The fastest way: select and delete in the Photos app
Open the Photos app and tap Select in the upper right corner. Your photos will show a small circle in the corner of each one. Tap each photo you want to delete — the circle fills with a checkmark. You can tap as many as you want, in any order. When you are done selecting, tap Delete in the lower right, then confirm by tapping Delete [number] Photos.
This method works in any view — your library, a specific album, or a date range. You can select 2 photos or 200. The photos 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.
If you have a large number of photos to remove and want to work faster, you can tap the first photo, then hold Shift and tap the last photo in a sequence to select everything in between at once.
Key Takeaways
- Tap Select in the Photos app, then tap each photo you want to delete, then tap Delete to remove multiple photos at once.
- Deleted photos go to Recently Deleted for 30 days, so you can recover them if you change your mind.
- You can select photos across different albums, dates, or views — the Select tool works the same way everywhere.
- Holding Shift while tapping lets you select a range of consecutive photos instead of tapping each one individually.
- Permanently removing photos from Recently Deleted happens automatically after 30 days, or you can empty it manually to free up space right away.
Deleting by album or date range
If your photos are organized by album, open that album first, then tap Select. This narrows your choices to only the photos in that album, making it easier to find what you want to delete. The same approach works if you tap a specific date or month in your library — tap that date range, then tap Select, then choose your photos.
Albums you created yourself can be deleted entirely. Open the album, tap Select, then tap Delete Album. This removes the album but does not delete the photos themselves — they stay in your main library. If you want to delete both the album and the photos inside it, you need to delete the photos first using the method above, then the empty album will disappear on its own.
Recovering photos from Recently Deleted
When you delete a photo, it moves to the Recently Deleted album instead of disappearing right away. You have 30 days to change your mind. Open the Photos app, scroll down, and tap the Recently Deleted album. Tap Select, then tap the photos you want to keep. Tap Recover, and they go back to your library in their original location.
If you want to permanently delete photos without waiting 30 days, open Recently Deleted, tap Select, choose your photos, and tap Delete Permanently. This removes them from your phone and iCloud when ready. Be certain before you do this — there is no way to get them back after this step.
Freeing up space by emptying Recently Deleted
The Recently Deleted album takes up storage space on your phone and in iCloud until the 30 days are up. If you need that space right now, you can empty it manually. Open Recently Deleted, tap Select, tap Select All in the upper left, then tap Delete Permanently. All photos in the album disappear at once.
This is useful when you are running low on storage and need to free up space when ready. Just remember that you cannot recover these photos after you do this — make sure you do not need any of them before you empty the album.
Deleting photos from iCloud and your phone at the same time
If you use iCloud Photos, deleting a photo from your iPhone also deletes it from iCloud and any other device signed into your account. This happens automatically — you do not have to do anything extra. The photo goes to Recently Deleted on all your devices, and after 30 days it is gone from everywhere.
If you use iCloud Photos but want to keep a photo in iCloud while removing it from your phone, that is not possible through the Photos app. You would need to turn off iCloud Photos, which is a more involved process. For most people, the automatic sync is what they want — one deletion removes the photo everywhere.
Bulk deletion using smart albums and filters
If you want to delete many photos that match a pattern — like all screenshots, or all photos from a specific date — you can use the search and filter tools to narrow down your list first. Tap the search icon at the bottom of the Photos app, then search for "screenshot" or tap a date. This shows only the photos that match. Then tap Select and delete them all at once.
You can also search by location, camera type, or other details. This is faster than scrolling through thousands of photos to find the ones you want to remove. Once you have filtered to the photos you want, the Select and Delete process is the same as always.
What happens to photos stored only in iCloud
If you have iCloud Photos turned on and your phone is low on storage, some photos may be stored only in iCloud, not on your phone itself. These photos still appear in your library with a small cloud icon. Deleting them works the same way — tap Select, choose the photos, tap Delete. They move to Recently Deleted and disappear after 30 days.
Deleting iCloud-only photos does free up space in your iCloud storage, but not on your phone (since they were not taking up phone space to begin with). If you want to keep a photo in iCloud but remove it from your phone to save space, you need to turn off iCloud Photos and manage your library differently — a more complex process that most people do not need.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I undo a deletion after I tap Delete?
Yes, for 30 days. Deleted photos go to Recently Deleted, where you can recover them by opening that album, tapping Select, choosing the photos, and tapping Recover. After 30 days, they are gone permanently. If you tap Delete Permanently instead of just Delete, they disappear right away with no recovery option.
Does deleting photos from my iPhone also delete them from iCloud?
Yes, if you use iCloud Photos. Deletions sync across all your devices automatically. The photo goes to Recently Deleted on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and after 30 days it is gone from iCloud too. If you do not use iCloud Photos, deletions only affect your iPhone.
How do I delete photos faster if I have thousands to remove?
Use the search or filter tools to narrow down to the photos you want, then tap Select All to choose them all at once. You can search by date, type (like screenshots), or location. This is much faster than scrolling and tapping individual photos.
Will deleting photos free up storage space right away?
Deleting photos moves them to Recently Deleted, which still takes up space for 30 days. To free up space when ready, open Recently Deleted, tap Select All, and tap Delete Permanently. This removes them from your phone and iCloud right away.
Can I delete an entire album and all the photos in it at once?
You can delete the album itself by opening it, tapping Select, and tapping Delete Album, but this only removes the album — the photos stay in your library. To delete both the album and the photos, delete the photos first using Select and Delete, then the empty album disappears on its own.