The fastest way to clear your iPhone photos

The quickest method is to open the Photos app, tap "Select" in the upper right, then tap "Select All" at the bottom. This selects every photo and video in your library. Then tap the trash icon and confirm the deletion. The entire process takes about 30 seconds.

If you have thousands of photos, this single-action method is much faster than deleting by album or date range. Your photos move to the Recently Deleted folder first, where they stay for 30 days before permanent removal. If you change your mind within those 30 days, you can recover them.

The one limitation: this method deletes everything in your Photos library at once, including videos. If you want to keep some photos or videos, you will need a different approach.

Key Takeaways

  • Open Photos, tap Select, then Select All, then the trash icon to delete your entire library in seconds.
  • Deleted photos move to Recently Deleted for 30 days, so you can recover them if you change your mind.
  • If you want to keep some photos, use the Photos app to select only the ones you want gone, or delete by album instead.
  • Permanently removing photos from Recently Deleted empties them when ready and cannot be undone.
  • iCloud Photos syncs deletions across all your devices, so deleting on your iPhone removes them from your Mac and iPad too.

Selecting and deleting photos step by step

Open the Photos app and go to the Library tab at the bottom. Tap "Select" in the upper right corner — it appears next to the search icon. The app will show a blue checkmark next to the first photo.

Now tap "Select All" at the bottom of the screen. You will see a count appear showing how many items are selected (for example, "2,847 Photos"). Every photo and video in your library is now marked for deletion.

Tap the trash icon at the bottom right. A confirmation message will ask "Delete [number] Photos?" Tap "Delete [number] Photos" to confirm. Your photos are now in the Recently Deleted folder.

What happens in the Recently Deleted folder

When you delete photos, they do not disappear when ready. Instead, they move to a holding area called Recently Deleted, which you can find in the Albums tab under Utilities. Photos stay there for exactly 30 days.

During those 30 days, you can recover any photo by opening Recently Deleted, tapping Select, choosing the photos you want back, and tapping "Recover." The photos return to your main library exactly where they were before.

After 30 days pass, the photos are permanently deleted and cannot be recovered. If you want to remove them when ready without waiting, open Recently Deleted, tap Select All, tap Delete, and confirm again. This empties them permanently right away.

Deleting photos by album if you want to keep some

If you want to delete most photos but keep a few, the Select All method is too broad. Instead, delete by album. Open the Photos app, go to the Library tab, and tap Albums at the bottom.

Find the album you want to clear — for example, "Screenshots" or "Camera Roll." Tap Edit in the upper right, then tap Delete Album. Confirm the deletion. Only that album's contents are removed; photos in other albums stay intact.

You can also select individual photos within an album. Open the album, tap Select, tap the photos you want gone (each gets a checkmark), then tap the trash icon. This gives you precise control over what stays and what goes.

How iCloud Photos affects deletion across devices

If you use iCloud Photos, your library syncs across your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. When you delete photos on your iPhone, they are deleted from all your devices automatically. The Recently Deleted folder also syncs, so you have 30 days to recover from any device.

If you do not use iCloud Photos and instead keep photos only on your iPhone, deletion only affects that device. Photos on your Mac, iPad, or computer are not touched.

To check whether iCloud Photos is on, go to Settings, tap your name at the top, then iCloud, then Photos. If "iCloud Photos" is toggled on (green), your library syncs. If it is off, your iPhone library is separate.

Clearing space without deleting everything

If you want to free up storage but keep your photos, consider moving them to a computer or cloud service first. Connect your iPhone to a Mac or Windows PC and use Photos (Mac) or File Explorer (Windows) to copy your library to an external drive.

You can also use Google Photos, Amazon Photos, or Flickr to back up your library before deleting. These services let you upload your photos and then delete them from your iPhone while keeping them in the cloud.

Another option is to delete only old screenshots and duplicate photos. Go to Albums, find Screenshots, and delete that album. Or use the Duplicates feature in some third-party apps to find and remove copies automatically.

Recovering photos after permanent deletion

Once you empty the Recently Deleted folder, recovery is not possible through the Photos app. However, if you backed up your iPhone to iCloud or a computer before deletion, you may be able to restore from that backup.

Restoring from a backup erases your entire iPhone and replaces it with the backed-up version, so this is a last resort. You would lose any changes made after the backup was created. Contact Apple Support if you need help with this process.

The best protection is to back up your photos before deleting them. Use iCloud, a computer, or a cloud service so you always have a copy somewhere else.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I delete photos from one album without deleting them from others?

Yes. A photo can exist in multiple albums at once. Deleting it from one album removes it from all albums and from your library entirely. If you want to keep a photo but remove it from a specific album, open the album, tap Edit, and tap the minus sign next to the photo instead of using Delete Album.

What if I delete photos by mistake and the 30 days have passed?

If you have an iCloud backup or a computer backup made before the deletion, you can restore your entire iPhone from that backup. This erases everything on your phone and replaces it with the backed-up version. Otherwise, the photos cannot be recovered.

Does deleting photos from my iPhone delete them from my Mac too?

Only if you use iCloud Photos. If iCloud Photos is on, deletions sync across all devices. If it is off, your iPhone and Mac libraries are separate and deleting on one does not affect the other.

Can I delete videos without deleting photos?

Not with the Select All method — it deletes both together. Instead, go to Albums, find Videos, tap Edit, and delete that album. Or select individual videos in your library and delete only those.

How much storage space will I free up by deleting all my photos?

That depends on how many photos you have and their size. Go to Settings, tap General, then iPhone Storage to see how much space Photos is using. Deleting all photos will free up that amount of space.