Delete photos on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

It's easy to delete the photos and videos that you don't want anymore. Just tap the Trash icon. You can also learn how to make space on your device and how to get your photos back if you accidentally delete them.

Make space on your device

Before you delete anything, make sure that you back up the photos and videos that you still want. When you use iCloud Photos and delete a photo or video on one device, it's also deleted on all other devices where you're signed in with the same Apple ID.

To see how much storage you have left on your device, go to Settings > General > [Device] Storage. Learn more about managing your device photo storage.


Keep only what you want

Tap Trash icon to delete photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. When you delete a photo, it goes into your Recently Deleted album. They'll stay in there for 30 days and then they're gone forever.

If you add photos to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch from iTunes, you can't delete them directly from your device in the Photos app. Learn how to delete the photos from iTunes.

Delete a photo

Delete Photo option that appears after you tap the photo or video you want to delete

  1. Open the Photos app.
  2. Tap the photo or video that you want to delete.
  3. Tap Trash icon > Delete Photo.

 

Delete multiple photos

Multiple photos selected in the Photos app

  1. Open the Photos app and tap Select.
  2. Tap each photo or video that you want to delete.
  3. Tap Trash icon > Delete [number] Photos.


Get your photos back

If you accidentally delete a photo, you have 30 days to get it back from your Recently Deleted album. When you recover photos and videos, they go back into your All Photos album.  

  1. Open the Photos app and go to the Albums tab.
  2. Open the Recently Deleted album and tap Select.
  3. Tap each photo or video that you want to keep.
  4. Tap Recover and confirm that you want to recover the photos.

If you're missing a photo or video, you can try these steps to find it.


Delete photos permanently

If you want to permanently delete your photos or videos within 30 days, you can remove them from the Recently Deleted album. When you delete a photo from this album, you can't get it back.

  1. Open the Photos app and go to the Albums tab.
  2. Open the Recently Deleted album and tap Select.
  3. Tap each photo or video that you want to permanently delete.
  4. Tap Delete and confirm that you want to delete the photos.


Delete and reset everything

Before you sell or give away your device, you can reset it and delete all of your photos and videos. When you erase the content and settings on your device, everything is removed and reset, including songs, videos, contacts, photos, calendar information, and anything else. All of your device settings are restored to their factory condition.

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