About RetrievalP
RetrievalP is a small, independent app for one job: bringing back iPhone photos that the Photos app no longer shows, from the image cache the iPhone keeps for itself.
Why it exists
Most "iPhone data recovery" tools are built for everything at once: messages, contacts, call logs, WhatsApp, photos. For photos deleted for good they often promise more than any app can deliver, because iOS destroys the key of a deleted original. RetrievalP does one thing and says exactly what it gets back: the preview copies iOS leaves in its image cache, rebuilt into photos you can keep, plus everything still in Recently Deleted.
How it's built
- Its own iPhone connection. RetrievalP talks to the iPhone over USB with its own implementation of Apple's device protocols, through the driver that comes with the Apple Devices app or iTunes. It only reads; nothing on the phone is changed or deleted.
- Its own decoder. The image cache stores previews in packed slots, compressed with a GPU texture format (ASTC). RetrievalP works out each cache file's layout, decodes every slot and matches it against the photo library, so photos still in your library are set aside and only what's really gone is shown. How the image cache works.
- Everything on your computer. Your photos are never uploaded. The app goes online only to check your pass, look for updates and send anonymous counts with no ID. Details are in the privacy policy.
What we promise, and what we don't
- The free preview scan shows what your own iPhone still holds before you pay anything. If it finds nothing, you pay nothing.
- We say plainly what comes back: preview size, as in your Photos grid, with larger previews and finished edits when the phone kept them.
- We never claim to recover full-size originals deleted for good. No app can.
- An unused pass can be refunded within 14 days. See the refund policy.
Who's behind it
RetrievalP is made and sold by an independent developer in Finland, through Paddle as reseller. The full business details are in the legal notice.
Questions, a scan that didn't go as expected, or a story about what you got back: write to [email protected].