The fastest way to delete photos one at a time

Open the Photos app and tap the photo you want to delete. Tap the trash icon in the bottom right corner, then tap "Delete Photo" to confirm. The photo moves to your Recently Deleted album, where it stays for 30 days before disappearing permanently.

If you do not see a trash icon, swipe up from the bottom of the screen to reveal the toolbar. On older iPhones running iOS 14 or earlier, tap "Edit" in the top right, select the photo, then tap "Delete" at the bottom right.

How to delete multiple photos at once

Open the Photos app and tap "Select" in the top right corner. Tap each photo you want to remove — a checkmark appears on each one. Tap "Delete" at the bottom right, then confirm by tapping "Delete [number] Photos".

You can also swipe left on a photo in your library to reveal a delete button without entering select mode. This works in the main Photos view and in individual albums.

Key Takeaways

  • Deleted photos go to the Recently Deleted album for 30 days, giving you time to recover them before they are gone for good.
  • You can delete one photo by opening it and tapping the trash icon, or delete many at once by tapping Select and choosing multiple photos.
  • Swiping left on a photo in your library shows a delete button without needing to enter select mode.
  • Photos deleted from Recently Deleted are permanent and cannot be recovered through the Photos app.
  • Deleting photos from your iPhone does not remove them from iCloud if you have iCloud Photos turned on — you must delete them there separately.

Deleting photos from Recently Deleted

Photos you delete do not disappear right away. They sit in the Recently Deleted album for 30 days. Open Photos, scroll down to Albums, tap Recently Deleted, and you will see all photos marked for removal.

To permanently delete a photo before the 30 days are up, open Recently Deleted, tap Select, choose the photos, and tap "Delete Permanently". To recover a photo, tap Select, choose it, tap Recover, and it returns to your library.

What happens when you delete photos from iCloud

If you have iCloud Photos turned on, your iPhone syncs with iCloud. Deleting a photo from your iPhone also deletes it from iCloud and from any other device signed into the same Apple ID. The photo still goes to Recently Deleted first and stays there for 30 days across all devices.

To check if iCloud Photos is on, go to Settings, tap your name at the top, tap iCloud, tap Photos, and look for the iCloud Photos toggle. If it is on, any deletion you make on your iPhone affects your iCloud library.

Removing photos without deleting them

If you want photos off your iPhone but do not want to delete them entirely, you can hide them instead. Open a photo, tap the three dots in the bottom right, tap "Hide", and confirm. Hidden photos move to a separate Hidden album and do not show up in your main library or in search.

You can also move photos to a separate album to organize them without deleting. Open Photos, tap Select, choose your photos, tap Add To, and create or choose an album. The originals stay in your library, but you now have them grouped separately.

Freeing up storage space by deleting photos

Photos take up significant storage on your iPhone. Deleting them is one way to free space, but deleted photos still count toward your storage until they leave Recently Deleted after 30 days. To free space immediately, go to Recently Deleted, tap Select, choose the photos, and tap Delete Permanently.

If you want to keep photos but save storage, consider turning on iCloud Photos and enabling Optimize iPhone Storage in Settings. This keeps full-resolution versions in iCloud while storing smaller versions on your phone. You can also use the Photos app to review large videos and screenshots, which often take up more space than photos.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I recover a photo after it leaves Recently Deleted?

No. Once a photo is permanently deleted or the 30-day Recently Deleted period ends, it cannot be recovered through the Photos app. If you have a backup of your iPhone through iCloud or a computer, you may be able to restore the entire phone to an earlier date, but this restores everything, not just one photo.

Does deleting a photo from my iPhone delete it from my computer?

Only if you have iCloud Photos turned on and your computer is signed into the same Apple ID with iCloud Photos enabled. If you use iCloud Photos, deletions sync across all devices. If you manually transferred photos to your computer without iCloud, deleting them from your iPhone does not affect the computer copy.

What is the difference between hiding and deleting a photo?

Hidden photos stay on your iPhone and in iCloud but do not appear in your main library or search results. Deleted photos go to Recently Deleted and are removed after 30 days. Hide photos when you want to keep them but remove them from view. Delete them when you no longer want them.

Why do deleted photos still take up storage space?

Deleted photos remain in Recently Deleted for 30 days, and they still count toward your storage during that time. To free space immediately, permanently delete them from Recently Deleted instead of waiting for the 30-day period to end.

Can I delete all my photos at once?

You can select all photos in your library by tapping Select, then swiping through and tapping each one, but there is no single "select all" button in the Photos app. For large deletions, it is faster to go to Recently Deleted, tap Select, tap the first photo, then hold Shift and tap the last photo to select a range.