How to Delete Photos on Your iPhone or iPad

📱 How to Delete Photos on Your iPhone or iPad

Managing photo and video storage on your iPhone or iPad is essential for keeping your device running smoothly. Whether you want to free up space or simply organize your photo library, here's everything you need to know about deleting photos and videos — and recovering them if needed.

🔒 Before You Delete

• Back up photos/videos you want to keep.
• If you use iCloud Photos, deleting on one device deletes on all signed-in devices.
• Check storage: Settings > General > [Device] Storage.

🖼️ How to Delete a Single Photo or Video

1. Open the Photos app.
2. Select the photo or video you want to delete.
3. Tap the Trash icon.
4. Confirm by tapping Delete Photo.

📂 How to Delete Multiple Photos or Videos

1. Open the Photos app.
2. Tap Select.
3. Tap or drag to select multiple items.
4. Tap the Trash icon and confirm.

🖥️ Deleting Synced Photos from Computer

Photos synced from your computer can’t be deleted directly on your device. If the trash icon is greyed out, disable photo syncing from your computer first.

👥 iCloud Shared Photo Library

Up to five users can add/edit/delete in an iCloud Shared Photo Library. Only the original uploader can permanently delete from the Recently Deleted folder.

📸 Delete Duplicate Photos and Videos

1. Open Photos and go to Utilities.
2. Tap the Duplicates album.
3. Tap Merge to combine duplicates and keep the best quality.
4. Select multiple or tap Select All, then Merge.

This feature is available on iOS 16 and iPadOS 16.1 or later.

♻️ Recover Deleted Photos or Videos

1. Open Photos.
2. Swipe up to access Recently Deleted.
3. Use Face ID or Touch ID to unlock.
4. Tap Select, choose items, and tap Recover.
5. To recover everything, tap Recover All.

🔓 Unlock Recently Deleted Album by Default

1. Go to Settings > Apps > Photos.
2. Turn off Use Face ID.

This also unlocks the Hidden album by default.

❌ Permanently Delete Photos

1. Go to Photos > Recently Deleted.
2. Unlock with Face ID or Touch ID.
3. Tap Select, choose photos, tap Delete.
4. Tap Delete from All Devices to confirm.

Note: These photos and videos cannot be recovered once deleted.

Need help with your device? Contact QuickTech Phone Repairs — your local tech experts in NYC.