--- title: "One-Click Erase All iPhone Photos" canonical: "https://technever.com/erase-all-photos-from-iphone/" author: "Ethan Byte" published: "2026-10-05T03:00:00+00:00" modified: "2026-09-07T07:44:47+00:00" language: "en-US" site: "Tech Never" description: "If you want to erase all photos from an iPhone, you probably assume you can just tap Select All and hit Delete. It is not that simple. The Photos app…" categories: "How To" attribution: "Tech Never (https://technever.com/)" --- # One-Click Erase All iPhone Photos If you want to erase all photos from an iPhone, you probably assume you can just tap Select All and hit Delete. It is not that simple. The Photos app, iCloud sync, and a few hidden folders all work together in ways that can trick you into thinking your photos are gone when they are not. Many people end up frustrated when photos reappear days later or when they run out of iCloud space despite deleting everything. Apple's own support documentation recommends a multi-step process to ensure photos are fully removed from both the device and the cloud. As of 2026, iOS 18 requires you to empty the Recently Deleted folder separately and manage iCloud settings independently. Understanding these steps before you start saves time and prevents accidental data loss. Let's walk through the exact workflow so you know exactly what to do. ## Quick Answer Open the Photos app, tap Select, tap Select All, tap the trash icon. Go to the Recently Deleted album and tap Delete All to clear the device. For iCloud, go to Settings, tap your name, tap iCloud, tap Photos, toggle off, and choose Remove from iPhone. Photos are permanently deleted from the cloud after a short confirmation period. ## Why “Delete All Photos” Doesn’t Work the Way You’d Expect The biggest mistake people make is thinking that tapping Delete in the Photos app removes photos for good. It does not. It moves them to the Recently Deleted folder. That folder holds everything for 30 days. During that time, the photos still take up storage space. You have to open that folder and tap Delete All to remove them permanently. If you have iCloud Photos enabled, the situation gets trickier. Deleting from the Photos app also deletes from iCloud. But if you only want to free up space on your device, that is not what you want. You need to turn off iCloud Photos and choose Remove from iPhone instead. There are also two extra spots where photos hide. The Hidden album does not get selected when you use Select All. You have to unhide those photos first or delete them directly from the album. Shared Albums work independently too. Photos in a shared album live in iCloud separately and need to be deleted individually from each album. The takeaway is simple. You cannot just tap Delete once. You need to know which photos you want to remove and from where. That is why the next section helps you figure out your specific situation. ## The Three Situations: Which One Matches Your Goal? You are in one of three situations. Pick the one that matches your goal. **Situation 1: Free up local storage but keep photos in iCloud.** You want more space on your iPhone. You do not want to lose the photos themselves. You just want the local copies gone. The cloud versions stay safe. **Situation 2: Permanently delete all photos from both device and iCloud.** Maybe you are cleaning up your digital life. Maybe you want to remove old content. You want every copy gone from your Apple account and your phone. **Situation 3: Sell, trade in, or give away your iPhone.** You need to erase everything including personal data, accounts, and settings. A simple photo deletion is not enough. You need a full factory reset. Each situation has a different workflow. Do not skip ahead. If you are in Situation 1 and use the Situation 2 method, you will lose your cloud copies. If you are in Situation 3 and only delete photos, the new owner might still access your data. The next three sections walk through each situation step by step. ## Keep iCloud Copies, Delete Only from Your iPhone This is the workflow for Situation 1. You want to free up local storage without losing any photos from iCloud. Go to Settings. Tap your name at the top. Tap iCloud. Tap Photos. You will see the toggle for iCloud Photos. Turn it off. A pop-up will ask if you want to Remove or Keep photos on your iPhone. Choose Remove. This deletes the local copies. The originals stay in iCloud. Now empty the Recently Deleted folder. Open the Photos app. Tap Albums. Scroll to Recently Deleted. Tap Select. Tap Delete All. Confirm. This clears any photos that were already in the trash. A few things to keep in mind. Turning off iCloud Photos stops new photos from syncing. If you turn it back on later, the photos will download again. Also, the Remove from iPhone option only appears if you have enough iCloud storage to hold all your photos. If your iCloud is full, you may need to free up space first or use a different method. That is it. Your iPhone is now free of photos. Your iCloud account still has everything. You can access them from any other device or from iCloud.com. ## Permanently Delete Everything (iPhone and iCloud) This is the workflow for Situation 2. You want all photos gone from both your device and the cloud. Start on your iPhone. Open the Photos app. Tap Select. Tap Select All. Tap the trash icon. This moves the photos to the Recently Deleted folder. Now go to the Recently Deleted album. Tap Select. Tap Delete All. This permanently removes them from your device. But they are still in iCloud. To delete from the cloud, go to iCloud.com on a computer. Sign in with your Apple ID. Open Photos. Click Select All. Click the trash icon. Then click Delete All in the Recently Deleted folder on iCloud.com. This permanently removes them from the cloud. Alternatively, you can go to Settings on your iPhone, tap your name, tap iCloud, tap Photos, and turn off iCloud Photos. Then choose Delete from iCloud. This deletes all cloud copies. Per [Apple's support documentation](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201265), this action is permanent after a short confirmation. Note that Shared Albums and the Hidden album are not affected by this process. You need to delete those separately. Also, iCloud backups may still contain the photos. You can delete old backups from Settings or iCloud.com. ## Factory Reset Your iPhone Before Selling or Trading This is the workflow for Situation 3. You are selling, trading in, or giving away your iPhone. You need to erase everything completely. First, back up anything you want to keep. Back up to iCloud or a computer. Then sign out of iCloud. Go to Settings. Tap your name. Scroll down and tap Sign Out. You will be asked to enter your Apple ID password. This disables Find My iPhone and removes Activation Lock. Next, go to Settings. Tap General. Tap Transfer or Reset iPhone. Tap Erase All Content and Settings. Confirm. The iPhone will restart and show the Hello screen. It is now clean and ready for a new owner. Per Apple's privacy documentation, the factory reset destroys the encryption key on the device. This makes all data including photos unrecoverable. It is the recommended method for data erasure before selling. Do not skip the iCloud sign out step. Activation Lock will prevent the new owner from using the phone. Also, photos in iCloud are not affected by the reset. They remain in your iCloud account. Delete them separately if you want them gone from the cloud. ## Mistakes That Cost You Photos (or Waste Your Time) The most common error is thinking the Recently Deleted folder is optional. You tap Delete, see the photos vanish, and assume you are done. The photos still occupy storage for 30 days. They also remain in iCloud. Empty that folder every time. Another mistake happens during a factory reset. People skip the iCloud sign out step. The phone resets, but Activation Lock stays on. The new owner cannot use the device. You have to re-enter your Apple ID to fix it. It is a frustrating extra step. Some users forget about the Hidden album. The Photos app does not include that album in Select All. You have to manually go to the Hidden album, unhide the photos, and then delete them. If you want everything gone, check that album first. A third mistake involves iCloud storage limits. If your iCloud storage is full, the Remove from iPhone option may not appear. You have to free up cloud space or upgrade your plan before you can proceed. Check your iCloud storage in Settings before you start. Finally, do not assume a factory reset deletes your iCloud photos. It does not. The reset only wipes the device. Your cloud library remains intact. You have to delete those separately if you want them gone for good. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How do I select all photos at once on an iPhone? Open the Photos app and tap the Select button in the top right corner. Then tap Select All in the top left. This selects every photo in your library. You can then tap the trash icon to delete them all at once. ### Does deleting photos from iPhone free up iCloud storage? No. Deleting photos from your iPhone does not free up iCloud storage. The photos remain in iCloud unless you delete them from the cloud separately. You must either delete them from iCloud.com or turn off iCloud Photos with the Delete from iCloud option. ### How long do photos stay in Recently Deleted? Photos stay in the Recently Deleted folder for 30 days. After that, iOS automatically removes them permanently. You can also manually empty the folder at any time by tapping Delete All in the Recently Deleted album. ### Will a factory reset delete my iCloud photos? No. A factory reset erases your iPhone only. Your iCloud photos stay in the cloud. You must delete them separately from iCloud.com or the Settings app if you want them removed. The reset does not touch your Apple account data. ### What happens if I turn off iCloud Photos? You get a prompt asking whether to Remove from iPhone or Delete from iCloud. Remove from iPhone keeps your cloud copies and deletes local ones. Delete from iCloud removes all copies from both the device and the cloud. Choose carefully. ### Can I recover photos after deleting them from Recently Deleted? No. Once you empty the Recently Deleted folder, the photos are gone permanently. Apple does not offer a recovery option for those photos. Always back up anything you want to keep before deleting. ## The Right Workflow for Your Situation Here is a quick decision guide based on the three situations covered earlier. **If you want to free up space but keep your photos.** Turn off iCloud Photos in Settings. Choose Remove from iPhone. Empty the Recently Deleted folder. Your photos stay in the cloud. Your device gains storage. **If you want to permanently delete all photos.** Delete from the Photos app. Empty the Recently Deleted folder. Delete from iCloud.com or the Settings app. Check the Hidden album and Shared Albums. Confirm everything is gone. **If you are selling or trading your iPhone.** Back up your data. Sign out of iCloud. Go to Settings and tap Erase All Content and Settings. This meets Apple's recommended data erasure standard. The encryption key is destroyed, making the data unrecoverable. Per Apple's privacy guidelines, the factory reset is the only method that guarantees no data can be recovered from the device itself. For photo libraries specifically, use the iCloud deletion steps if you want those removed from your account entirely. One last tip. Before you do anything, take a few minutes to back up photos you might want later. Even if you are sure you want them gone, a backup gives you a safety net. You can always delete the backup later. You cannot undelete a photo after the 30 day window closes.