Download PhotoRec

PhotoRec is distributed together with TestDisk. Extract the archive and run the appropriate executable—no installer required.

Always prefer official CGSecurity downloads

For integrity and security, download from the official CGSecurity wiki and verify checksums. Third-party repackagers (e.g. Softonic) may bundle different versions or missing files; the official package is the reference.

Latest stable version

PhotoRec 7.2 (February 22, 2024) — stable release. TestDisk & PhotoRec are in the same archive.

A beta version (7.3-WIP) is also available from CGSecurity; hashes for WIP builds may change. For most users, 7.2 is recommended.

Download by platform

All links point to the official CGSecurity download page. Choose your operating system and download the archive, then extract and run.

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Windows

64-bit and 32-bit. Vista / Server 2008 and above. Extract ZIP, run photorec_win.exe as Administrator.

Download → 🍎

macOS

Intel 64-bit (macOS ≥ 10.6). Extract archive, run photorec. Sudo may be requested for device access.

Download → 🐧

Linux

x86_64 (kernel 2.6.18+). Extract .tar.bz2, run photorec_static as root (e.g. sudo).

Download →

Direct file links and older versions (7.1, 7.0) are on the TestDisk Download page. Source code is available (tar.bz2) for all versions.

Source transparency

PhotoRec is open-source under the GNU General Public License v2+. It is developed as part of the CGSecurity project alongside TestDisk. You can download the source, review it, and compile it yourself from the same download page.

Git repository: git.cgsecurity.org/cgit/testdisk/

Integrity & verification

CGSecurity provides SHA-256 and SHA-512 hashes for the downloadable files (see testdisk_sha256.txt and testdisk_sha512.txt). WIP (beta) files may change over time.

Recommended steps:

  1. Download the archive from the official CGSecurity download page.
  2. Verify the file hash (SHA-256 or SHA-512) against the published list.
  3. Extract the archive to a folder (e.g. on your desktop or a second drive).
  4. Run PhotoRec from that folder (as Administrator on Windows, or with sudo on Linux/macOS if needed for device access).

Antivirus false positives

Recovery tools that access disks at a low level can trigger heuristic detection in antivirus software. PhotoRec is not malware; it is a legitimate, open-source data recovery utility. To reduce risk and false alarms:

  • Download only from the official CGSecurity site.
  • Verify checksums after download.
  • Scan the downloaded archive with your antivirus before extracting; if you verified the hash, a single heuristic alert is often a false positive. You can report it to your AV vendor or use the portable archive from a known-good source.

We do not claim that no antivirus will ever flag the program; we recommend safe download practices and verification.

Security and recovery workflow

PhotoRec uses read-only access to the source media. It does not write to the drive you are recovering from. You must choose a destination path on a different drive or partition for recovered files.

Important: Save recovered files to a different drive than the one you are recovering from.