2 Simple Ways to Recover and Undo a Cropped Photo

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Written by Darlene Antonelli, MA

Last Updated: September 29, 2023

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Using the Photos App on iPhone and iPad

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Using Preview on Mac

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Tips

Have you accidentally incorrectly cropped an image, saved, and want to get back the original photo? With many apps and programs, like Google Photos, any edited versions are saved as different files than the original files, so you should never run into this problem.^{[1]
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Research source} However, there are some applications like Preview on Mac and Photos for iPhone and iPad that let you rollback edits. This wikiHow will teach you how to revert photos you've cropped back to their original versions on an iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Using the Photos App on iPhone and iPad

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1
Open Photos
. You'll see this app icon on one of your Home screens.
- You can only use this method using the default Photos app on iPhone and iPad. You can revert any edits you've made to a photo even after you've saved it and closed the app.
If you can't find your photo in the timeline, you can tap the "Albums" tab at the bottom of the screen.

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You'll see this in the top right corner of your screen.
You'll see this in the lower right corner of your screen, and then some more options will slide up from the bottom of your screen.
All your edits will be removed and you'll be left with the original photo.^{[2]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Using Preview on Mac

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1
Click File. You'll see this in the horizontal menu that runs along the top of your screen.
- You'll need to have the edited image open in Preview to do this. If you didn't edit the image in Preview, you cannot use this method.
A menu will pop out to the right.
3
Click Browse All Versions. A few windows will open with different versions of the photo.
- Click the arrows to cycle through the versions.
When you find the original photo, you can click the restore button that you'll see below the thumbnail.^{[3]
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Tips

Many apps have Undo, Undo History, Redo, and Revert options available that will roll back any edits you've made before saving and closing the file. If you've saved and closed then re-opened the file, you might not have these options available.

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Tips from our Readers

The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

If you have an iPhone there should be a "restore" option if you accidentally save a cropped image over the original. Just make sure in the future to always save cropped images as new files and not overtop the original file!
On an Android you can go to the image, click "crop" again, then zoom out and you should be able to restore it back to how it originally was.

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