Running out of storage on your iPhone? Photos and videos are usually the biggest culprits, taking up significant space compared to apps and other data. While you can delete photos individually, it’s much quicker to clear out your entire photo library when you need a lot of space back fast.
Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t offer a straightforward “select all” button for deleting all your photos at once. But don’t worry, there’s a simple trick to select and delete all your iPhone photos in one go. This guide will walk you through the process step-by-step, ensuring you can efficiently clear your photo library and free up valuable storage space on your device.
Step-by-Step Guide to Delete All Photos from Your iPhone
1. Start by opening the Photos app on your iPhone. This is where all your photos and videos are stored.
2. Navigate to your main photo library by tapping Library at the bottom left corner of the screen. This will display all the photos you have on your iPhone.
Tap “Library” to access all your photos.
3. To begin selecting photos for deletion, tap Select in the top right corner of the screen. This activates the selection mode, allowing you to choose multiple photos.
Tap “Select” to start choosing photos.
4. Here’s the trick to select all your photos quickly: Tap lightly on the very last photo in your library (bottom right). Without lifting your finger, drag your finger to the far left and then upwards, all the way to the top of the screen, going past the top title bar until your finger is near the clock in the upper left corner. Keep holding your finger as the photos automatically get selected while scrolling upwards. Be patient, especially if you have a large photo library; it might take a few moments for all photos to be selected.
5. Once all your photos are selected (you’ll see blue checkmarks on each), look for the trash can icon located at the bottom right corner of the screen and tap it.
Tap the trash bin icon to delete selected photos.
6. A confirmation prompt will appear, asking if you want to delete the selected photos. Tap Delete [Number] Items to confirm. The number will indicate how many photos you are about to delete.
Confirm deletion of selected photos.
How to Permanently Delete Your iPhone Photos
After deleting your photos using the steps above, they are moved to the “Recently Deleted” album within the Photos app. This is similar to a recycle bin; photos stay there for 30 days before being permanently deleted, giving you a chance to recover them if needed. To truly free up space immediately, you need to empty the “Recently Deleted” album.
1. Open the Photos app again on your iPhone.
2. Tap Albums at the bottom of the screen to view all your photo albums and utilities.
3. Scroll down to the Utilities section and tap on Recently Deleted. This album contains the photos you’ve deleted in the last 30 days.
Go to the “Recently Deleted” album to permanently remove photos.
4. To permanently delete all photos in this album, tap Select in the top right corner of the screen.
Tap “Select” in “Recently Deleted”.
5. Now, tap Delete All at the bottom left corner of the screen. This option allows you to permanently remove all photos in the “Recently Deleted” album at once.
Choose “Delete All” to permanently erase photos.
6. A final confirmation will pop up. Tap Delete [Number] Items to permanently delete the photos from your iPhone. These photos will now be completely removed, and the storage space they occupied will be freed up.
Deleting Photos from iCloud
If you use iCloud Photos, deleting photos from your iPhone will also delete them from iCloud, as long as iCloud Photos sync is enabled. This is important to understand because deleting photos on your iPhone will affect your iCloud storage as well. If your goal is also to free up iCloud storage, this process will achieve that simultaneously.
Keep in mind that deleting photos from iCloud is a permanent action and will remove them from all devices connected to your iCloud account. If you want to manage your iCloud storage specifically, you can learn more about how to delete photos from iCloud in detail. Remember that iCloud sync needs to be active for your Photos for deletions to reflect across your devices and iCloud storage.
Backing Up Your Photos Before Deleting
Before you delete all your photos from your iPhone, it’s crucial to consider backing them up if they are important memories you want to preserve. Deleting photos frees up space, but it’s a permanent action. Luckily, there are numerous cloud services that make backing up your photos easy and automatic.
Services like Dropbox, Google Photos, and OneDrive offer automatic photo and video backups. By installing their apps and setting up automatic uploads, your photos will be safely stored in the cloud. This offers several benefits:
- Access from any device: You can view your photos on any device by logging into your cloud service account through a web browser or app.
- Automatic backup: Your photos are safely backed up without you having to manually transfer them.
- Save iPhone storage: After backing up, you can delete photos from your iPhone to save space while still having access to them via the cloud app.
By utilizing cloud backup services, you can confidently delete photos from your iPhone, knowing your precious memories are safely stored and accessible whenever you need them.
[ 
dave june
](https://www.businessinsider.com/author/dave-johnson) [Dave Johnson
](https://www.businessinsider.com/author/dave-johnson)Freelance Writer
Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who explores consumer tech and its evolution from science fiction concepts to everyday realities. His background includes satellite operations in the Air Force and content leadership at Microsoft’s Windows team. As a passionate photographer, Dave has captured wolves in their natural habitat and is also a scuba instructor and podcast co-host. He has authored numerous books and contributed to various tech publications, including CNET, Forbes, and Insider.
