Delete photos on your iPhone or iPad

You can delete a single photo or video or delete multiple images at once. You can also recover anything that you accidentally delete.

Before you delete

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 gets deleted on all other devices where you're signed in with the same Apple ID. Learn how to delete photos and videos in iCloud Photos.

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.

Delete photos or videos

When you delete photos and videos, they go to your Recently Deleted album for 30 days. After 30 days, they'll be permanently deleted.

If you use iCloud Photos, and delete photos and videos from one device, the photos and videos will be deleted on your other devices.

If you add photos to your iPhone or iPad by connecting your device to your computer, you can't delete them directly from your device in the Photos app. If the Trash button is gray when you try to delete a photo from your iPhone or iPad, you might need to stop syncing photos from your computer. Learn how to stop syncing photos from your computer.

How to delete a single photo

iPhone showing Delete Photo option

  1. Open Photos.
  2. From the Library tab, tap All Photos and select the photo or video that you want to delete.
  3. Tap the Trash button , then tap Delete Photo.
     

How to delete multiple photos

iPhone showing multiple photos selected in the Photos app

  1. Open Photos.
  2. From the Library tab, tap All Photos, then tap Select.
  3. Tap multiple photos, or slide your finger across multiple photos to select more than one.
  4. Tap the Trash button , then confirm to delete the items.
     

Recover deleted photos or videos

  1. Open Photos and tap the Albums tab.
  2. Tap the Recently Deleted album under Utilities.
  3. In iOS 16 or later, use Face ID or Touch ID to unlock your Recently Deleted album.
  4. Tap Select.
  5. Select the photo or video that you want to keep and tap Recover. If you want to recover all the photos and videos in the album, tap Recover All.
  6. Tap Recover Photo to confirm.

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

Learn what to do if you're missing a photo or video

Make the Recently Deleted album unlocked by default

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Tap Photos.
  3. Turn off Use Face ID.

In iOS 16 or later, Face ID or Touch ID is required to view the Hidden and Recently Deleted albums by default. If you turn off Use Face ID, the Hidden album will also be unlocked by default. Learn how to hide your photos.

Delete photos permanently

  1. Open Photos and tap the Albums tab.
  2. Tap the Recently Deleted album.
  3. In iOS 16 or later, use Face ID or Touch ID to unlock your Recently Deleted album.
  4. Tap Select.
  5. Select the photo or video that you want and tap Delete. If you want to delete all the photos and videos in the album, tap Delete All.
  6. Tap Delete Photo to confirm.

When you delete a photo from this album, you can't get it back.

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