Oh, so saving the edited pic writes the data to new cells that could be anywhere on the SSD? What happens to the data from the older save, then? Will the data just be too spread out for a recovering program to retrieve it?
Yes, it gets written to new cells.
The previously used cells may or may not be zeroed out after <some random time>, determined by the drive firmware.
There is no consumer level way to access what used to be mypig.jpg v1.
By some weirdness you might be able to extract a bit or two.
But that is like digging up half a fingernail and a few stomach lining cells. Not a person.jpg anymore.
If you think you need to be able to access mypic_v1.jpg, then save your edits as mypic_v2.jpg .
Then, you have both files. Delete old or new as desired.
When I'm building a new CAD model for my 3D printer, that is exactly what I do.
A model may go through a dozen iterations.
Maybe at v5, the previous 1-4 get deleted.
Then v5 becomes the baseline, eventually up to v10 or whatever.
Or, use software that has multiple Undo levels.
But even then...once you save, all those undo levels are gone.
Or, use some version control software package.
But that is probably over the top for what you're looking to do.