How to delete multiple photos on iPhone

Having an iPhone makes it so easy to take beautiful pictures. So, as you go about your daily life, of course, you tend to take photos of everything around you, capturing stunning sunsets, moments with loved ones, and random objects that catch your eye. 

However, this habit of taking pictures can quickly lead to a cluttered iPhone gallery. The more pictures you take, the more storage space they consume, and eventually, you may have to delete multiple photos to free up space. Or you may want to delete all pictures.

Either way, deleting pictures one by one can be tedious and time-consuming, but there are ways to delete multiple photos simultaneously. In this article, you’ll find out how to delete all photos from iPhone. You can use the same steps for deleting multiple images at once.

Why do I need to delete multiple photos on my iPhone?

One of the most common reasons why people want to delete multiple pics from their iPhone is because they want to clear storage space. I’m sure that as you take more and more photos, you’re noticing just how quickly your iPhone library can become cluttered. Eventually, you’ll run out of space, and your device will start slowing down. It may even continuously crash. But by mass deleting photos or even deleting all photos at once, you can quickly free up space and get your phone running faster and smoother in no time.

Although freeing up space on your iPhone isn’t the only benefit to doing this. If you’re anything like me, over time, you’ll realize you’ve accumulated thousands of photos. So, when you go to look for a specific picture, it can feel nearly impossible. By deleting unwanted photos, you can keep your photo library clutter-free and easy to navigate.

How to delete pictures from iPhone

If you’re tired of scrolling through hundreds or even thousands of photos on your iPhone, it’s time to learn how to delete them en masse. Mass deleting photos is an easy and efficient way to clean up storage space and keep your gallery organized. 

Here are a few fast ways to delete photos on iPhone:

Method 1: Using CleanMy®Phone

CleanMy®Phone is a careful iPhone and iPad cleaner that offers an efficient way to delete multiple pictures from your iPhone. It makes it easier to identify and remove duplicates, blurred shots, and unwanted pics. The app uses AI-powered technology to organize your photos, so if your library looks messy, CleanMy®Phone may help.

Here’s how you can delete multiple pictures on your iPhone with CleanMy®Phone:

1. Download CleanMy®Phone from the App Store.
2. Open the app and grant access to all your photos.
3. From the Declutter tab, tap Scan and wait till CleanMy®Phone scans your entire library.
4. When the scan is complete, explore the categories such as Blur, Duplicates, Screenshots, and others.
5. Tap Clean > Delete to remove your photo clutter.

Accidentally deleted a picture with CleanMy®Phone? No worries — it’s still in your Recently Deleted album for 30 days.

If you want to immediately get rid of those pictures to free up space on your device, open the Photos app and tap Albums > Recently Deleted > Select > Options > Delete All.

Method 2: Using the Photos app

Thankfully, Apple had the forethought to know that we’d want to delete multiple photos at a time. That’s why the iOS native app Photos has this feature built-in. It’s an incredibly straightforward process that anyone can do in just a few simple steps. All you have to do is follow these instructions:

1. Open Photos.
2. Tap Select in the upper right corner of the screen.
3. Then, tap each photo that you want to delete.
4. After you’ve selected the photos, tap the Trash button at the bottom of the screen.
5. Confirm to delete the photos.

Although, this doesn’t actually remove them from your phone. The pictures you just trashed are still in your Recently Deleted album for the next 30 days, which is great if you want to recover some images. But if you need to free up that storage space right now, then in Photos, tap Albums > scroll down to Recently Deleted > Select > Delete All

Method 3: Using iCloud Photo Library

If you have iCloud Photos enabled, it can help you quickly delete multiple pictures from your iPhone. Although it’s syncing with your iPhone, it might be easier for you to do it by going to iCloud.com on your Mac:

1. Open iCloud.com and log in to your account.
2. Select the pictures you want to delete. 
   Tip: you can hold down the Shift key on your keyboard to select multiple pictures.
3. Once you’ve selected all the photos to delete, click the Trash icon.
4. Confirm to delete the pictures.

Then, the next time your iPhone syncs with your iCloud Photos, those pictures will be removed from your phone.

Tips for deleting multiple photos on iPhone

Here are some additional tips to help you delete multiple photos on iPhone efficiently:

Delete photos in batches

Instead of trying to delete all your photos at one time, it’s better to delete them in smaller batches. It’s best to do no more than 20 at a time.

Get Siri to help you

If you have an iPhone with Siri, you can use voice commands to delete multiple photos quickly. Simply activate Siri and say Delete [number] photos. Siri will then ask you to confirm the deletion, and the photos will be removed from your phone.

Turn on iCloud Photos

Enable the Optimize iPhone Storage option to save space on your device if you have iCloud turned on. This automatically removes full-resolution images from your phone and keeps only optimized versions. You can always download the full-resolution versions of your photos from iCloud if needed.

Don't forget about Recently Deleted

Whenever you delete pictures from your device, they will stay on your phone for 30 days before being permanently deleted. They are in the Recently Deleted album. If you want to permanently delete photos, don’t forget about this album. Also, you can always return to this album and restore photos you may have accidentally deleted.

How to delete all photos from iPhone

Now, let’s find out how to delete all photos from iPhone at once. Here are these easy steps:

1. Open the Photos app on your iPhone and navigate to Library > All Photos.
2. Tap Select top right. Tap the last photo and drag your finger up to the first one — all photos and videos should be selected (you’ll see a blue checkmark if they are).
3. Tap the trash icon bottom right > Delete [x] Items.
4. Now, go to Albums > Recently Deleted.
5. Tap Select top right > ellipsis bottom right > Delete All > Delete from this iPhone.

If you’re trying to organize your photo library on your iPhone, it can feel like a massively daunting task. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be one. If you follow the tips and methods I talked about in this article, you can quickly and easily remove unwanted photos and free up storage space.

Regardless of whether you use a third-party app or something native like Photos, make sure you back up all your pictures before deleting them. It’s impossible to recreate memories. Hopefully, these tips have helped you manage your photos more efficiently and inspired you to keep your iPhone photo library clutter-free.