Photos will be deleted permanently: Google changes important rule

Tengrinews.kz — Google has cut in half the amount of time users have to recover deleted photos and videos in Google Photos. Files will now remain in the trash for 30 days instead of the previous 60 before being permanently deleted, according to 9to5Google.
What changed
Previously, deleted photos and videos were moved to the Google Photos Trash and remained there for 60 days. During that period, users could restore them.
Google has now reduced this period to 30 days.
After one month, the files are permanently deleted and can no longer be recovered through Google Photos.
Who is affected
The change has already been noticed by users, according to Android Authority. In early September, a notification about the new retention period appeared in the app.
The information has also been updated on Google’s official support page. The company clarified that deleted photos and videos will remain in the trash for 30 days before being permanently removed.

“Photos and videos that you delete will stay in your trash for 30 days before they are permanently deleted. Photos and videos that were permanently deleted can’t be restored,” Google said.

The support page previously stated a 60-day period. According to archived versions of the page, the information was changed on September 4, 2026 — just one day earlier, the old 60-day period was still listed.
This means Google Photos users now have only 30 days to restore deleted files.
What users think
Reddit users were divided over the change. Some considered it relatively minor, while others were unhappy that the recovery period had been shortened.

“Reduced time in general is not good, but also... like 30 days is probably fine. I also don't think I've ever in my life accidentally deleted a photo, let alone not noticed until 31–59 days later.”
“I always thought it was 30 to begin with so not much will be affected here. To be fair, I rarely ever have to go restore a deleted photo.”
“No! This completely breaks my workflow!”
“It’s really inconvenient. Sometimes you accidentally delete an important photo or video and only notice the mistake during your next major gallery cleanup. After 30 days, the file will simply be gone and there will be no way to restore it.”

How it works on iOS
For comparison, we looked at how Apple handles deleted photos.
According to the company, on iOS, iPadOS, macOS and visionOS, accidentally deleted photos and videos can be restored from the Recently Deleted album for 30 days.
After that, the files are permanently deleted and can no longer be recovered.
As of September 8, WhatsApp also no longer works on smartphones running Android 5.0 and 5.1 Lollipop. The messenger now requires at least Android 6.0 Marshmallow.