Oh man, losing photos from your SD card is the worst. But don’t worry, there are a few solid options for recovering those files on a Mac. Here are a couple:
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Disk Drill
: This is my go-to for these kinds of situations. It’s really user-friendly and offers a good success rate for recovering lost files. Plus, it’s compatible with Mac. You can get it at Disk Drill Data Recovery Software. The interface is clean and straightforward, so even if you’re not super tech-savvy, you should be able to get through it without much trouble. It can recover various file types including photos, documents, videos, etc. You can also scan your SD card for free to see what’s recoverable before you commit to a paid version. -
PhotoRec: This is another decent option. It’s a little less polished than Disk Drill, but it’s free and open-source. It can recover a lot of different file formats, though the process might be a bit more manual and you’ll probably need to read some tutorials if you’re unfamiliar with command-line tools.
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Stellar Data Recovery: This one’s quite popular as well. It’s comprehensive and offers deep scans for better recovery rates. The UI is Mac-friendly, but the scanning process can be a bit slow sometimes. Still, it’s worth trying if Disk Drill doesn’t capture everything.
Quick tip: As soon as you realize you’ve lost files, stop using the SD card. Any new data written to it could overwrite your lost files, making them unrecoverable. Running any of these recovery tools as soon as possible will give you the best chance of getting your photos back.
I’ve tried a few different tools over the years and while PhotoRec’s free, its usability is kind of a mixed bag—like, you really gotta know what you’re doing, plus the interface feels like it’s from the 90s. On the flip side, Disk Drill has this modern UI that makes the whole experience smoother, and it doesn’t hurt that the recovery rate is pretty impressive.
Good luck!