You can delete your own photos in three steps from your phone or computer

Open Facebook and go to your profile. Find the photo you want to remove — you can search your timeline or go to your Photos section. Click or tap the three dots in the corner of the photo, select "Delete," and confirm. The photo is gone from your profile and from anyone else's view within a few minutes.

If the photo is in an album, the process is the same: open the album, find the photo, tap the three dots, and delete. Facebook keeps a copy in your archive for 30 days in case you change your mind, but you can permanently delete it sooner if you want.

Photos that other people posted of you stay on their profiles unless you untag yourself or ask them to take it down. That is a separate step, covered below.

Key Takeaways

  • You can delete any photo you posted by opening it, tapping the three dots, and selecting delete — it takes less than a minute.
  • Deleted photos go to your archive for 30 days; you can permanently remove them sooner if you do not want Facebook storing them at all.
  • Photos someone else posted of you do not disappear when you delete your own photos; you have to untag yourself or ask the person who posted it to remove it.
  • Untagging yourself removes your name from a photo but does not delete the photo itself or prevent others from seeing it.

Delete a photo you posted from your phone

Open the Facebook app and tap your profile icon at the bottom right. Scroll to find the photo you want to delete, or tap "Photos" to see all your photos at once. When you find it, tap the three dots in the top right corner of the photo.

A menu will pop up. Tap "Delete Photo." Facebook will ask you to confirm — tap "Delete" again. The photo disappears from your timeline and from anyone else's feed within a few minutes. If you posted it to a group or shared it with specific people, it is gone from all those places too.

Delete a photo you posted from a computer

Go to facebook.com and click your name or profile picture in the top left. Find the photo on your timeline or click "Photos" in the left menu to see all your photos. Hover your mouse over the photo and click the three dots that appear in the top right corner.

Click "Delete Photo" from the menu. A box will ask you to confirm — click "Delete" again. The photo is removed from your profile and from the feeds of anyone who saw it.

What happens to deleted photos and how long Facebook keeps them

When you delete a photo, Facebook moves it to your archive instead of erasing it completely. You can see your archived photos by going to your profile, clicking "Photos," and then clicking "Archived" at the top. Archived photos are hidden from your timeline and from other people's view, but Facebook stores them for 30 days.

If you want Facebook to delete the photo permanently before the 30 days are up, open the archived photo, tap the three dots, and select "Permanently Delete." This removes it from Facebook's servers entirely. After 30 days, archived photos are automatically deleted whether you take action or not.

Untag yourself from photos someone else posted

If someone else posted a photo of you and tagged your name, you can remove your tag without deleting the photo. Open the photo, tap the three dots, and select "Remove Tag." Your name disappears from the photo, and it no longer shows up on your timeline or in your tagged photos section. The photo stays on the other person's profile.

Untagging yourself does not notify the person who posted it, and they can tag you again later. If you want the photo removed entirely, you have to ask them to delete it or report it to Facebook if it violates their policies.

Ask someone to delete a photo they posted of you

If you want a photo removed but you do not want to untag yourself, send the person a message asking them to take it down. Most people will delete it if you ask politely. If they refuse or you do not feel comfortable asking, you can report the photo to Facebook.

Click the three dots on the photo and select "Report Photo." Choose the reason — if the photo is embarrassing or violates your privacy, select "It is abusive or harmful" or "I do not think it should be on Facebook." Facebook reviews reports and may remove photos that break their community standards, though they do not always act on privacy complaints between people who know each other.

Delete photos from an album

Open the album from your profile or from the Photos section. Find the photo you want to remove, tap or click the three dots, and select "Delete Photo." The photo is removed from the album and from your profile. If the album is shared with others, the photo disappears from their view too.

If you want to delete the entire album instead of individual photos, go to the album, tap the three dots at the top, and select "Delete Album." Facebook will ask you to confirm — all photos in that album will be deleted and moved to your archive for 30 days.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I recover a photo after I delete it?

Yes, for 30 days. Go to your profile, click Photos, and click Archived. Find the photo, tap the three dots, and select "Restore." It goes back to your timeline. After 30 days, deleted photos are gone permanently and cannot be recovered.

If I delete a photo, do the comments and likes disappear too?

Yes. When you delete a photo, all comments, likes, and shares attached to it are deleted as well. The people who commented or liked it will see that the photo is no longer there, but they will not receive a notification that you deleted it.

Does deleting a photo remove it from other people's phones or computers?

No. If someone downloaded or screenshot your photo before you deleted it, they still have a copy on their device. Deleting from Facebook only removes it from Facebook's servers and from your profile.

What if someone keeps reposting a photo I deleted?

You can untag yourself each time they post it, or ask them to stop. If they are harassing you by repeatedly posting unwanted photos, report it to Facebook as harassment. You can also block the person to prevent them from seeing your photos or contacting you.

Can I delete a photo from a message or chat?

Yes, but only from your own view. Open the message, tap and hold the photo, and select "Remove." It disappears from your chat, but the other person still sees it. To remove it from their view, you have to delete the entire message if Facebook allows it, which depends on how long ago you sent it.