Deleted pictures

1. Your device marks them as deleted.
   The space they occupy on your phone, computer, or SD card is simply marked as “available” for new data — but the files themselves usually remain there until something new overwrites them.

2. In the cloud or online storage, like Google Photos or iCloud, deleted files often go into a “Recently Deleted” or “Trash” folder for 30–60 days. After that, they’re permanently removed from view — though backups or server copies might persist for a while longer.

3. If the data is overwritten, then it’s truly gone. The original 1s and 0s are replaced by new information, making recovery nearly impossible.

So, for a little while, your deleted photos are in a sort of digital limbo — gone from your gallery, but still lingering on the device or server until something takes their place.