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Key Details of Recuva

  • Recover files deleted from your Windows computer
  • Last updated on 08/17/20
  • There have been 1 update within the past 6 months
  • The current version has 0 flags on VirusTotal badge_icon
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Recuva 0/5

Editors’ Review

Download.com staff

Recuva undeletes files; recovers data from corrupted, damaged, and reformatted discs; restores unsaved Word documents; and securely deletes files so they're unrecoverable, even by Recuva.

Fast, focused scans find just the files you want and Deep Scans find lost, damaged, and deleted files anywhere in your system, including portable, removable, and unmounted drives and even CDs and DVDs.

Pros

Wizard: The Recuva Wizard dialog let us scan All Files or just Pictures, Music, Documents, Video, Compressed, or Emails. We could also scan by File Location ranging from "I'm not sure" to CD/DVD and enable the Deep Scan option.

Context menu integration: The Advanced Options include adding "Scan for deleted files" to Explorer and Recycle Bin context menus.

Portable version: Recuva includes a fully portable version that fits on a USB drive. It runs without an installer, so it can find and recover files in damaged systems.

Secure deletion: Recuva not only recovers data but also securely deletes sensitive files, ensuring they cannot be retrieved, even by advanced recovery tools.

Wide compatibility: It supports recovery from a broad range of file systems, including FAT32, NTFS, and exFAT, making it suitable for a variety of devices and storage formats.

Cons

Advanced Mode switchback: The Advanced Mode shows file paths, info, and headers in a list view instead of thumbnails, which is fine, except there's no way to toggle back to the normal view.

Online help file: Recuva's Web-based Help file supposedly keeps the download smaller, but including a Help file would take up less space than the portable version that's supposedly useful when Internet connections are down. To us, that seems like a good time to have a local copy of the Help file.

Limited previews: While Recuva offers thumbnail previews for some files, the lack of previews for all file types can make it harder to identify the correct files to recover.

Inconsistent deep scans: In some cases, the Deep Scan may take significantly longer to complete compared to competitors, especially on larger storage devices.

When compared to tools like EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard and Disk Drill, Recuva is a cost-effective option, particularly for personal use. EaseUS and Disk Drill offer advanced features like partition recovery and faster deep scans but are subscription-based, making Recuva the better choice for budget-conscious users.

Against free tools like PhotoRec, Recuva shines in user accessibility. PhotoRec’s command-line interface can be intimidating for non-technical users, whereas Recuva’s Wizard simplifies the process without sacrificing essential features. However, PhotoRec may have the edge in recovering files from severely damaged drives due to its low-level data recovery approach.

Bottom Line

Like CCleaner, Recuva is fast, reliable, and delivers a lot for freeware. Its combination of a user-friendly interface, portable version, and secure deletion features makes it a standout choice for everyday recovery needs.

Try it before buying a recovery tool, as it strikes an excellent balance between functionality and cost, making it a must-have utility for casual and advanced users in 2025.

What’s new in version 1.53.1087

  • Improved Ext4 and Ext3 file system support.
  • Improved Fat32 partition file scanning.
  • Optimized Secure Overwrite on Windows 10.
  • Enhanced drive and partition detection.
  • Improved keyboard navigation.
  • Minor GUI improvements.
  • Minor bug fixes.


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Full Specifications

GENERAL
Release
Latest update
Version
1.53.1087
OPERATING SYSTEMS
Platform
Windows
Operating System
  • Windows 8
  • Windows 7
  • Windows 10
Additional Requirements
None
POPULARITY
Total Downloads
1,702,322
Downloads Last Week
259

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User Reviews

4.1/5

234 User Votes


Developer’s Description

Recover files deleted from your Windows computer or from external storage (e.g. USB stick).

Recuva (pronounced "recover") is a freeware Windows utility to restore files that have been accidentally deleted from your computer. This includes files emptied from the Recycle bin as well as images and other files that have been deleted by user error from digital camera memory cards or MP3 players. It will even bring back files that have been deleted by bugs, crashes and viruses.


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