How to delete photos on iPhone, one or many at a time

Delete a single photo or video

Open Photos, tap the photo or video to view it, then tap the Trash button and choose Delete Photo or Delete Video. You can also touch and hold a thumbnail in the grid and choose Delete from the menu, which is quicker when you are tidying as you scroll.

If you share a Shared Library, check which library you are viewing. Deleting an item there removes it for everyone in the library.

Deleting a photo also removes it from every album it appears in, including Favorites. Albums are only collections of pointers to the same file, so there is no separate copy to delete.

Delete many photos at once

1. Open your Library and tap Select.
2. Tap individual thumbnails, or press on one and drag your finger across and down the grid. Every photo you pass over is selected, and the grid scrolls as you reach the edge.
3. Drag back over a photo to deselect it. Check the counter at the top before you go on.
4. Tap the Trash button and confirm.

Apple's own steps describe this same motion as tapping or swiping across the items. Inside many albums, Select also offers Select All, which is the quickest way to clear an album you created for a one-off purpose. Deleting from an album you made can remove the photos from your whole library, so read the confirmation carefully; some albums offer a choice to remove from the album only.

Work in filtered views

Large deletions are safer when the grid only shows one kind of item. Under Media Types in Photos you will find views for videos, screenshots, screen recordings, bursts and more. Searching for a place, a date or a word also narrows the grid.

• Screenshots pile up quietly and are rarely needed later. See our screenshot guide.
• Videos take far more space than photos. Sorting out long clips first gives the biggest return; finding large videos shows how.
• Bursts keep every frame until you choose favorites. The burst photos guide covers that.
• Duplicates have their own collection on supported versions. Our duplicate photo guide explains the options.

What happens after you delete

Deleted items move to Recently Deleted, under Utilities, and stay there for 30 days unless you remove them sooner. That gives you a window to change your mind. Our guide on recovering deleted photos covers the steps.

If iCloud Photos is on, Apple notes that a deletion on one device removes the item on every device signed in with the same Apple Account. If you want photos off the phone but kept in iCloud, read how to delete photos from iPhone but not iCloud before you start. Back up anything irreplaceable first.

Storage does not always free up right away, because deleted items wait in Recently Deleted and the storage screen takes a while to update. If the number looks stuck, see why storage is still full after deleting photos.