The fastest way to delete a video depends on where it is
Deleting a video is usually a one-step action — find the file, press Delete, and confirm. The real question is finding the video in the first place, because videos live in different locations depending on how they got there. A video you recorded on your phone sits in your Photos app. A video you downloaded from the internet might be in your Downloads folder. A video you received by email or text might be buried in your Messages app. Once you know where to look, the deletion itself takes seconds.
The method also depends on your device. Phones and tablets use apps to organize videos. Computers use folders. Some videos are stored locally on your device; others live in the cloud and sync across devices. Deleting a cloud video from one device usually deletes it everywhere, which is convenient until you realize you wanted to keep it on your laptop but not your phone.
Key Takeaways
- Videos on phones are usually in the Photos app or Camera Roll, and deleting them there removes them from your device permanently unless you have cloud backup turned on.
- On Windows computers, check your Downloads folder first, then your Videos folder, then search by file name if you cannot remember where you saved it.
- On Mac computers, use Spotlight search (Command + Space) to find a video by name, then drag it to the Trash and empty the Trash to permanently remove it.
- If a video is synced to cloud storage like iCloud, Google Photos, or OneDrive, deleting it on one device may delete it everywhere, so check your backup settings first.
- Videos take up significant storage space, so deleting old ones is one of the fastest ways to free up room on a full device.
Deleting videos from an iPhone or iPad
Open the Photos app and tap the Albums tab at the bottom. Tap Camera Roll or Recents — this is where your recorded videos live. Scroll to find the video you want to delete, tap it once to open it, then tap the trash icon in the bottom right corner. A confirmation message will appear asking if you want to delete the photo or video. Tap Delete Photo or Delete Video. The video is now gone from your device.
If you have iCloud Photos turned on, deleting a video from your iPhone also deletes it from your other Apple devices and from iCloud. If you want to keep the video on your Mac or iPad but remove it from your phone, turn off iCloud Photos before deleting, or use a different method: connect your iPhone to a computer, open Finder or iTunes, and delete the video from there instead. This removes it from the phone without touching your cloud backup.
Videos you received in Messages, email, or social media apps are stored inside those apps, not in Photos. To delete them, open the app where you received the video, find the message or post, press and hold the video, and tap Delete or Remove. This does not affect videos in your Photos app.
Deleting videos from an Android phone or tablet
Open the Google Photos app or your device's built-in Gallery app — the name varies by manufacturer. Look for a Videos section or scroll through your library until you find the video. Tap the video once to open it, then tap the three-dot menu icon in the top right corner and select Delete or Move to Trash. Confirm the deletion. The video is removed from your device.
If you use Google Photos and have backup turned on, deleting a video from the app also deletes it from your Google account and any other devices signed into that account. To delete only from your phone while keeping the backup, open Google Photos, find the video, tap the three-dot menu, and select Remove from Device. This keeps the video in your Google Photos backup but frees up space on your phone.
Videos in text messages, email, or messaging apps like WhatsApp or Telegram are stored separately. Open the app, find the message with the video, press and hold it, and tap Delete or Remove. Some apps let you delete just the video; others delete the entire message.
Deleting videos from a Windows computer
The fastest way to find a video on Windows is to use the search box. Click the search icon in the taskbar at the bottom, type the video file name or part of it, and press Enter. Windows will show you every file matching that name. Click the video to select it, then press the Delete key on your keyboard. A confirmation box will appear. Click Yes to move the video to the Recycle Bin.
If you do not remember the file name, check your Downloads folder first — this is where most videos from the internet land. Open File Explorer, click Downloads on the left side, and look for video files. You can also check your Videos folder, which is the default location for recorded or saved videos. If you still cannot find it, try searching by file type: in the search box, type *.mp4 or *.mov to show all video files on your computer.
Once you move a video to the Recycle Bin, it still takes up space on your computer until you empty the Recycle Bin. To permanently delete it, right-click the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop, select Empty Recycle Bin, and confirm. The video is now gone and the space is freed up.
Deleting videos from a Mac computer
Use Spotlight search to find the video quickly. Press Command + Space, type the video file name, and press Enter. The video will appear in the search results. Click it to select it, then press Command + Delete to move it to the Trash. The video is now in your Trash folder but still takes up space.
To permanently delete the video, click the Trash icon in your dock at the bottom of the screen, find the video in the Trash window, and right-click it. Select Delete when ready. A confirmation message will appear. Click Delete. The video is now permanently removed from your Mac.
If you do not remember the file name, open Finder and click Videos in the sidebar — this is the default location for saved videos. You can also check your Downloads folder. If the video is in iCloud Drive or synced through iCloud Photos, deleting it on your Mac also deletes it from your iPhone, iPad, and iCloud account unless you have disabled sync for that specific folder.
Deleting videos from cloud storage and backup services
If your videos are stored in Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or iCloud Drive, you can delete them from any device. Open the app or website, find the video file, right-click it, and select Delete or Move to Trash. The video is removed from the cloud storage and from all devices that sync to it.
Be careful with cloud deletions: removing a video from Google Photos, iCloud Photos, or OneDrive on one device usually removes it everywhere. If you want to delete a video from your phone but keep it on your computer, first check whether cloud sync is turned on. On iPhone, go to Settings > Photos and look for iCloud Photos. On Android, open Google Photos, tap your profile picture, select Photos Settings, and check Backup & Sync. If it is on, the deletion will sync across devices. Turn it off before deleting if you want to keep the video elsewhere.
Some cloud services have a trash or recently deleted folder where videos sit for 30 days before permanent deletion. If you delete a video by mistake, open your cloud service and look for a Trash, Bin, or Recently Deleted section. You can restore the video from there within the time limit.
Freeing up storage space by deleting old videos
Videos are the largest files on most devices. A one-minute video recorded on a phone can be 100 to 500 megabytes. An hour-long video can be several gigabytes. If your phone or computer is running out of storage, deleting videos is one of the fastest ways to free up space.
Before you delete, consider moving videos you want to keep to a computer or external hard drive. Connect your phone to a computer with a USB cable, open File Explorer or Finder, and drag videos to a folder on your computer. This way you keep the videos but remove them from your phone. You can also upload videos to cloud storage like Google Drive or Dropbox, then delete the local copies from your device.
To see how much space videos are using, go to your device settings. On iPhone, go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage. On Android, go to Settings > Storage. On Windows, right-click your C: drive, select Properties, and look at the used space. Videos will usually be listed as a separate category, so you can see exactly how much space they occupy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I recover a video after I delete it?
If you deleted it to the Recycle Bin or Trash, yes — open the Recycle Bin or Trash folder and drag the video back to your desktop or a folder. If you already emptied the Recycle Bin or Trash, recovery is much harder and usually requires paid software or professional help. The sooner you act, the better your chances.
What if a video is too large to delete?
This usually means the file is open in another app or the app is still using it. Close all apps that might be using the video — video players, editing software, cloud sync apps — and try deleting again. On Windows, restart your computer if the file still will not delete. On Mac, restart and try again.
Does deleting a video from my phone also delete it from my computer?
Only if cloud sync is turned on and both devices are signed into the same account. If you have iCloud Photos, Google Photos, or OneDrive backup enabled, deleting on one device deletes everywhere. Check your backup settings before deleting if you want to keep the video on another device.
How do I delete a video that is stuck or will not delete?
The video is probably open in another app. Close all video players, photo apps, and cloud sync apps, then try again. If it still will not delete, restart your device and try once more. On Windows, you can also try right-clicking the file, selecting Properties, and checking if it is marked as read-only — if so, uncheck that box and try deleting again.
Will deleting videos really free up storage space?
Yes, when ready. The space is available as soon as you empty the Recycle Bin or Trash. However, if you have cloud backup turned on, the video still exists in the cloud and takes up space there. To truly free up all storage, delete the video from both your device and your cloud backup account.