How to Delete All Photos on Your Phone

Edited 2 weeks ago by ExtremeHow Editorial Team

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Our phones are no longer just for communication. They have become our ultimate storage devices, storing memories in the form of photos and videos. Whether it's capturing beautiful sunsets, birthdays or delicious meals, our phones are an important part of our lives. However, as time goes by, these photos start taking up a lot of space, slowing down our phones and making them less efficient. This comprehensive guide aims to help you understand how you can delete all the photos on your phone in a simple and comprehensive way. Here, you'll learn about methods for both iOS and Android devices. Understanding these methods will help you manage your storage effectively, as well as know how you can recover your data from the cloud or backup if you wish.

Understanding the need to remove photos

It's important to identify why deleting your photos might be necessary. Phones come with limited storage, and modern mobile apps require more space to operate efficiently. High-resolution photos and videos take up a lot of storage space, often causing you to experience app crashes or slow processing. Therefore, deleting old or unwanted photos can be an effective way to free up space and boost your device's performance. But before you begin, it's imperative to back up your photos in case you need them for future use. Many cloud storage services like Google Photos, iCloud, and OneDrive offer free and premium storage plans. Consider using them to store high-resolution images before deleting files from your phone.

Take a backup before deleting

Before you start deleting photos from your phone, make sure you have backed them up. This step is important because once photos are deleted, it is often very difficult or impossible to get them back, especially if you haven't linked your phone to a cloud service.

Backing up on iOS

• iCloud Backup: Go to Settings on your iPhone, select your name at the top, tap iCloud and make sure Photos is turned on. Then, choose iCloud Backup and tap Back Up Now.
• Google Photos: Download the Google Photos app from the App Store, sign in with your Google account, tap Menu, go to Settings, and then Back up & sync. Turn this option on.

Backing up on Android

• Google Photos: The Google Photos app usually comes pre-installed on Android devices. Open it, tap Menu (three horizontal lines), choose Settings, then Back up & sync, and turn on this setting.
• Other services: For Samsung users, Samsung Cloud is also an option available for backup. Go to Settings, choose Account and backup, then choose Samsung Cloud, and select Gallery to back up your photos.

Deleting photos on iPhone

Now let's take a look at the process of deleting photos from your iPhone. Keep in mind that when you delete photos from your device, they first go to a folder called "Recently Deleted," from where you can permanently delete them.

Step-by-step guide

1. Open the Photos app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Albums at the bottom of the screen.
3. Scroll down to Recently Deleted.
4. Select Select at the top-right corner of the screen.
5. Select all the photos, and then tap Delete.
6. A prompt will appear to confirm this action. Tap Delete Item to permanently delete the photo.

Deleting photos on an Android device

The process may vary slightly on Android due to different phone manufacturers, but the Google Photos app method remains the same across all devices.

A step-by-step guide to using Google Photos

1. Open the Google Photos app.
2. Tap and hold an image to select it. You can then select other images by tapping them.
3. To select all, tap the three vertical dots or the More option and then choose Select all.
4. Once all the photos are selected, click the trash or delete icon, which is usually located at the top.
5. Confirm the action to move them to the trash.

Images sent to the trash will be available for 60 days before being permanently deleted, unless you manually empty the trash within the app.

Alternative method for Gallery app

1. Open your phone's default gallery or photos app.
2. Go to the folder that contains the photos you want to delete.
3. Tap and hold to start selecting photos. Tap Other or see the Select All option.
4. Once selected, tap the Delete option, usually represented as a trashbin icon.
5. Confirm the deletion when prompted. The photos will usually move to the Recently Deleted folder.

Like iPhones, some Android phones also have a similar folder where deleted files remain for some time.

Things to keep in mind after deleting photos

After successfully freeing up space, you may feel relieved about the extra space on your phone. However, here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Check storage: Many phones show storage details under Settings. Monitoring it regularly can help you manage space better in the future.
• Optimize photo storage: Some phones offer a feature to optimize storage by storing the original files on the cloud and keeping low-resolution versions locally.

If you regret deleting some photos, you can recover them if they were backed up online. However, keep in mind that if they were not backed up, recovering them becomes much more complicated, requiring additional software or services, sometimes at a cost.

Conclusion

In conclusion, managing the storage on your phone is essential to maintaining its performance and ensuring smooth usage. Deleting all photos doesn't mean losing your memories; with cloud storage and backups, your beloved images remain safe. Remember, the key to optimizing your phone is not just randomly deleting files, but managing and organizing your data efficiently. This guide not only helps you delete your photos, but hopefully gives you a better understanding of phone management. Stay organized, and make sure you back up data regularly to avoid hasty data deletion in the future.

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