How to View Recently Deleted Files on Windows 10/11?

Whenever you delete a file on your Windows 10/11 PC, either by right-clicking on the file and clicking on the Delete option or by selecting the file and pressing the Delete key on your keyboard, the file is moved to the Recycle Bin.

While there is an option in the Recycle Bin settings to completely delete files instead of moving them to the Recycle Bin, this option is disabled by default in Windows 10/11. In short, unless you delete a file using the Shift + Delete method , Windows will move the selected files to the Recycle Bin.

Putting files in the Recycle Bin is a safe option because you can restore deleted files if you need to access them for some reason in the future. And you can quickly delete all files in the Recycle Bin by right-clicking on the Recycle Bin icon and clicking the Empty Recycle Bin option .

Now, if you accidentally delete some files but are not sure which ones you deleted, you can easily view all recently deleted files. Please note that you can only view recently deleted files that have been moved to the Recycle Bin and cannot view files deleted using the Shift + Delete method .

View recently deleted files in Windows 10/11

Complete the instructions below to view recently deleted files in Windows 10/11.

IMPORTANT NOTE : This method only works if you put the file into Recycle Bin. If you have used Shift + Delete method or any software to delete the file permanently, then this method cannot help you view recently deleted files.

Step 1 : Open Recycle Bin by double-clicking its icon on the desktop. If you don't see the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop area, please refer to: How to restore the missing Recycle Bin icon in Windows 10.

Step 2 : Right-click on an empty area, click Sort by and then click Date deleted . That's it! Now you can see all the recently deleted files with the date deleted next to each file.

To restore a file, simply right-click on the file and then click on the Restore option to restore the file to its original location. If you want to restore multiple files at once, simply select the files you want to restore, right-click and then click on the Restore option .

As you can see in the image, the Recycle Bin displays the original location right next to the file name.

If you are looking for a good data recovery tool, check out the free version of Disk Drill software.

Good luck!

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Jessica Tanner

Update 05 January 2025