As we make new Google accounts and devices, it’s easy to forget about our older accounts and the pictures they contain. Luckily, Google has protocols that can reconnect you to those pictures, even if they were previously deleted or were on your older accounts.
Image recovery tools can greatly help you retrieve lost pictures but recovering them via Google is equally easy. This article contains easy-to-follow steps and methods to recover your photos from an old Google account.
How to Recover Photos From an Old Google Account?
You can restore the pictures you want by reconnecting and syncing your old Gmail to your current mobile device. For computers, you can connect to the old Gmail and download the pictures through a web browser. So, follow the steps mentioned below to do so.
On Mobile App
- Open Google Photos on your device.
- Tap on the profile icon at the top right corner.
- Click on the down arrow next to your old Gmail address or next to Choose an account if you have no Google account connected.
- Tap on Add another account.
- Enter the credentials of your old Gmail account and Sign in.
- Again tap on the profile icon at the top right corner.
- Tap on Google Photos settings.
- Tap on Back up and sync.
- Enable Back up and sync using the toggle button.
After you complete the process mentioned above, wait for a few minutes until the images load up. Then, you can use them as you see fit.
On Web Browser
- Open Google Photos (photos.google.com) on your browser.
- Click on the profile icon at the top right corner of the page.
- Click on Add another account.
- Sign in with your old Gmail account credentials.
- Click on the tab with Google Photos.
- Click on the profile icon at the top right corner.
- Select your old Gmail account.
- Hover over the images you want to recover and click on the tick icon.
- Click on the three-dot at the top right corner and click Download. Or, press the shortcut key Shift + D.
You can follow the steps mentioned above if you have not deleted the pictures from the old Gmail account. If you have, you need to recover those images initially.
How to Recover Deleted Photos from Old Google Account?
The images that you synced and backed up with Google before deleting them remain in the trash for 60 days. Google automatically removes the images with no backup from the Trash after 30 days of deletion.
So, if you follow the steps mentioned below before the mentioned time frame, you can recover images that you deleted from your Google Account.
On Mobile
- Open the Photos app on your device.
- Tap on Library at the bottom right corner of the screen.
- Tap on Trash/Bin.
- Search and locate the picture you wish to recover.
- Tap and hold the picture.
- Tap on the Restore button at the bottom.
- Confirm the action by tapping Allow or Restore.
On Web Browser
- Open Google Photos on your browser.
- Click on Trash from the left side of the window.
- Locate and hover over the target image.
- Click on check icon at the top left corner of the image. Press Shift and click on another image to select in a group.
- Click on the Restore button at the top right corner of the screen.
- Click on Restore to confirm.
How to Recover Permanently Deleted Photos from Old Google Account?
Images in the Trash are permanently deleted if they have been there for longer than 30 or 60 days timeframe. However, they are not lost forever. You can contact the Google Help center to recover your images in such cases. So, follow the steps mentioned below to do so.
On Web Browser
- Open Google Photos on your web browser.
- Click on the question icon at the top right corner of the page.
- Click on Ask the Help Community.
- Enter your question under Tell us your question and explain the problem in the explanation textbox.
- Click on the textbox under Category and select Recover Photos or Find Photos.
- Click on Next.
- Click on Others and then on Next step.
- Again, click on Next step.
- Click on the textbox under Platform and select the platform you deleted the images from.
- Click on Next step.
- Click on Post. Verify the reCaptcha if it appears.
On Mobile
- Open Google Photos on your phone.
- Tap on the profile icon at the top right side of your screen.
- Tap on Help and feedback.
- Tap on Ask the Help Community.
- Type in a question relating to recovering Photos under the Tell us your question section.
- Input an explanation for your problem in the explanation box.
- Tap on the dropdown menu under Category and select Recover Photos.
- Tap on Next.
- Tap on the best suggestion relating to recovering photos or select other and press Next step.
- Tap on Next step once again.
- Then, tap on the dropdown menu under Platform section and select the platform you deleted the images from.
- Under Confirm and post section, complete reCaptcha verification (if any) and tap on Post.
After you finish the steps mentioned below, you will receive an email from Google confirming that your inquiry has been sent to them. Again, you will receive a second email after certain hours or days. Respond to the email mentioning the details about the images you deleted. After that, you will have to wait until they retrieve your pictures.
