The fastest way to delete a photo
Open Google Photos on your phone or computer, find the photo you want to remove, tap or click it once to select it, then tap the trash icon (usually at the top or bottom 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, you can also right-click a photo and choose "Move to trash" from the menu. On a phone, swipe up from the bottom of the screen after selecting the photo, or look for a trash icon in the toolbar.
If you want to delete multiple photos at once, tap and hold the first photo, then tap each additional photo you want to remove. Once you have selected all of them, tap the trash icon. This works the same way on phones and tablets.
Key Takeaways
- Deleted photos go to Trash and stay there for 60 days before permanent removal, so you can recover them if you change your mind.
- You can delete one photo at a time or select multiple photos and delete them together in a single action.
- Photos deleted from Trash are gone forever and cannot be recovered, so review what is in Trash before emptying it.
- Deleting a photo from Google Photos does not delete it from your phone's camera roll or other backup locations unless you also remove it there.
Selecting and deleting multiple photos at once
To speed up the process when you have many photos to remove, use the multi-select feature. On your phone, open Google Photos, tap and hold any photo until it highlights with a checkmark, then tap each other photo you want to delete. A counter at the top shows how many you have selected.
On a computer, click the first photo, then hold Shift and click the last photo in a range to select everything between them. You can also hold Ctrl (or Command on Mac) and click individual photos to pick and choose. Once you have selected all the photos you want, click the trash icon.
Google Photos will ask you to confirm before moving them to Trash. This confirmation step prevents accidental deletion of large batches, so take a moment to review the count before you confirm.
Understanding the Trash folder and permanent deletion
When you delete a photo, it does not disappear when ready. Instead, it moves to your Trash folder, where it stays for 60 days. During this time, you can restore it by opening Trash, selecting the photo, and tapping "Restore." The photo returns to your library in the same albums and collections where it was before.
After 60 days, Google Photos automatically and permanently deletes the photo from Trash. You cannot recover it after this point. If you want to delete a photo permanently before the 60 days are up, open Trash, select the photo, and tap "Delete forever." This removes it when ready with no recovery option.
To empty your entire Trash folder at once, open Trash, tap "Select all" at the top, then tap "Delete forever." This is useful if you have many old deleted photos taking up space, but be certain you do not need any of them before you do this.
Deleting photos does not remove them from your phone
Deleting a photo from Google Photos only removes it from your Google Photos library. If the photo came from your phone's camera roll or another backup service, it still exists on your phone unless you delete it there separately.
When you first set up Google Photos, you choose whether to back up your photos to Google's servers. If you turned on backup, Google Photos stores a copy of each photo. Deleting it from Google Photos removes only that copy, not the original on your device. To remove the photo completely, you must also delete it from your phone's Photos app (on iPhone) or Gallery app (on Android).
This separation is intentional — it prevents you from accidentally losing photos when you clean up your Google Photos library. If you want to delete a photo everywhere at once, delete it from your phone first, then delete it from Google Photos.
Removing photos from specific albums without deleting them
If you want to remove a photo from an album but keep it in your main library, you do not need to delete it. Instead, open the album, find the photo, tap and hold it, then tap "Remove from album." The photo stays in your Google Photos library but no longer appears in that specific album.
This is different from deletion. The photo remains in your library and in any other albums where it appears. You can add it back to the album later if you change your mind. This feature is useful when you want to reorganize albums without losing photos.
You can remove multiple photos from an album at once using the same multi-select method as deletion. Tap and hold the first photo, select the others you want to remove, then tap "Remove from album."
Freeing up storage space by deleting photos
Deleting photos from Google Photos can help you manage your storage quota. Google Photos offers 15 GB of free storage shared across your entire Google account (Gmail, Drive, and Photos all count toward this limit). Once you reach the limit, you must either delete photos or pay for more storage.
To see how much storage you are using, open Google Photos on a computer, click your profile picture in the top right, then click "Manage your Google Account." Go to the "Storage" tab to see a breakdown of what is taking up space. Photos backed up at "Storage saver" quality (a compressed version) do not count toward your limit, but original quality photos do.
If you are running low on storage, look for blurry photos, screenshots, or duplicates to delete first. These are often the easiest to remove without losing important memories. You can also switch future backups to "Storage saver" quality to slow down how quickly you fill your quota.
Recovering deleted photos from Trash
If you deleted a photo by mistake, you have 60 days to get it back. Open Google Photos, tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines), and select "Trash." Find the photo you want to restore, tap it, then tap "Restore." The photo returns to your library when ready.
On a computer, click the menu icon in the top left, select "Trash," find your photo, click it, then click "Restore." The process is the same across all devices.
If you cannot find a photo in Trash, it may have been permanently deleted or it may not have been backed up to Google Photos in the first place. Check your phone's camera roll or other backup services to see if the original still exists there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I recover a photo after it has been in Trash for more than 60 days?
No. After 60 days, Google Photos permanently deletes photos from Trash with no way to recover them. If you think you might need a photo, restore it from Trash before the 60-day window closes. You can check when a photo will be deleted by opening Trash and looking at the date next to each photo.
Does deleting a photo from Google Photos delete it from my phone?
No. Deleting from Google Photos only removes the backup copy stored on Google's servers. The original photo remains on your phone unless you delete it separately from your phone's camera app. To remove a photo completely, delete it from both places.
What happens if I delete a photo that is in multiple albums?
The photo is removed from all albums and moves to Trash. You can restore it from Trash within 60 days, and it will return to all the albums where it was before. If you only want to remove it from one album, use "Remove from album" instead of deleting it.
Can I delete photos by date or by type?
Google Photos does not have a built-in feature to delete all photos from a specific date or type at once. You can search for photos by date, location, or type (like "screenshots"), then select and delete them manually. Use the search bar at the top and filter by the criteria you want, then multi-select and delete.
Will deleting photos free up space on my phone?
Only if you delete them from your phone's camera app as well. Deleting from Google Photos frees up space in your Google account storage quota, not on your phone itself. To free up phone storage, open your phone's Photos or Gallery app and delete them there.