Abstract:
Google recently quietly adjusted the recycle bin policy of Google Photos. After the backup photos and videos are deleted, the retention period is shortened from the original 60 days to 30 days. After the expiration date, the relevant content will be permanently deleted, and users will no longer be able to restore it through Google Photos. This change means that the buffering time for users to process accidentally deleted photos has been directly shortened by half.
Previously, Google Photos provided a 60-day recycle bin retention period for backed up photos and videos, while unbacked photos and videos were usually retained for 30 days. After this adjustment, the retention period of the two types of content will be unified to 30 days. Google has updated the relevant help documentation, and some Android users have also begun to see policy change notifications in the app.
This change was first discovered at the end of August 2026. At that time, researchers discovered text related to "30 days" in the code of the Google Photos app, and Google subsequently updated the help page in early September. As of September 7, some users have begun to receive in-app prompts, indicating that this policy is gradually taking effect.
It should be noted that the 30 days are calculated from the time the photo or video was deleted, not from the time the user discovered the accidental deletion. If a user deletes a photo on September 1st, it will be permanently deleted around October 1st, and the retention period will not be automatically extended even if the user never opens Google Photos in the meantime.
In addition, if the user actively empties the Recycle Bin, or directly chooses to permanently delete it in the Recycle Bin, the relevant content will still disappear immediately and will no longer enjoy the 30-day buffer period. Google has also made it clear that permanently deleted photos and videos cannot be recovered.
This change deserves special attention for users who frequently organize photos or are accustomed to backing up photos to the cloud before clearing up space on their phone. Especially those who regularly delete a large number of photos but occasionally need to retrieve old photos will need to check the contents of the recycle bin more carefully in the future.
Google did not issue a separate announcement for this adjustment, nor did it clearly explain the reasons in the change log. Relevant changes are mainly reflected gradually through help pages and in-app prompts. Although 30 days is still enough for most users to detect accidental deletion problems, for those who are accustomed to using the Recycle Bin as a long-term safe, this adjustment will undoubtedly bring greater time pressure.
It’s worth mentioning that Google Photos isn’t the only service that uses a 30-day recycle bin period. After this adjustment, the retention period of backed up photos and videos will be consistent with that of unbacked content. For Google, this may help simplify the rules between different platforms, but for users, the most important change remains: photos that used to be able to wait two months before being considered for recovery now only have one month.
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