Recover Deleted Folders on Mac

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How to Recover Deleted Folders Using Data Recovery Apps

We’re assuming you’ve already checked the Trash and didn’t find your deleted folder—otherwise, you probably wouldn’t be reading this article. Once a folder has been permanently deleted or emptied from the Trash, recovery options change.

Note. As a quick reminder, here’s how to recover a folder from the Trash on your Mac if you haven’t tried this yet:

1. Open the Trash Bin by clicking the Trash icon in your Dock.

2. Look through the list of deleted files and folders for the one you need.

3. Once you find the folder, right-click on it and choose Put Back. This will restore the folder to its original location.
   

   

When you delete a file or folder, macOS doesn’t immediately erase it—it only marks the space as available for new data. The original content remains on the drive until it’s overwritten. Data recovery apps can scan for these remnants and reconstruct them, allowing you to recover a folder even if it was permanently deleted from your Mac.

For a broader overview of recovery tools, you can check out our article on the Top Data Recovery Software for Mac, which reviews a variety of solutions. Here, we’ll focus on two standout options from that list: Disk Drill and UFS Explorer, both of which are highly effective for recovering permanently deleted folders on a Mac.

Option A. Disk Drill

Disk Drill, developed by CleverFiles, has been a trusted name in data recovery for over a decade. First released in 2010, it has since become one of the most popular tools for macOS data recovery.

We’ve used Disk Drill many times on both Mac and Windows in different situations and it consistently delivers great results. Here’s what Disk Drill offers:

• Disk Drill works seamlessly with the latest macOS, including macOS Sonoma and macOS Sequoia. It supports a wide range of devices, including HDDs, SSDs, external drives, USB flash drives, and memory cards. Whether you need to recover a deleted folder on a MacBook or from an external drive, Disk Drill has you covered.

• Disk Drill supports all major file systems, including APFS, HFS+, FAT32, and exFAT. This support means it can recover folders or files based on existing records with their original names and folder structure.

• Disk Drill offers both Quick Scan for recently deleted folders on Mac and Deep Scan for more thorough scans for older, harder-to-find data. Additionally, its Signature Scan is excellent for cases where the file system is corrupted, as it identifies files based on their unique signatures.

One of the great things about Disk Drill is its “2 for 1” license, which lets you use the software on both Windows and Mac with just one purchase. This makes it both versatile and budget-friendly. Disk Drill also has a free version that allows you to scan and preview recoverable files. However, you need a paid license to actually recover the files.

Disk Drill makes the recovery process straightforward, here’s how to recover your deleted folders on Mac:

1. Go to the official Disk Drill website and download the Disk Drill application for macOS.

   

2. Once the download is complete, open the installer and follow the on-screen instructions to install Disk Drill on your Mac. After installation, open Disk Drill from your Applications folder.

   

3. Start Disk Drill and locate the drive or partition where the deleted folder was last seen. Select it, then click the ‘Search for lost data’ button to initiate a scan. Disk Drill will analyze the selected drive for any recoverable data.
   

   

4. After the scan completes, browse through the list of recoverable items. You can choose to recover the entire folder or just specific files within it, depending on what’s important to you. As you review the scan results, pay attention to the Recovery chances column. This column provides an estimate of how likely it is that each file can be fully recovered, with values like High, Average, or Low.
   

   

5. If you are using Disk Drill PRO, the software will prompt you to choose a recovery location. Select a recovery location on a different drive than the one you’re recovering data from to prevent potential overwriting. Once you’ve selected an appropriate location, click ‘OK’ to begin the recovery process.

   

This process can take some time, depending on the size of the data and the speed of your Mac, let it run uninterrupted to maximize the chances of successful data recovery.

Option B. UFS Explorer

UFS Explorer is another highly effective tool for recovering deleted folders on a Mac. Like Disk Drill, UFS Explorer has been on the market for many years, earning a reputation for reliability and advanced data recovery capabilities.

Although UFS Explorer may not be as user-friendly as Disk Drill, it still has plenty to offer in terms of Mac folder recovery. Its more technical interface might require some familiarity with recovery processes, but the depth of control and advanced features make it a great choice for complex scenarios. Here’s what it offers:

• UFS Explorer supports all the major file systems used on macOS, including APFS and HFS+, along with FAT32, exFAT, and others. This makes it suitable for recovering folders from a variety of storage devices, both internal and external.

• Users can customize the recovery process with detailed scan settings. This feature allows you to select specific partitions or types of files, making it easier to recover the exact data you need without unnecessary scans.

• Like Disk Drill, UFS Explorer can recover folders while maintaining the original file structure, which is particularly useful when dealing with large data sets or entire directories.

• UFS Explorer shines in challenging situations, such as recovering from corrupted file systems, damaged partitions, or RAID arrays.

Note. UFS Explorer offers advanced features for complex recovery tasks. However, it does come with a few downsides. The demo version is limited to recovering files up to 256 KB, which will not be enough for larger files. Additionally, unlike Disk Drill, UFS Explorer requires you to wait until the scan is fully complete before you can preview or recover your folders/files, which can be inconvenient if you need quick access to your data.

Here’s how to recover deleted folders on Mac using UFS Explorer:

1. Visit the UFS Explorer website to download the macOS version. Follow the instructions to install the software.

2. Once you open the software, you’ll see a list of available storage devices. UFS Explorer supports a wide range of devices (internal SSDs, HDDs, USB flash drives, and RAID arrays.) However, selecting the correct drive can be tricky because the interface is information-dense and may feel cluttered.

   

3. After selecting the drive, click on ‘Start scan’. A new window will appear with a variety of parameters, allowing you to customize the scan. For most users, there’s no need to change anything in these settings—simply click on ‘Start Scan’. UFS Explorer will automatically run an in-depth scan based on its default configurations.

   

4. Once the scan completes, UFS Explorer will display a tree view of recoverable files and folders. One downside is that there are no filtering options, making it difficult to navigate large volumes of data, especially for beginners. Additionally, while you can preview files, the preview function can be slow, which adds time to the process if you’re working with a lot of data.

   

5. Select the folder or specific files and click ‘Recover’. Choose a new location for the recovered data, preferably on a different drive to avoid overwriting other lost data.

How to Use Built-in Backup Tools to Restore a Deleted Folder on Mac

macOS includes a convenient and flexible tool to help recover lost data—Time Machine. One important point: Time Machine must have been activated and set up before the data loss occurred. If it wasn’t, unfortunately, it won’t be useful in this case.

Note. If you’re not familiar with Time Machine, we recommend reading our article on How to Use Time Machine to Restore Your Mac, which provides a detailed guide on setting it up for future data protection.

Method 1. Recover a Deleted Folder with Time Machine

If you have Time Machine set up, recovering a deleted folder is simple. Time Machine continuously creates backups of your system, allowing you to “go back in time” and restore files and folders exactly as they were before deletion.

Here’s how to use it to restore a deleted folder on your Mac:

Attach the external drive that contains your Time Machine backups to your Mac.

1. Open Time Machine from the System Preferences, or click on the Time Machine icon in the menu bar and choose “Browse Time Machine Backups.”

   

2. Use the timeline on the edge of the screen to find the date before the folder was deleted. You can browse through the backups from different days to find the exact version of the folder you need.

3. Once you locate the folder, click on it to select it, and then click the “Restore” button to recover the folder to its original location or a new location of your choosing.

   

The great advantage of Time Machine is that it doesn’t just restore the lost folder—it also lets you choose the version of the files you want. If files were modified over time, Time Machine keeps multiple versions, so you can decide whether to restore the most recent version or an earlier one.

Method 2. Restore Files from a Lost Folder Using Mac’s Local Snapshots

Besides Time Machine’s external backups, macOS also creates Local Snapshots on your internal drive. While you can’t restore an entire folder directly from these snapshots, you can recover individual files from within the folder.

Here’s how to use local snapshots to restore deleted files:

1. Open Terminal and type tmutil listlocalsnapshots / to display any available snapshots from recent dates.

   

2. Without connecting an external backup drive, open Time Machine as you normally would. Your Mac will access the available local snapshots for file recovery.

3. Navigate within the Time Machine interface to a date that includes a snapshot before your files were deleted.

4. Locate the files within the context of their folder, select each file you wish to recover, and press the “Restore” button to save them back to your Mac.

   

Note. Local Snapshots are not meant for long-term backups; they only last for a limited period of time, typically until the next time your Time Machine drive is connected or when your Mac needs storage space, so they may not always be available if your system has been under heavy use.

Don’t Forget to Check iCloud for Recently Deleted Folder on Mac

If we talk about backup, we can’t forget about iCloud. Every Apple device these days, whether it’s your iPhone, MacBook, or desktop Mac, seamlessly integrates with iCloud to provide a convenient storage solution. iCloud not only serves as a backup for important files but also offers a way to access your data across all your Apple devices.

However, just like with Time Machine, iCloud must have been activated and set up before the folder was deleted for you to take advantage of this recovery option.

Note. Typically, iCloud backs up a variety of folders and file types, including:

• Documents. Files created with applications like Pages, Numbers, and Microsoft Word are commonly backed up, provided they are saved to your iCloud Drive.

• Desktop and Documents Folders. If you have iCloud Drive enabled, any files saved on your Desktop or in your Documents folder can also be backed up.

How to check iCloud for recently deleted folders on Mac:

1. Click on the Finder icon in your Dock.

2. In the Finder sidebar, locate and click on iCloud Drive to view your stored files.

   

3. Look for the Recently Deleted folder within iCloud Drive. If you can’t find it, you can also access it through the iCloud web interface by visiting iCloud.com and signing in with your Apple ID.

   

4. Once inside the Recently Deleted folder, browse through the items to see if your lost folder is available. iCloud retains deleted items for up to 30 days.

   

5. If you find the deleted folder, select it and click Recover. This will return the folder to its original location in your iCloud Drive and sync it back to your Mac automatically.

Summing It Up

Recovering a deleted folder on a Mac is relatively straightforward when it comes to data recovery. If you don’t have backups like Time Machine or iCloud, your best option is to use data recovery tools. In our experience, the chances of recovering your folder exactly as it was are quite high. However, success still depends on factors we discussed earlier, such as the file system type, device usage after deletion, and the type of storage device.

One common scenario we often see is that deleted files or folders first end up in the Trash. Over time, people forget about them, and when they later try to recover the files from the Trash, they find them gone—often because the Trash Bin is set to auto-empty after a certain period.

To improve your chances of recovery, we recommend disabling the Trash Bin’s auto-emptying feature:

Click on the Apple logo in the upper left corner of your screen and select System Settings from the dropdown menu.

1. In the System Settings window, click on Finder. Then, select the Settings option.

   

2. In the Finder Settings window, navigate to the Advanced tab. Look for the option that says “Remove items from the Trash after 30 days” and uncheck it.

Turning off the Trash Bin’s auto-emptying feature gives you an extra opportunity to recover important files and folders. This allows you to control what stays and what gets deleted from your Mac—and when.