The fastest way to delete photos in Photos on Mac
Open the Photos app, find the photo you want to delete, and press the Delete key on your keyboard. A confirmation window appears asking if you want to delete the photo — click Delete Photo to remove it permanently. The photo moves to the Recently Deleted album first, where it stays for 30 days before disappearing entirely. If you change your mind within those 30 days, you can recover it from Recently Deleted.
If you want to delete multiple photos at once, click the first one, then hold Shift and click the last one to select a range. Or hold Command and click individual photos to pick them one at a time. Once you have selected all the photos you want gone, press Delete and confirm.
Deleting from Photos on Mac does not free up storage space right away — the photos stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days, still taking up room on your drive. If you need the space when ready, you can empty Recently Deleted early by opening that album, selecting the photos, pressing Delete again, and confirming permanent removal.
Key Takeaways
- Press Delete after selecting a photo to move it to Recently Deleted, where it stays for 30 days before permanent removal.
- Select multiple photos by holding Shift to pick a range or Command to pick individual ones, then delete them all at once.
- Photos in Recently Deleted still count toward your storage until you permanently delete them or the 30 days pass.
- Emptying Recently Deleted early frees up space when ready if you need room on your Mac.
Deleting photos from a specific album or folder
If you have organized photos into albums or folders within Photos, deleting from those views works the same way — select the photo, press Delete, and confirm. The photo leaves the album but stays in your library unless you also remove it from Recently Deleted later.
Some albums in Photos are smart albums, which gather photos based on rules you set (like all photos from a certain date or location). Deleting a photo from a smart album removes it from the entire library, not just the album view. Regular albums you created yourself work differently — deleting from them only removes the photo from that album, leaving it in your main library.
If you are not sure whether an album is smart or regular, right-click it and look at the menu. If you see "Edit Smart Album", it is a smart album. If you see "Edit Album", it is a regular one.
Recovering deleted photos before 30 days pass
Open the Photos app and look for the Recently Deleted album in the sidebar on the left. Click it to see all photos you have deleted in the past 30 days. Select the photo you want to keep, then right-click it and choose Recover. The photo returns to your library in the same place it was before.
You can also select multiple photos in Recently Deleted and recover them all at once using the same method. If you do not see Recently Deleted in your sidebar, click View at the top of the screen, then Show Recently Deleted Album.
Permanently deleting photos right away
If you want photos gone when ready instead of waiting 30 days, go to Recently Deleted, select the photos, press Delete again, and click Delete Photo in the confirmation window. This removes them permanently and frees up storage space on your Mac right away.
You can also empty the entire Recently Deleted album at once. Open Recently Deleted, click Edit in the top right, then Select All. Press Delete and confirm permanent removal. This is useful if you have been deleting photos for a while and want to clean up all at once.
What happens to photos stored in iCloud
If you have iCloud Photos turned on, deleting a photo from your Mac deletes it from iCloud and all your other devices too. The photo still goes to Recently Deleted first and stays there for 30 days across all your devices. If you recover it on your Mac, it comes back on your iPhone, iPad, and other Macs as well.
To check if iCloud Photos is on, open Photos, click Photos in the menu bar, then Settings. Look at the iCloud tab — if iCloud Photos is checked, your photos are synced. If it is not checked, your Mac has its own separate photo library.
Deleting photos without opening the Photos app
You can also delete photos from Finder if they are stored as files on your Mac. Open Finder, navigate to the folder where the photos are, select them, and press Delete. They move to the Trash, not to Recently Deleted in Photos. You can recover them from Trash as long as you have not emptied it.
This method works if you have photos stored outside the Photos app — for example, in a Downloads folder or on an external drive. Photos stored inside the Photos library itself must be deleted through the Photos app to use the Recently Deleted feature.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I undo a delete if I already emptied Recently Deleted?
No — once you permanently delete a photo and confirm removal, it is gone. There is no undo after that point. If you think you might need a photo later, leave it in Recently Deleted instead of emptying it early, since you have 30 days to change your mind.
Do deleted photos take up space on my Mac?
Yes, photos in Recently Deleted still use storage space until the 30 days pass or you permanently delete them. If you need space when ready, open Recently Deleted, select the photos, delete them again, and confirm. This frees up the space right away.
What if I delete a photo by mistake from an album?
If you deleted it from a regular album (not a smart album), it is still in your main library. Go to Recently Deleted to recover it. If you deleted it from a smart album, it is gone from your entire library and you need to recover it from Recently Deleted.
Does deleting a photo from my Mac delete it from my iPhone too?
Only if you have iCloud Photos turned on. If iCloud Photos is on, deleting on your Mac deletes it everywhere. If iCloud Photos is off, your Mac and iPhone have separate libraries and deleting on one does not affect the other.
How do I delete photos in bulk without selecting them one by one?
Use smart albums or search to narrow down the photos you want, then select all of them at once. Click Edit, then Select All, or press Command+A. Then press Delete and confirm. This is faster than clicking individual photos.