Recover deleted files on Apple Mac after emptying the Trash

Have you ever emptied the Trash on your Apple Mac only to discover sometime later that you needed a deleted file that was in there? There is a clever way to recover deleted files even after emptying the Trash. Recover lost files!

You might delete a file and a week or even a month later you discover that you need it. This has happened when sending someone a project and then deleting the original files. A file was missing, but luckily it was in the Trash and could be recovered.

Never emptying the Trash is one solution, but it never stops growing and soon occupies many gigabytes of storage. After deleting lots of big files, perhaps to clean up the disk and free up space, you might be tempted to empty the Trash. After all, no space is recovered until you do.

What can you do if you discover you really needed a file that was in there?

Online storage is the answer. I use OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox and iCloud and I probably have accounts at a few other places too. All of these provide the ability to work on files on your Mac, but they also sync to your online storage so everything is safely stored online as well.

This syncing between local and cloud storage is the key to recovering lost files and deleted files that are no longer in the Mac's Trash folder. Here I look at just OneDrive and iCloud, but it works with Google Drive and Dropbox and probably some other cloud storage too.

Recover files with OneDrive

Let's ook at OneDrive first. Install the Microsoft OneDrive app on your Mac and it creates a OneDrive folder in your home folder on the Mac's disk (it's an SSD, but I always call it a disk).

If you use this as your work folder for documents, text files, images, PDFs and so on, your files have more protection against loss than if you store them in the Mac's Documents folder.

For example, if you delete a file on the Mac's disk in the OneDrive folder, it is sent to the Trash folder like any other file you delete.

If you empty the Trash or open the Trash and delete that file from it, it is gone from the Mac's storage. Does that mean it is gone forever? No. You can visit the OneDrive website in a browser, open the Recycle bin and the deleted file is there.

Just as deleted files on the Mac are removed to the Trash folder on the Mac, this action is synced to your OneDrive online storage and the online file is moved to the Trash equivalent, which is the Recycle Bin. The file can be selected and restored, which puts it back where it originally was in your online storage. This is online action is synced to OneDrive on the Mac and the file then appears on the Mac's disk again.

You just recovered a file that was deleted even after the Trash was emptied. It is an extra safety net in case of problems.

Recover files with iCloud

In theory, iCloud should work the same way. iCloud is built into macOS of course and it just works as they say, except when it doesn't. Instead of working in the Documents folder on the Mac's disk, why not work in the Documents folder on iCloud? Your files are synced to your online storage.

If you open the iCloud folder in Finder on the Mac and delete a file, it goes to the Trash like any other file, just as you would expect. Empty the Trash or delete the file in the Trash folder and it is gone from the Mac.

Now open Safari and go to the iCloud website. Click the Account Settings link and on the next page.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the Restore Files link. (Notice that you can restore other items too.)

A list of deleted files is shown. They are not kept forever, but the file list helpfully shows how many days are left before each item is really deleted.

I don't know whether it is just my Mac or all Macs, but I can see only three files that can be recovered out of a couple of dozen that I deleted. For me, and probably for you too, some files deleted on the Mac are recoverable via the iCloud website. If you have emptied the Trash or simply lost a file you know you had, it is worth checking out the Restore Files feature. It is clear that not every file can be recovered, but you might be lucky and see it there. If it is, tick the checkbox and restore it.

Final thoughts

To protect your files from loss, even when deleted, work with online storage. Don't work with local files and folders, use a folder on the Mac that is synced to your online storage so your files are duplicated online. Not only does this make it possible to work on other computers or even access them through a web browser, but it also adds protection. Locally deleted files may be recoverable online.

My own experience with iCloud is less than perfect and I prefer alternatives like OneDrive, Google Drive and Dropbox. These have more features and are more reliable when it comes to recovering deleted files. Add the apps to your Mac and they add a safety net for deleted and lost files.