How to Permanently Delete Photos From an iPhone

Lee Stanton March 23, 2023

Many of us are guilty of having way too many photos stored on our iPhones. And those unnecessary photos are taking up valuable storage space.

The solution is to go through your photos and permanently delete them, but how? This article will give you information on how to delete photos not only on your iPhone but also from your iCloud account.

How to Permanently Delete Photos From an iPhone

Before detailing how to permanently delete photos from an iPhone, it’s a good idea to back them up before deleting them. This can be accomplished by first saving them to a different device first. You can also keep them stored on your iCloud account by logging out of iCloud on your iPhone before permanently deleting them from your phone.

To permanently delete photos from an iPhone, follow the instructions below:

How to Delete a Single Photo

Tap the “Photos” icon on your iPhone.
Depending on how the app opens on your phone, you may need to select “All Photos.”
Tap on the photo you want to delete and press the “Trash” icon in the lower right-hand corner.
You’ll be prompted to select either “Delete Photo” or “Cancel.” Choose “Delete Photo.”
Tap on the “Back Arrow” located in the top left-hand corner of the screen.
Select the “Albums” icon on the bottom of the screen.
Scroll down and tap “Recently Deleted.”
Go to the photo you just deleted and tap on it.
Select “Delete” in the lower left-hand corner.

How to Delete Multiple Photos

Select the “Photos” icon on your iPhone.
If the view of all of your photos doesn’t open, choose “All Photos.”
In the top right corner of the screen, press “Select.”
Tap on each of the photos you’d like to delete. A blue checkmark will appear in the lower right-hand corner indicating it’s been selected.
In the lower right-hand corner of the screen, tap the “Trash” icon.
To delete the selected photos, choose “Delete x Photos,” where “x” denotes the number of photos you’ve selected to delete.
Select the “Albums” icon on the bottom of the screen.
Navigate to “Recently Deleted” and select it.
Choose “Select” and tap on each of the photos you just deleted.
Tap “Delete” from the lower-left corner of the screen.

When you delete a photo from your iPhone library, it’s not permanently deleted until you also delete it from the “Recently Deleted” photo album. If you fail to perform this final step, the photo will remain in this folder for 30 days before being automatically deleted. This is a function that Apple uses to prevent the mistaken deletion of photos. You’ll have 30 days to recover a photo from the “Recently Deleted” folder.

How to Permanently Delete Photos From iPhone iCloud

You can permanently delete photos from your iCloud account using your iPhone. However, it’s important to mention that when you delete photos from your iCloud, they could also be deleted from your iPhone. If you are logged into your iCloud account on your iPhone, deleting them from iCloud will also delete them from your iPhone. We’ll cover that later in the article.

If you’d like to permanently delete photos from your iCloud account, follow the steps below:

Log in to your iCloud account using the web browser on your iPhone.
Select the “Photos” icon.
Tap on the photo you’d like to delete.
Select the “Trash” icon from the bottom of the screen.
Tap “Delete.”

How to Permanently Delete Photos From iPhone Memory

You can easily permanently delete photos from your iPhone’s memory. But please be aware that this action is irreversible. If you’d like to delete them from your iPhone but want to have them stored elsewhere, you’ll need to save them before deleting them.

To permanently delete photos from your iPhone memory, follow these steps:

Tap on the “Photos” icon.
Select the folder that contains the photos you’d like to permanently delete.
To delete a single photo, tap on it. To delete multiple photos, choose “Select” from the upper right corner of the screen and then tap on each photo.
Tap the “Trash” icon on the lower right of the screen.
Select “Delete.”
Use the “Back Arrow” icon and then choose “Albums” from the bottom of the screen.
Scroll down and tap on “Recently Deleted.”
Tap “Select” from the upper right-hand corner.
To delete every photo, select “Delete All.” To delete individual photos, tap, and press “Delete.”

FAQs

How do I know if the photos on my iPhone are also saved on my iCloud?

You can see if your iPhone photos are being saved on your iCloud account by looking at your settings on your iPhone. To check, follow the steps below:

1. Tap “Settings.”

2. Press on your name at the very top of the screen.

3. Select “iCloud” and tap “Photos.”

4. Check to see if the button next to “iCloud Photos” is toggled to the “on” position.

If toggled to “on,” then the photos on your iPhone are being backed up and saved to your iCloud.

Can I delete a photo from my iPhone but keep it on my iCloud?

Yes. To keep a photo on your iCloud but not on your iPhone, you’ll need to turn off iCloud photo sharing. Here’s how to do it:

1. Select “Settings.”

2. Located on the top of the screen, tap on your name.

3. Choose “iCloud” and then press “Photos.”

4. Toggle the button next to “iCloud Photos” to the “off” position.

If you’d like to resume saving photos to your iCloud, please remember to return to your iCloud settings and turn the toggle switch back to the “on” position.

I mistakenly deleted a photo. Can I get it back?

If you haven’t deleted it from the “Recently Deleted” folder, you’ll have 30 days to recover the photo before it’s deleted permanently. To recover a mistakenly deleted photo, follow these steps:

1. Tap on the “Photos” icon.

2. Scroll down and select “Recently Deleted.

3. Select the photo you deleted by accident.

4. Tap “Recover” on the lower right-hand side of the screen.

The photo will be removed from this folder and placed back into your library of photos.

When I delete a photo from my iPhone, is it also deleted from my Mac and iPad?

That will depend if you are sharing the same iCloud account on your Mac and iPad. If those devices are logged into the same iCloud account you use with your iPhone, then the answer is yes.

Permanently Say Goodbye to Unwanted Photos

Simply deleting a photo on your iPhone doesn’t immediately delete it. It’s only moved into a holding folder where it’ll stay for 30 days before it’s actually removed from your phone’s memory. But by going to your Recently Deleted photo album, you have the option of deleting them immediately. You can also recover an accidentally deleted photo.

Have you deleted photos from your iPhone or iCloud? Did you follow the methods described in this article? Let us know in the comments section below.