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Where copies of your files can remain

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Moving something into a vault protects the copy in the vault. Deleting the original removes it from where you picked it. But a photo or file can have travelled before that, and some places keep deleted things for a while. Here’s where to look.

What it is

After an import into a vault, Paperwise offers to delete what it copied from. It deletes nothing before the vault copy is saved and checked, and Keep is always the default. Then it says plainly what happened to each original:

Where the original was What Paperwise says
Photos “Moved to Recently Deleted in Photos. Empty it there to remove them for good.”
A file inside Paperwise’s own folder “Deleted from your iPhone.”
iCloud Drive “Deleted from iCloud Drive. iCloud.com may keep a copy for up to 30 days under Data Recovery.”
On My iPhone or another service (Google Drive, Dropbox…) “Deleted here. If it was on another service (Google Drive, Dropbox…), check that service’s trash.”
A file Paperwise isn’t allowed to delete “Couldn’t delete the original. Delete it in the Files app.”

Learn more in those messages opens this page.

Where copies can remain

  • Photos → Recently Deleted, for up to 30 days. No app can empty it for you.
  • iCloud Photos and Shared Albums. Deleting a photo on this iPhone removes it from iCloud Photos after Recently Deleted, but a photo you added to a shared album stays there until you remove it.
  • The trash of Files and other services. Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive and others keep deleted files in their own trash.
  • iCloud.com Data Recovery, for files deleted from iCloud Drive.
  • Copies you sent earlier: email attachments, chats, AirDrop, files you uploaded somewhere.
  • Screenshots you took of the photo or document.
  • Older iPhone or computer backups made before you moved it.

Step by step

Remove photos for good

  1. Open the Photos app → Recently Deleted (under Utilities).
  2. Select the photos and delete them.
  3. If you shared them in a shared album, remove them from the album too.

Remove files for good

  1. In the Files app, open Recently Deleted and delete them there.
  2. For Google Drive, Dropbox or another service, empty that service’s trash in its app or website.
  3. For iCloud Drive, files you deleted may stay under Data Recovery on iCloud.com for up to 30 days.

Free and Pro

Free.

Privacy

Paperwise can only delete what you picked, and only when iOS gives it permission. It never deletes anything quietly: you choose Delete each time, and for Photos, iOS asks you to confirm too.

Tips

  • For new private photos, use the private camera or the Lock Screen camera: they never touch Photos.
  • Check that the vault copy opens before you empty any trash.

What if…

What if Paperwise couldn’t delete a file?

Some services and folders are read-only for other apps. Delete the original yourself in the Files app or in that service’s app.

Still stuck? Write to support@paperwise.app.