Get back deleted items

With Sync & Backup on, something deleted from all your devices isn’t gone straight away. Your backup keeps it for 30 more days, so you can bring it back, even after a wiped or stolen phone.

What it is

Deleting happens in two steps:

A deleted item goes to Recently deleted on every device, for 30 days.
When it leaves Recently deleted (you emptied it, chose Delete now, or the 30 days ran out), your Paperwise backup keeps it 30 more days. Up to 60 days in all.

The second step shows as a section of Recently deleted called Deleted from all your devices. Each item shows its title, the day it was deleted, the device it was deleted on, and Kept until a date.

Earlier versions of items you changed are kept 30 days too. Restoring them from the app comes later; the backup already keeps them.

Only the main screen’s items are listed here. Items deleted from inside a Private vault are never listed: once deleted, they can’t be opened by anyone.

When to use it

You emptied Recently deleted and need something back.
A phone was wiped, lost or stolen, and items were deleted from it.
Someone used your unlocked phone to delete things.

Step by step

Find what was deleted

On Home, under More, tap Recently deleted. (Or Account → Backup and sync → Sync & Backup → Restore deleted items.)
Scroll below your recently deleted items to Deleted from all your devices.

This section shows only on a device signed in to your account, with your account key and Sync & Backup on.

Restore

One item: tap it, then Restore.
Everything deleted from one device on one day: tap the button that reads, for example, Restore the 12 items deleted from iPhone 17 on 12 Oct. That’s the quick way back after a lost or wiped phone.
Everything: tap Restore all.

Paperwise says “Restored. It comes back on your devices in a moment.” Restored items appear on all your devices, as they were when they were deleted.

Save a copy to this iPhone

Tap a deleted document, then Save a copy to this iPhone. The copy is added to this iPhone only and doesn’t change your account. It works without Pro.

Erase now

To remove items from your backup before their 30 days are up:

Tap an item, then Erase now…. (To erase everything deleted and every earlier version at once, use Account → Backup and sync → Sync & Backup → Erase backup history now….)
Type your recovery key and tap Erase now. It’s erased from our servers at once. This can’t be undone.
If you don’t have your recovery key, tap I don’t have it: erase in 7 days. Every device is told and can cancel it.

Items on your devices aren’t touched either way.

Cancel a scheduled erase

If an erase was asked for without the recovery key, Account and the Sync & Backup screen show a banner on every device: “Backup history will be erased on” a date. If it wasn’t you, tap Cancel on the banner, then Cancel the erase.

Free and Pro

The list is part of Sync & Backup (Pro). Restore puts an item back into your account, so it needs Pro; without it, it opens the plan screen. Save a copy to this iPhone is free, so you can still get a document back after Pro ends.

Privacy

Privacy: Deleted items and earlier versions stay encrypted with the same keys as before. Our server keeps ciphertext and can’t read them. Their titles are decrypted on your device to show the list.

Erasing at once needs your recovery key, so someone holding your unlocked phone can only schedule an erase, which your devices are told about.
Your devices check every deleted item against your encrypted account records before offering it. If one doesn’t check out, it isn’t shown, and the list says “Some deleted items couldn’t be checked and aren’t shown.”
When your account is deleted, the backup history goes with it.

Tips

Keep your recovery key off this phone. It’s what erases your backup at once, so a copy stored on the phone would let a thief use it.
Need something back after the 30 days? It’s gone from Sync & Backup. If you also use the iCloud backup, it follows this iPhone, so it won’t have it either once Recently deleted was emptied.

What if…

What if I don’t see “Deleted from all your devices”?

Check that you’re signed in, this device is set up with your account key, and Sync & Backup is on. If it says “Nothing deleted from all your devices in the last 30 days.”, there’s nothing to bring back.

What if it says “Your Paperwise storage is full”?

Deleted items count toward your 50 GB. Delete other items, or wait for older history to leave your backup, then try again.

What if an item from a Private vault is missing?

Vault items deleted from inside their vault are gone for good, by design: their keys are removed with them.