The fastest way to delete many photos at once
Open the Photos app and tap Select in the top right corner of the Library or Albums tab. Then tap each photo you want to delete — the order doesn't matter. You can tap 10 photos, 100 photos, or 500 photos. Once you've selected them all, tap the trash icon in the bottom right, then tap Delete [number] Photos to confirm. They move to the Recently Deleted album, where they stay for 30 days before vanishing permanently.
If you're deleting photos from a specific album instead of your whole library, the same steps work: open the album, tap Select, tap the photos, tap trash, confirm. The Recently Deleted album holds all deletions from any source for the full 30 days, so you can recover any photo you change your mind about.
Key Takeaways
- Tap Select in the Photos app, then tap individual photos to mark them, then tap the trash icon to delete them all at once.
- Deleted photos go to Recently Deleted for 30 days — you can restore them anytime during that window by opening Recently Deleted, tapping Select, tapping the photos, and tapping Recover.
- If you want to delete by date or type instead of one by one, use the search function to filter photos, then select and delete the whole group.
- Permanently emptying Recently Deleted frees up storage when ready, but you cannot recover those photos afterward.
Deleting by date or type instead of picking individual photos
The Photos app has a search function that can narrow down what you see. Tap the search icon (magnifying glass) at the bottom and search for a date range — type "2020" to see only photos from that year, or "January 2023" for a specific month. You can also search by type: "screenshots" shows only screenshots, "selfies" shows only front-camera photos, "videos" shows only video files.
Once the search results appear, tap Select, then tap the first photo and swipe down to select a large group at once. This is faster than tapping each photo individually. Then tap trash and confirm. This method works well when you know you want to delete an entire year of photos, or all your screenshots, without having to examine each one.
Recovering photos from Recently Deleted
Open the Photos app, scroll down to the Albums tab, and look for Recently Deleted near the bottom. Tap it to see all photos and videos you've deleted in the last 30 days. Tap Select, then tap the photos you want to keep, then tap Recover. They go back to your library in their original albums.
If you want to permanently delete a photo before the 30 days are up, open Recently Deleted, tap Select, tap the photo, and tap Delete. It's gone when ready and cannot be recovered. You can also tap Select All at the top of Recently Deleted to see how many photos are waiting to be deleted, and tap Delete All to empty the entire folder at once.
Why your iPhone storage might not free up right away
Photos in Recently Deleted still take up storage space on your phone. If you need that space back when ready, you must empty the Recently Deleted album — either by deleting individual photos or by tapping Edit and Delete All. Once they're gone from Recently Deleted, the storage is freed.
If you're trying to free up a large amount of space, check how much Recently Deleted is using. Open Settings, tap General, tap iPhone Storage, and scroll down to see the Photos app. The number shown includes both your library and Recently Deleted. Emptying Recently Deleted can sometimes free up several gigabytes if you've deleted a lot of photos recently.
Deleting photos from iCloud Photos without losing them on your phone
If you use iCloud Photos, your library is synced across all your devices. Deleting a photo on your iPhone deletes it from iCloud and all your other devices too. If you want to remove a photo from your iPhone but keep it in iCloud, you need to turn off iCloud Photos first.
Go to Settings, tap your name at the top, tap iCloud, tap Photos, and turn off iCloud Photos. You'll be asked whether to keep the photos on your iPhone or delete them. Choose Keep. After that, your iPhone photos are no longer synced, and you can delete from your phone without affecting iCloud. You can turn iCloud Photos back on later if you want to resume syncing.
Bulk deleting without using the Photos app
If the Photos app is slow or you want another option, you can delete photos through the Files app. Open Files, tap On My iPhone, tap DCIM (the folder where photos are stored), and you'll see your photos organized by date. Tap Select, tap the folders or individual photos, tap Delete, and confirm. This method is less common but works if the Photos app is acting up.
You can also connect your iPhone to a Mac or Windows computer and delete photos through the file system there. On a Mac, open Finder, connect your iPhone, click it in the sidebar, and navigate to the DCIM folder. On Windows, use File Explorer the same way. Deleting through the computer also sends photos to Recently Deleted on your phone, so you still have 30 days to recover them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I undo a delete if I've already emptied Recently Deleted?
No. Once you empty Recently Deleted or the 30 days pass, the photos are permanently gone. There is no recovery method after that point. If you're about to empty Recently Deleted and you're unsure, take a moment to scroll through and make sure you don't want any of those photos back.
Does deleting photos from my iPhone delete them from my Mac or iPad too?
Yes, if you use iCloud Photos. All your devices stay in sync, so deleting on one device deletes everywhere. If you want to delete only on your iPhone, turn off iCloud Photos in Settings first. After you delete, you can turn it back on.
What's the difference between deleting and archiving?
Deleting removes the photo and sends it to Recently Deleted. Archiving hides the photo from your main library but keeps it in the Archive album — it still takes up storage. Archiving is useful if you want to hide old photos without losing them. You can unarchive anytime by opening the photo and tapping the archive icon again.
Will deleting photos make my iPhone faster?
Deleting photos frees up storage space, which can help if your iPhone is almost full. A full phone sometimes runs slower. But deleting a few hundred photos won't make a noticeable speed difference if you still have gigabytes of free space. Check Settings > General > iPhone Storage to see how much space you actually have left.
Can I set up automatic photo deletion?
The Photos app doesn't have a built-in auto-delete feature. You can set up a shortcut through the Shortcuts app to delete photos matching certain rules, but this requires some technical setup. For most people, manually deleting or using the search method described above is simpler and safer.