Delete a photo permanently in three steps
Open Google Photos on your phone or computer. Find the photo you want to remove, tap or click it once to open it full-screen, then tap the trash icon (it looks like a bin) at the bottom or top of the screen. The photo moves to your Trash folder and stays there for 60 days before Google deletes it permanently. If you change your mind within those 60 days, you can restore it.
On a computer, the trash icon appears at the top right of the full photo. On a phone, it's usually at the bottom center. The location shifts slightly depending on whether you're using the app or the web version, but the icon is always the same — a straightforward trash bin.
If you want to delete the photo right now without waiting 60 days, open your Trash folder, find the photo, and tap "Delete forever" or "Permanently delete". This removes it when ready and cannot be undone.
Key Takeaways
- Tapping the trash icon moves a photo to Trash, where it stays for 60 days before Google removes it automatically.
- You can restore any photo from Trash within 60 days by opening Trash, selecting the photo, and tapping Restore.
- To delete a photo when ready without waiting, open Trash, find the photo, and tap Delete Forever — this cannot be reversed.
- Deleting a photo from Google Photos does not delete it from your phone's camera roll or any other storage unless you delete it there separately.
Where to find the trash icon on different devices
On an iPhone or Android phone using the Google Photos app, open the photo full-screen and look at the bottom center of the screen. The trash icon sits to the right of other options like share and edit. Tap it once and the photo disappears from your library.
On a computer using Google Photos in your web browser, open the photo and look at the top right corner. You'll see several icons in a row — the trash bin is usually the last one on the right. Click it to send the photo to Trash.
If you're using Google Photos on a tablet, the layout is similar to a phone but the icons may be larger and positioned slightly differently. The trash icon is always present in the same general area — either bottom center or top right depending on your device.
How to restore a deleted photo within 60 days
Your deleted photos don't vanish when ready. Google keeps them in a Trash folder for 60 days, giving you time to change your mind. To restore a photo, open Google Photos and look for a menu option — on phones it's usually three horizontal lines in the top left corner, and on computers it's a similar icon or a menu button.
Tap or click "Trash" from that menu. You'll see all the photos you've deleted recently, with the oldest ones at the bottom. Find the photo you want back, tap or click it, and look for a "Restore" button. Tap it and the photo returns to your main library exactly where it was before.
The 60-day timer starts the moment you delete the photo. After 60 days, Google removes it permanently and you cannot restore it. If you're not sure when you deleted something, check the date shown in Trash — it tells you how many days you have left.
Permanently deleting a photo right now
If you don't want to wait 60 days, you can delete a photo forever when ready. Open Google Photos, go to your Trash folder using the menu, find the photo, and tap or click it. At the top or bottom of the screen, you'll see an option that says "Delete forever", "Permanently delete", or sometimes just "Delete".
Tap that option and Google will ask you to confirm — this is your final note to change your mind. Once you confirm, the photo is gone and cannot be restored. There is no undo after this point, so make sure you really want to remove it.
You can also delete multiple photos at once. In your Trash folder, tap and hold the first photo (or click it on a computer), then tap or click other photos to select them. Once you've chosen all the ones you want gone, tap the delete forever button and confirm.
What happens to photos on your phone when you delete from Google Photos
Deleting a photo from Google Photos does not delete it from your phone's camera roll or storage. Google Photos is a separate app that stores copies of your photos in the cloud — removing something from Google Photos only removes it from that cloud storage, not from your device itself.
If you want to delete a photo from both Google Photos and your phone, you need to delete it twice: once from Google Photos using the trash icon, and once from your phone's built-in Photos app or Gallery app. The steps are the same in both places — find the photo, tap the trash icon, and confirm.
This separation is actually useful. You can clean up your Google Photos library without losing the originals on your phone, or you can delete from your phone and keep the backup in Google Photos. Just remember that they are two separate storage locations.
Deleting photos in bulk
If you need to remove many photos at once, Google Photos lets you select multiple items and delete them together. On your phone, open Google Photos and go to your library or a specific album. Tap and hold any photo until it's highlighted, then tap other photos to add them to your selection. A number appears at the top showing how many you've chosen.
Once you've selected all the photos you want to remove, tap the trash icon. They all move to Trash at once. If you want to delete them forever when ready instead of waiting 60 days, go to Trash, select the same photos again, and tap delete forever.
On a computer, click a photo to select it, then hold Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) and click other photos to add them to your selection. You can also click the first photo, hold Shift, and click the last photo to select a range. Then click the trash icon to delete them all.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I recover a photo after I've permanently deleted it?
No. Once you tap "Delete forever" or "Permanently delete", the photo is gone and cannot be recovered. This is why Google keeps photos in Trash for 60 days first — it gives you a window to restore them if you change your mind. After you permanently delete, there is no way to get the photo back.
Does deleting from Google Photos delete it from my computer or phone?
No. Google Photos is cloud storage separate from your device. Deleting from Google Photos only removes it from that cloud service. Your original photo stays on your phone, computer, or wherever you originally stored it. You must delete it separately from those places if you want it gone from your device.
What if I delete a photo by accident?
Open Google Photos, go to Trash using the menu, find your photo, and tap Restore. As long as it's been fewer than 60 days since you deleted it, you can bring it back. The photo returns to your main library in the same place it was before.
Can I delete photos from a shared album?
If you own the shared album, you can delete photos from it the same way you delete from any album — tap the photo, tap trash, and confirm. If someone else owns the album, you can only remove photos you personally uploaded. Photos uploaded by the owner or other people cannot be deleted by you.
How do I delete an entire album instead of individual photos?
Open the album, tap the menu (three dots) at the top, and look for "Delete album" or "Remove album". This deletes the album itself but not the photos — they stay in your main library. If you want to delete both the album and the photos inside it, you must delete the photos individually first.