Deleted photos on an SD card can usually be recovered on a Mac. Stop using the card, scan it read-only, and save the recovered photos to your Mac, never back to the card.
Deleting a photo, or a quick format in the camera, only clears the card's index. The photo itself stays on the card until new photos are written over it. Data Recovery Pro reads the deleted entries back with their names and folders, then reads every block of the card to find photos the index no longer lists.
What to expect
| What happened | Chance |
|---|---|
| Photos deleted, card not used since | High |
| Card quick-formatted in the camera | High |
| Long video clips | Varies often partly damaged |
| New photos taken on the card since | Low anything overwritten is gone |
These are ratings, not measured percentages. We will publish recovery rates only once our test set has measured them.
Recover the photos in four steps
- Stop using the cardDo not take more photos or let the camera format it. Every new file can overwrite a deleted one.
- Connect it to your Mac and open Data Recovery ProUse the Mac's card slot or a USB reader. If macOS offers to initialise the card, click Ignore. Download is free.
- Scan and previewPhotos appear as they are found, each marked intact, partly damaged or not checked. Scanning and previewing are free.
- Recover to your MacThe first 10 files or 100 MB are free. Pay £19 once for everything else on that card, saved to a folder you choose.
Why this usually works on SD cards
SD cards use the FAT16, FAT32 or exFAT file system. When a photo is deleted, the camera marks its entry as free and leaves the photo data in place. A quick format rewrites the index and leaves the data too. Unlike a Mac's internal drive, a card is not told to erase freed space, so the photos stay recoverable until the camera writes new files over them.
Questions about SD card recovery on a Mac
Can I recover photos after formatting the card in my camera?
Usually, if it was a quick format, which is what most cameras do. The photos stay on the card until new ones are taken. A full format that overwrites the card erases them for good.
The Mac says the card is not readable and offers to initialise it.
Click Ignore, not Initialise. The file system is damaged but the photos are usually still there, and the deep scan can find JPEG, PNG, HEIC, CR3 and video files without it.
Will my RAW files come back?
If the card's file table still lists them, CR3, CR2, NEF, ARW, DNG, RAF, ORF and RW2 files come back with their names and are checked with macOS's own decoder. After a format, the deep scan finds Canon CR3; other RAW formats need the file table.
Will deleted videos come back?
Sometimes. The deep scan finds MP4 and MOV files, but long clips are often stored in pieces, so some come back partly damaged. Video gets a structure check only.
Is there a free way to do this?
PhotoRec is free and open source. It runs in Terminal and saves files with generated names. Data Recovery Pro's scan and preview are free, so you only pay if you see your photos.