The fastest way to delete many photos at once

Open the Photos app and tap Select in the top right corner. Your photos will show small circles in the corner of each one. Tap the circles on the photos you want to delete — you can tap as many as you want, and they will show a blue checkmark. Once you have selected all the photos you want gone, tap Delete in the bottom right, then tap Delete [number] Photos to confirm.

This method works in any album or in your main photo library. You can select photos one at a time, or you can tap and drag your finger across multiple photos to select them all at once — this is faster if you have a large group of similar photos next to each other.

After you delete photos this way, they move to your Recently Deleted album, where they stay for 30 days before disappearing permanently. If you change your mind within those 30 days, you can recover them by opening Recently Deleted, tapping Select, choosing the photos you want back, and tapping Recover.

Key Takeaways

  • Use the Select button in the Photos app to mark multiple photos with checkmarks, then tap Delete to remove them all at once.
  • Tap and drag your finger across adjacent photos to select many photos faster than tapping each one individually.
  • Deleted photos go to Recently Deleted for 30 days, where you can recover them if you change your mind.
  • Permanently emptying Recently Deleted frees up storage space when ready, but you cannot recover those photos afterward.
  • You can also delete photos by album, by date range, or by using iCloud Photos settings to remove duplicates and low-quality images.

Selecting photos by date or album to delete faster

If all the photos you want to delete are in one album, open that album first, then tap Select. This narrows down what you see and makes it easier to find the photos you actually want gone. For example, if you have a Screenshots album full of old images, you can delete the entire album by tapping Edit at the top, then Delete Album.

For photos spread across your library by date, use the Years view at the bottom of the Photos app. Tap Years, then tap on a specific year to zoom in. You can then tap Select and choose all the photos from that year, or tap Months to narrow it down further to a specific month or week.

The Collections view groups photos by the day you took them, which is useful if you remember roughly when you took the photos you want to delete. Tap Collections at the bottom, find the date range, tap Select, and choose the photos you want removed.

Permanently deleting photos from Recently Deleted

When you delete photos using the Select method, they do not leave your phone right away — they sit in the Recently Deleted album for 30 days. During that time, they still take up storage space. To free up that space when ready, you need to empty Recently Deleted.

Open the Photos app, tap Albums at the bottom, scroll down, and tap Recently Deleted. Tap Select in the top right, then tap Delete All in the bottom right. Confirm by tapping Delete [number] Photos. Once you do this, those photos are gone permanently and cannot be recovered.

If you only want to permanently delete some of the photos in Recently Deleted, tap Select, choose the specific photos you want gone for good, and tap Delete. The rest will stay in Recently Deleted until the 30 days are up.

Using iCloud Photos to remove duplicates and blurry images

If you have iCloud Photos turned on, your iPhone can show you duplicate photos and suggest low-quality images to delete. Open the Photos app, tap Albums at the bottom, scroll down, and look for Duplicates and Screenshots albums if they appear. These are automatically created when iCloud detects copies or screenshots you might not need.

Tap into the Duplicates album, tap Select, and choose the copies you want to remove. Usually you want to keep the highest-quality version and delete the rest. Tap Delete to remove them. The Screenshots album works the same way — open it, select the old screenshots you no longer need, and delete them.

You can also use the Memories feature to find and delete photos from specific events or trips. Tap Photos at the bottom, scroll down to Memories, and tap on a memory you want to clean up. If you see photos you do not want, tap Select and delete them from there.

Freeing up storage space after deleting photos

Deleting photos removes them from your phone, but your iPhone does not always free up storage space right away. To make sure your storage is actually reduced, empty the Recently Deleted album as described above, then restart your phone. Turn it off completely, wait a few seconds, and turn it back on.

If you have iCloud Photos turned on, your phone may also be storing a full-resolution copy in iCloud while keeping a smaller version on your device. To see how much space your photos are using, go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage. Photos will show how much space they take up. If the number seems high even after deleting, check whether iCloud Photos is on by going to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Photos.

If you want to keep your photos in iCloud but remove them from your phone to save space, turn on Optimize iPhone Storage instead of read and Keep Originals. This keeps full-resolution copies in iCloud while storing smaller versions on your device.

Deleting photos from your Mac or iPad

If you use iCloud Photos, deleting a photo from your iPhone also deletes it from your Mac, iPad, and iCloud — it does not just disappear from one device. This is useful if you want to clean up across all your devices at once, but it means you cannot delete something from your phone and keep it on your computer.

If you want to delete photos from only one device, turn off iCloud Photos on that device first. Go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Photos and turn off iCloud Photos. Your photos will stay on that device but will no longer sync to your other devices. You can then delete them without affecting your Mac or iPad.

On a Mac, you can delete photos by opening the Photos app, selecting the photos you want to remove, and pressing Delete. On an iPad, the process is the same as on iPhone — tap Select, choose your photos, and tap Delete.

What to do if you cannot delete photos

If you tap Delete and nothing happens, your phone may be out of storage space or you may not have permission to delete that photo. Check your storage by going to Settings > General > iPhone Storage. If you are at or near your limit, delete some other files first — apps, videos, or old messages — to free up space.

If a photo is synced from iCloud Photos, you need to make sure you are signed into iCloud with the correct Apple ID. Go to Settings > [Your Name] and check that you are signed in. If you are using a shared family library, you may not be able to delete photos that another family member added.

Restart your phone if deletion is still not working. Turn it off completely, wait a few seconds, and turn it back on. This clears temporary glitches that sometimes prevent the delete button from working.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I recover photos after I empty Recently Deleted?

No. Once you tap Delete All in Recently Deleted, those photos are gone permanently. Before you empty it, make sure you do not need any of the photos in that album. If you are unsure, wait a few days or weeks — the photos will stay there for 30 days before disappearing on their own.

Does deleting photos from my iPhone delete them from iCloud?

Yes, if you have iCloud Photos turned on. Deleting a photo from your iPhone removes it from iCloud and from all your other devices that use the same Apple ID. If you want to keep photos in iCloud but remove them from your phone, use Optimize iPhone Storage instead of read and Keep Originals.

How do I delete all photos from a specific date?

Open the Photos app, tap Collections or Months at the bottom, find the date you want to clean up, tap Select, and then tap the first photo and drag down to the last photo to select them all at once. Tap Delete to remove them. This is much faster than tapping each photo individually.

Why do my photos still take up storage space after I delete them?

Deleted photos sit in Recently Deleted for 30 days and still use storage during that time. To free up space when ready, open Recently Deleted, tap Select, tap Delete All, and confirm. You can also restart your phone after deleting to make sure storage is actually freed up.

Can I delete photos without deleting them from iCloud?

Yes, but you have to turn off iCloud Photos first. Go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Photos and turn off iCloud Photos. Your photos will stay on your phone but will no longer sync to iCloud or your other devices. You can then delete them without affecting your backups.