The fastest way to delete photos

Open Photos, select the photo or photos you want to remove, then press Delete. A confirmation window appears asking if you want to delete the photo from your Mac or move it to Recently Deleted. Choose Delete from Mac to remove it permanently after 30 days, or Remove from Library if you want it gone when ready but still saved elsewhere on your drive.

If you have multiple photos to delete, click the first one, then hold Shift and click the last one to select a range. To select individual photos scattered throughout a folder, hold Command and click each one. Once they are highlighted, press Delete and confirm.

The Recently Deleted folder holds photos for 30 days before they vanish for good. If you delete something by mistake, open Photos, click Recently Deleted in the sidebar, select the photo, and click Recover to bring it back to your library.

Key Takeaways

  • Select a photo in the Photos app and press Delete, then choose whether to delete from Mac or remove from library.
  • Use Shift+click to select a range of photos, or Command+click to select individual photos spread across your library.
  • Deleted photos sit in Recently Deleted for 30 days before permanent removal, giving you time to recover them if needed.
  • Deleting from the Photos app does not erase the original file if you imported it from an external drive or folder.
  • To free up storage space, empty the Recently Deleted folder after you confirm you no longer need those photos.

Deleting photos from the Recently Deleted folder

Photos you delete do not disappear when ready. They move to Recently Deleted, where they stay for 30 days. During that time, they still take up storage space on your Mac. To free up that space right away, open Photos, click Recently Deleted in the sidebar, select the photos you want to remove permanently, and click Delete.

You can also empty the entire Recently Deleted folder at once. Click Recently Deleted, then click the Edit button in the top right. Click Select All, then Delete. A window asks you to confirm — click Delete again, and all photos in that folder are gone for good.

Understanding the difference between delete options

When you press Delete on a photo in the Photos app, two options appear: Delete from Mac and Remove from Library. The difference matters if you imported photos from an external drive or a folder on your computer.

Delete from Mac removes the photo from the Photos library and moves it to Recently Deleted. After 30 days, it is erased from your Mac entirely. This is the option to use if you want the photo gone and want to free up storage space.

Remove from Library takes the photo out of your Photos library when ready, but the original file stays on your Mac in whatever folder you imported it from. Use this if you want to keep the original file but do not want it showing up in Photos. The photo does not go to Recently Deleted — it is removed from the library right away.

Deleting photos from folders outside the Photos app

If your photos live in a folder on your Mac rather than in the Photos library, you can delete them directly from Finder. Open Finder, navigate to the folder where your photos are stored, select the photo or photos, and press Delete. They move to the Trash.

Photos in the Trash stay there until you empty it. To empty the Trash, click the Trash icon in the Dock, then click Empty in the top right corner. Once you empty the Trash, those photos are gone from your Mac.

If you have imported photos into the Photos app from a folder, deleting them in Finder does not remove them from your Photos library. You need to delete them from Photos separately using the steps above.

Selecting and deleting large batches of photos

If you need to delete dozens or hundreds of photos at once, the Photos app has tools to make this faster. Click the Select button in the top right, then click each photo you want to delete. You can also click the first photo, hold Shift, and click the last photo to select everything in between.

Another approach is to use smart albums or search. Open Photos and search for a date range, location, or other detail that groups the photos you want to remove. Once the search results appear, click Select, then click Select All to highlight every photo in the results. Press Delete and confirm.

Be careful with Select All — it selects every photo that matches your search, not just the ones visible on screen. Double-check your search results before you delete to avoid removing photos you meant to keep.

Freeing up storage space after deleting photos

Deleting photos from the Photos app does not when ready free up storage space. The photos sit in Recently Deleted for 30 days, still taking up room on your Mac. To reclaim that space right away, empty the Recently Deleted folder by selecting all photos there and clicking Delete.

You can also check how much space your Photos library is using. Open Photos, click Photos in the menu bar, then click Preferences. Click the General tab, and you see the size of your library at the bottom. If it is larger than you expect, you may have duplicate photos or videos taking up unnecessary room.

If you want to move photos off your Mac entirely to free up space, consider exporting them to an external drive first. Select the photos in the Photos app, right-click, and choose Export. Pick a location on your external drive, then delete the photos from your Mac once the export is complete.

Recovering deleted photos from Time Machine

If you delete photos and then empty Recently Deleted, you can still recover them if you have Time Machine backups turned on. Time Machine saves a copy of your entire Mac at regular intervals, including your Photos library. To restore deleted photos, open Time Machine from the menu bar or System Settings, navigate to the date before you deleted the photos, and restore your Photos library.

This method restores your entire Photos library to an earlier state, not just individual photos. If you have added or edited other photos since the deletion, restoring from Time Machine will undo those changes too. Use this only if you need to recover a large number of deleted photos and do not mind reverting other changes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I recover a photo after I empty Recently Deleted?

Yes, if you have Time Machine backups enabled. Open Time Machine, navigate to a date before you deleted the photo, and restore your Photos library. If you do not have Time Machine backups, the photo is gone for good once Recently Deleted is emptied.

Does deleting a photo from Photos delete the original file?

It depends on where the photo came from. If you imported it into the Photos library, deleting it from Photos removes it from your Mac. If you imported it from an external drive or folder and chose Remove from Library instead of Delete from Mac, the original file stays on your Mac in its original location.

How long do photos stay in Recently Deleted?

Photos remain in Recently Deleted for 30 days. After 30 days, they are permanently erased from your Mac. You can empty Recently Deleted sooner if you want to free up storage space right away.

What is the fastest way to delete hundreds of photos at once?

Use the search feature to group photos by date, location, or other criteria, then click Select All to highlight every photo in the results. Press Delete and confirm. This is faster than clicking individual photos, but double-check your search results first to avoid deleting photos you want to keep.

Can I delete photos from my Mac without deleting them from iCloud?

If you use iCloud Photos, deleting a photo from your Mac deletes it from iCloud too — they are synced. If you want to keep the photo in iCloud but remove it from your Mac, export it to an external drive first, then delete it from Photos.