Emptying the Trash on a Mac feels final, and on the Mac’s own SSD it usually is: TRIM erases the deleted data soon after. Safety Net is there for next time. Once you turn it on, Reco keeps a copy of whatever you move to the Trash, for a set number of days after you empty it, so you can put it back with one click.
It’s free, it’s off until you turn it on, and the copies stay on your Mac.
Use Time Machine too
Safety Net isn’t a backup. It catches the file you trashed by mistake last Tuesday, not a drive that dies. For that, turn on Time Machine with an external drive in System Settings ▸ General ▸ Time Machine. The two work well together.
How to use it
- Open Safety Net from More ways Reco can help or the Tools menu, and turn it on.
- Choose how long and how much. Keep for 7 days by default, or anything from 1 to 30. Set the most it may use, from 1 GB to 50 GB. When it reaches that, the oldest copies go first.
- Keep it running. Keep Safety Net running after I close Reco is on by default: closing the window tucks Reco into the menu bar, where its menu shows how much is kept. Open Reco at login brings it back after a restart; if macOS needs your permission, Reco says so and opens System Settings ▸ General ▸ Login Items for you.
- Take something back. Kept items are listed by day. Click Put back to return a file to its original folder, or Restore to… to choose a folder. Nothing already there is replaced.
The Safety Net card on Reco’s first screen shows whether it’s on and how much it’s keeping.
How much room it takes
While a file is still in your Trash, its kept copy shares the same space and takes none of its own. Once you empty the Trash, the kept copy takes the file’s full size until its days are up, then it’s removed. The sheet always shows the real amount kept against your limit.
Honest limits
- It works only while Reco is running, with a window open or in the menu bar. If Reco is quit, nothing is caught until you open it again.
- It watches your own Trash only, on this Mac and on drives you plug in. Not other people’s files, not system folders.
- Deletions that skip the Trash aren’t caught, such as Option-Command-Delete or deleting in Terminal.
- It can’t bring back anything from before you turned it on. For that, use a recovery scan.
- Kept copies are as private as your Trash. Anyone using your Mac account can open them. Before deleting something that must really go, turn Safety Net off, use Forget everything…, or use Forget for Good, which drops Safety Net’s copies of those files too.
Questions
Can I get back files after emptying the Trash on a Mac?
With a Time Machine backup, yes. Without one, you need a recovery app, and on a Mac’s SSD the chances are low. Safety Net is for next time: it keeps a copy of what you trash, for a few days after you empty it.
How much space does Safety Net use?
While a file is still in your Trash, the kept copy takes no space of its own. After you empty the Trash, it takes the file’s full size until its days are up. You set the most it may use, from 1 GB to 50 GB, and the oldest go first.
Does Safety Net work when Reco is closed?
Only while Reco is running: with a window open, or as a small icon in the menu bar after you close the window. If you quit Reco, the net is down until you open it again.
Is Safety Net on by default?
No. It’s off until you turn it on.