Deleting photos and the recycle bin
What happens when you delete
When Recycle bin is on, which is the default, a photo or video you delete from the phone goes to Android's trash. You find it in Deleted items, and you can restore it from there.
Deleting is permanent, with no way back:
- in the Secret Space, on a USB drive, on a cloud, or on a network drive;
- in the QR Codes album;
- in Deleted items itself;
- everywhere, when Recycle bin is off.
What Piktures asks
- On Android 12 and later, the first time, Permission needed asks you to let Piktures manage your media. OK opens the Android setting. With Not now, Android asks for confirmation each time.
- When Delete confirmation is on, Delete photo? reminds you that the items go to the recycle bin. Check Don't show this message again to stop this question.
- For a permanent delete, Piktures warns that you won't be able to restore the items.
Android may then ask you to confirm too.
Get photos back from Deleted items
- Open Deleted items, select the photos, tap ⋮, then Restore.
- Or open a photo in Deleted items, tap ⋮, then Restore.
To empty the trash, open Deleted items, tap ⋮, then Delete all items, and confirm: those photos are deleted for good. See Special albums.
The recycle bin settings
More → Settings → RECYCLE BIN has three switches:
- Recycle bin sends deleted photos to Android's trash. It's on by default.
- Delete confirmation asks before moving items to the trash. It's on by default, and only available while Recycle bin is on.
- Delete confirmation after upload: when you move photos from the phone to a cloud or a network drive, Piktures asks whether to send the originals to the trash once they're uploaded.
"Moving file error" in an older version
Older versions of Piktures could show a Moving file error when they couldn't copy a photo to their recycle bin before deleting it. Piktures 2.26 no longer copies anything: it uses Android's own trash. Update Piktures from Google Play.
Don't uninstall and reinstall Piktures to fix a deletion problem: that erases your Secret Space. See Back up your Secret Space.