if you want the thorough erasure of your photos on your Android device, you can use Samsung Eraser. This software is for most Android devices not only Samsung. With it, all your data including existing and deleted photos, will be removed permanently.

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Sophie Green Chief Editor

Sophie Green, Chief Editor of Samsung-messages-backup website, has been focusing on the realm of Android Recovery, Android Transfer (Backup), Android Device Tips, Phone Clean, and Phone Transfer technologies. Recognized contributions on leading platforms attest to her esteemed expertise and reliability.