How to uncrop a photo on iPhone, iPad and Mac

On Apple devices the answer is usually yes. The Photos app on iPhone, iPad and Mac keeps the original of every photo you edit there, so a crop can be reverted at any time, even after you save it. Preview on a Mac can roll a file back to an earlier version. The exceptions are copies that left the Photos library: exported, shared or downloaded images contain only the cropped area.

Quick answer by app

Where the crop was made	Can you undo it?	How
Photos on iPhone or iPad	Yes	More > Revert to Original
Photos on Mac	Yes	Image > Revert to Original
A third-party Photos extension	Yes	Revert in Photos, like any other edit
Preview on Mac	Sometimes	File > Revert To > Browse All Versions
An exported or shared copy	No	Find the original in your library
Extend (Apple Intelligence)	Yes	Open the tool again and tap Reset

Undo a crop on iPhone or iPad

Photos lets you revert to the original after saving, and with iCloud Photos your edits are kept in sync across your devices (Apple). The steps are the same in iOS 27 and iOS 26, and on iPad (Apple).

1. Open the Photos app.
2. Open the cropped photo and tap More.
3. Tap Revert to Original.

Apple’s crop guide gives a second route: open the photo, tap Edit, then tap Revert (Apple). Either way, reverting removes every edit, not just the crop, so reapply any adjustments you want to keep.

If you have not saved yet, tap the undo arrow at the top of the screen (Apple), or tap Cancel, then Discard Changes (Apple).

Edits made with a third-party Photos extension can be reverted the same way. Apple says you can always start over with the original photo, whichever extensions or built-in tools you used: open the photo in edit mode and tap Revert (Apple).

Apple’s guides do not say whether a crop made in the screenshot editor, right after taking a screenshot, can be reverted later, so do not count on it.

Recover a deleted original from Recently Deleted

If you deleted the original after saving a cropped copy, look in Recently Deleted. Items stay there for 30 days (Apple).

1. In Photos, tap Collections.
2. Tap Recently Deleted (below Utilities), tap View Album, then unlock with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.
3. Tap Select and choose the photos.
4. Tap More, then Recover.

Get the original from someone else’s iPhone

A normal share sends the edited version, so a photo someone cropped before sending reaches you cropped. The exception is AirDrop with All Photos Data, which shares the original file with its edit history and metadata. The recipient can view and change the current version (Apple). Ask the sender to:

1. Open the photo and tap Share.
2. Tap Options and turn on All Photos Data.
3. Send it with AirDrop. The option works with AirDrop only.

This works the other way too. If you cropped a photo to hide something, leave All Photos Data off when you AirDrop it.

Undo a crop in Photos on Mac

Photos on Mac never overwrites the original when you edit, so every change can be undone (Apple).

1. Select the photo in Photos.
2. Choose Image > Revert to Original, or click Revert to Original in the editing toolbar.

While you are still cropping, Reset removes the current crop. Cropping changes how the photo looks everywhere in Photos, including albums and projects, so duplicate it first if you want a cropped and an uncropped version side by side (Apple).

On a Mac, Recently Deleted is in the sidebar below Utilities. Open it, select the photo and click Recover within 30 days (Apple). Copies you export from Photos contain only the cropped area (Macworld).

Undo a crop in Preview on Mac

Preview edits the file itself, so getting the crop back depends on saved versions:

• Right after cropping: choose Edit > Undo Crop (Apple).
• Later: choose File > Revert To > Browse All Versions, browse to a version from before the crop and click Restore. To keep both, hold Option and click Restore a Copy (Apple).

macOS saves a version when you open a document and about every hour while you edit (Apple). Apple does not say how long Preview keeps these versions, and a file that was cropped on another computer has no earlier version on yours. If Time Machine is set up, you can also restore an older copy of the file from a backup (Apple). PDFs have their own guide: how to uncrop a PDF.

Extend in iOS 27 and macOS 27 creates new pixels

Apple Intelligence adds an Extend tool that pushes the photo beyond its original frame. On iPhone it needs iOS 27 and an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max or an iPhone 16 model or later, and Apple Intelligence is not available in every language or region (Apple).

1. Open the photo and tap Edit.
2. Tap Tools, then Extend.
3. Pinch or drag the photo to extend the background, then tap Extend.
4. Tap the Done button to save, then Done again to close the photo.

To remove the effect after saving, open the photo, tap Edit, then Tools and Extend, and tap Reset (Apple). On a Mac, click Tools > Extend while editing, drag the selection rectangle or pick an aspect ratio, then click Extend (Apple).

Extend generates new background that fits the photo. It does not bring back what you cropped out, so treat it as a framing tool rather than a way to recover detail.

When the crop cannot be undone

If the photo you have is an export, a download or something another person sent, the cut-off part is not in it. Try these in order:

1. Search your Photos library and Recently Deleted for the original.
2. Check Time Machine or any other backup of your Mac.
3. Ask the sender to AirDrop the original with All Photos Data turned on.
4. Run the file through our cropped photo checker in case it still holds leftover data, such as an old EXIF thumbnail.
5. Extend the picture with the free tool on the uncrop.si home page. It adds new canvas and fills it in your browser, which creates new pixels rather than recovering the old ones. To fit a set shape such as 4:5 or 16:9, use change aspect ratio.