How to Delete a Slide in Google Slides (And What to Know Before You Do)

Deleting a slide in Google Slides is one of those tasks that sounds simple — and mostly is — but the method varies depending on your device, how you're accessing Slides, and whether you're working solo or inside a shared presentation. Here's a clear breakdown of every approach, plus a few things worth knowing before you hit delete.

The Basic Methods for Deleting a Google Slide

Google Slides runs in your browser, on Android, and on iOS. The deletion process works slightly differently across each platform.

On Desktop (Browser)

This is the most common way people work in Google Slides, and you have a few options:

Method 1 — Right-click the slide thumbnail

1. In the left-hand slide panel, right-click the thumbnail of the slide you want to remove.
2. Select "Delete slide" from the context menu.
3. The slide is removed immediately.

Method 2 — Keyboard shortcut

1. Click the slide thumbnail in the left panel to select it.
2. Press Delete or Backspace on your keyboard.

Method 3 — Use the Edit menu

1. Select the slide thumbnail.
2. Go to Edit in the top menu bar.
3. Click "Delete".

All three methods do the same thing. The keyboard shortcut is the fastest if you're deleting multiple slides in a session.

Deleting Multiple Slides at Once

If you need to remove several slides, you don't have to delete them one at a time:

• Hold Shift and click a range of slide thumbnails to select consecutive slides.
• Hold Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or Cmd (Mac) and click individual thumbnails to select non-consecutive slides.
• Then right-click and choose "Delete slide", or simply press Delete/Backspace.

This is useful when cleaning up a presentation that has redundant or placeholder slides.

On Mobile (Android and iOS) 🗂️

The Google Slides mobile app works a bit differently:

1. Tap the slide thumbnail in the slide strip at the bottom (or side, depending on orientation).
2. Long-press the thumbnail until a selection menu appears.
3. Tap the trash/delete icon, or select "Delete slide" from the options that appear.

The mobile interface is more limited than the browser version, so if you're making significant edits — including bulk deletions — desktop is generally the more efficient environment.

Can You Undo a Deleted Slide?

Yes. Google Slides automatically saves to Google Drive and supports undo history within your active session.

• Press Ctrl+Z (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Z (Mac) immediately after deleting to restore the slide.
• On mobile, tap the undo arrow in the toolbar.

This works reliably within a session, but if you close the tab or the app and come back later, the undo history may not be available. If you've made a significant deletion and only realize after reopening the file, check Version history under File > Version history > See version history. Google Slides stores previous versions of your document, and you can restore an earlier state from there.

Deleting Slides in a Shared Presentation

Shared presentations introduce variables that affect what you can and can't do. 🔒

Editing access — If you've been granted full edit permissions, you can delete slides just as you would in your own file. Those deletions are visible to everyone with access, essentially in real time.

Comment-only or view-only access — You won't see a delete option at all. The controls are grayed out or absent.

Owner-level considerations — If you're the presentation owner and others are actively editing, deleted slides disappear from their view immediately. There's no notification sent — collaborators simply won't see the slide anymore. If coordination matters, it's worth communicating changes before making them.

This becomes especially relevant in team environments — classrooms, agencies, corporate settings — where presentations are live documents that multiple people reference.

Skipping vs. Deleting: When to Use "Skip Slide" Instead

Not every slide needs to be permanently removed. Google Slides has a "Skip slide" feature that hides a slide from the presentation view without deleting it from the file.

To skip a slide:

1. Right-click the slide thumbnail.
2. Select "Skip slide".

The slide will appear slightly faded in the thumbnail panel and will not display during a presentation. This is useful when:

• You want to keep backup or reference slides that aren't part of the main flow
• You're presenting different versions of a deck to different audiences
• You want to temporarily remove content without losing it

The distinction matters: deleting is permanent within that session (unless undone), while skipping is fully reversible at any time and non-destructive.

What Affects How Straightforward This Process Is

A few variables determine whether deleting a slide is a five-second task or something that requires more care:

Linked slides are worth flagging specifically. If your presentation uses slide links (hyperlinks that jump to a specific slide within the deck), deleting the target slide will break those links. The hyperlink will remain but lead nowhere. If your deck uses internal navigation — common in interactive presentations or training materials — a deletion can quietly break the flow in ways that aren't immediately obvious. 🔗

Whether the right move is a permanent delete, a skip, or a version rollback depends on the structure of your presentation, who else is working in it, and what you need the final deck to do.