You can delete your own photos in three places: from your profile, from an album, or from a specific post
The fastest way depends on where you are when you decide to delete. If you are looking at the photo itself — either on your timeline or in someone else's comment — you can delete it right there. If you are browsing your profile and want to clean up older photos, you can delete them from your photo albums instead. Either way, the photo disappears from Facebook entirely once you confirm the deletion. People who saw it before will remember it, but they cannot find it on Facebook anymore.
Deleted photos also disappear from any albums you shared them to, from any posts where you tagged them, and from the memories or timelines of anyone else who shared them. If someone else posted a photo of you and you want it gone, that is a different process — you would need to ask them to delete it, or report it to Facebook if it violates their policies.
Key Takeaways
- You can delete a photo from your profile, an album, or a post by clicking the three dots or menu icon next to it and selecting delete.
- Deleting a photo removes it from Facebook entirely, including from any albums, posts, or other people's timelines where it appeared.
- If someone else posted a photo of you, you cannot delete it directly — you must ask them to remove it or report it to Facebook.
- On mobile, the delete option is usually under a menu icon (three dots or lines); on desktop, it appears when you hover over the photo.
How to delete a photo from your profile or timeline
Open Facebook and go to your profile. Scroll to the photo you want to delete. On a computer, hover your mouse over the photo until you see a three-dot menu icon appear in the top right corner of the photo. Click that icon and select Delete Photo. On a phone or tablet, tap the three-dot menu icon (or sometimes three horizontal lines) in the top right corner of the photo, then tap Delete.
Facebook will ask you to confirm the deletion. Click or tap Delete Photo again. The photo is now gone from your profile and from Facebook. If you posted the photo in a caption or story along with text, the text stays — only the image is removed.
How to delete a photo from an album
Go to your profile and click or tap Photos. Select the album that contains the photo you want to delete. Find the photo, then hover over it (on computer) or tap it (on phone) until the menu icon appears. Click or tap the three-dot menu, then select Delete Photo. Confirm the deletion.
When you delete a photo from an album, it removes the photo from that album and from Facebook entirely — not just from that one album. If the photo appears in multiple albums, it disappears from all of them at once.
How to delete a photo someone tagged you in
If someone else posted a photo and tagged you in it, you have two options. First, you can ask them to delete it themselves. Second, you can remove yourself from the tag without deleting the photo — the photo stays on Facebook, but your name no longer appears on it, and it will not show up on your timeline.
To remove yourself from a tag, find the photo, click or tap the three-dot menu, and select Remove Tag. The photo stays where it is, but you are no longer associated with it on Facebook. If the photo violates Facebook's rules — for example, if it is explicit or harassing — you can report it instead. Click the three-dot menu and select Report Photo, then choose the reason why.
What happens after you delete a photo
Once you delete a photo, it is gone from your profile, your albums, and anyone else's timeline or posts that included it. People who saw the photo before the deletion will remember it, but they cannot find it by searching Facebook or by looking at your profile. If you shared the photo to a group or event, it disappears from there too.
If you deleted a photo by mistake, you cannot recover it from Facebook. You would need to re-upload it from your phone or computer. Facebook does not keep a trash folder or recovery option for deleted photos.
Deleting multiple photos at once
If you want to delete many photos, you can do it one at a time using the steps above, but there is no bulk delete feature on Facebook. Go to your albums, find each photo, and delete it individually. This takes longer for large batches, but it is the only way Facebook allows.
If you want to delete an entire album instead of individual photos, you can do that faster. Go to your profile, click Photos, find the album, click the three-dot menu next to the album name, and select Delete Album. This removes the album and all the photos in it at once.
Privacy and who can see your deleted photos
Deleting a photo from Facebook does not erase it from the internet entirely. If someone took a screenshot or downloaded the photo before you deleted it, they still have a copy. Deleting only removes it from Facebook's servers and from the Facebook platform itself.
If you are concerned about a photo that has already been shared widely, deleting it from Facebook is still worth doing — it stops new people from finding it on your profile or in search results. But understand that anyone who saved it before the deletion will still have their own copy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I delete a photo if someone else posted it?
No, you cannot delete a photo someone else posted, even if you are tagged in it. You can remove your tag so the photo no longer appears on your timeline, or you can ask the person who posted it to delete it themselves. If the photo breaks Facebook's rules, you can report it.
What if I delete a photo by accident?
Facebook does not have an undo or recovery option for deleted photos. If you deleted it by mistake, you will need to re-upload it from your phone, computer, or cloud storage if you have a copy saved there.
Does deleting a photo remove it from comments where people tagged it?
Yes. If someone commented on your post and attached the photo you deleted, the photo disappears from that comment too. The comment itself stays, but the image is gone.
Can people still see a deleted photo if I shared it to a group?
No. Deleting a photo removes it from groups, events, and any other place on Facebook where it was posted. Once it is deleted, no one can see it anywhere on the platform.
Will deleting a photo notify the people who saw it?
No. Facebook does not send notifications when you delete a photo. People who saw it will not receive a message saying it has been removed — they will only notice if they go back to look for it.