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Need to quickly bulk delete photos from your iPhone to free up storage or just because you don’t need them anymore? It can feel overwhelming when you have too many photos, but don’t worry; iOS has several straightforward ways to make it easy. With the right approach, you can finish the process in just a few minutes. We’ve tried out all the methods and will highlight the most effective ones for you.
How to Delete Multiple Photos from the Photos App on iPhone
As an iPhone user, the Photos app is where most of your images will end up. Whether it’s photos snapped with your camera, various screenshots, or pictures saved from messages and other apps, they all accumulate there over time. So it makes sense to start from the Photos app when you’re ready to delete photos in bulk.
Keep in mind that when you delete photos in bulk, they first go to the Recently Deleted album. If your goal is to free up storage space, remember to empty this album right after to see immediate changes (go to Photos app > Collections > Utilities > Recently Deleted > Select > Delete All). If you’re not in a rush to clear space, the Recently Deleted album will automatically delete items after 30 days.
Method 1: Delete Photos Directly from the Library
Let’s kick things off with the most straightforward method—removing photos directly from the Library section of the Photos app. This is the default view where your images appear in chronological order.
This method is ideal for quickly getting rid of a lot of photos without needing to sort them into albums or categories.
- Open the Photos app on your iPhone.
- Navigate to the Library tab where you’ll find all your photos and videos displayed in a single timeline.
- Tap “Select” in the top-right corner.
- Swipe your finger across multiple photos for faster selection, or tap on individual images when you need more precision.
To confirm the deletion, tap the trash symbol.
Additionally, you can switch the view from All Photos to Months or Years. This is particularly helpful when you want to remove older photos in bulk because it allows you to choose entire ranges much more quickly and groupings images by time period.
This approach is effective and requires no additional tools, though it can become tedious if your pictures are scattered across different dates. It also demands careful attention — it’s easy to accidentally keep photos you meant to delete or overlook ones you should remove. Best for smaller cleanups or when you already know the exact date range to target.
Method 2: Bulk-delete Photos from an Album
If the images you want to remove are already grouped in an album, this method is faster than deleting from the main Library. Rather than scrolling through your entire timeline, you can erase many photos at once from an album in just a few taps. It works with both iOS-created albums (like Favorites or People & Pets) and any custom albums you’ve made.
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Open the Photos app and go to the Collections tab.
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Tap Albums to view all albums shown as tiles.
- Tap the trash can icon and confirm to delete.
Note about deleting albums: if the album was one you created, choosing Delete Album removes only the album itself — the photos remain in your Library. If you want to permanently remove those photos in bulk, delete the images first using the steps above, then delete the empty album if you wish.
Our verdict: 5/5
This is an excellent choice for anyone who’s kept their library organized into albums and folders. Even if your photos aren’t neatly sorted, iOS’s built-in media-type albums (Selfies, Portraits, Panoramas, etc.) make bulk deletion fast and precise.
Method 3: Use third-party iPhone photo-cleaner apps
If you want to free up storage more quickly or prefer automated help, third-party cleaner apps can be a better option. They’re designed for speed and offer features not available in the Photos app.
What these apps can do:
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Detect duplicates and similar photos
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Show file sizes so you can prioritize large files
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Group images by type (screenshots, Live Photos, burst shots, etc.)
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Let you remove unwanted photos in bulk with more control
A note on apps and costs: many photo-cleaner apps on the App Store use paywalls or subscriptions. If you want a fully free option, Clever Cleaner is a recommended app that claims no hidden restrictions and can bulk-delete duplicates, similar photos, screenshots, and Live Photos. The exact tool you choose depends on your needs — below is an example workflow using a “Similars” feature, which is useful for finding duplicates and near-duplicates.
Download Clever Cleaner from the App Store or scan the QR code on the developer’s website.
Open the app and grant it access to your photo library.
The app will open to the Similars section automatically, where it groups duplicates and visually similar images for review.
You’ll see groups of duplicates and visually similar shots. Tap any group to inspect its contents. Clever Cleaner highlights a “Best Shot” in each group; if you’d rather keep a different image, tap that photo to change the selection.
Tap Smart Cleanup to apply the app’s suggested deletions across all groups.
On the preview screen, review the items. If you want to keep a photo, tap Restore for that item. When you’re ready to delete the selected photos, use the Slide to Delete control, then tap Confirm.
We also published a full Clever Cleaner review that explains why the app is free and examines each tool in detail. Duplicate and similar photos are a common starting point for cleanup because they often take up space without adding value, but Clever Cleaner offers additional modules to tackle other space hogs depending on how your library is organized:
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Heavies: Finds the largest videos and includes a video-compression tool.
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Swipe mode: Groups photos by month and lets you swipe left to delete or right to keep for faster large-scale cleaning.
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Screenshots: Collects all screenshots so you can remove them in bulk.
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Lives: Converts Live Photos into still images, with the option to keep or delete the original Live version.
Our verdict: 5/5
This method requires minimal manual effort. With Similars, large batches can be removed safely because at least one copy is always preserved. It’s also easy to make this a regular cleanup habit rather than a one-off.
Method 4: Delete Photos via iCloud Photo Library
iCloud Photo Library lets you manage and delete photos across all devices synced to the same Apple ID. Deletions made through iCloud remove the photos from your iPhone, iPad, and any other connected device.
We focus on using iCloud.com from a computer rather than the iPhone because the web interface—on a larger screen with a mouse or trackpad—makes multi-selection and bulk deletion faster and more precise.
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Open a web browser on your computer and go to iCloud.com.
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Sign in with the Apple ID associated with your iPhone.
- Click Photos to open your iCloud Photo Library.
- Use Shift to select a range or Command/Ctrl to pick individual photos.
- Click the trash icon in the top-right corner and confirm deletion.
Once the deletion finishes syncing, the photos are removed from your iPhone and any other devices on the same Apple ID. Depending on connection speed and library size, syncing may take a little time. Sync behavior can sometimes be confusing, so consult a guide on deleting synced media if you see deleted photos reappear.
Our verdict: 4/5
Great when you use iCloud—bulk deletion from a computer is fast and precise. Downsides: it depends on a reliable internet connection (sync issues can cause photos to reappear) and it’s unusable if you don’t use iCloud.
Method 5: Delete photos by connecting your iPhone to a computer
If you don’t use iCloud, you can still bulk-manage photos by connecting your iPhone to a computer with a cable. A desktop gives you a larger screen and easier multi-selection.
On a Mac:
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Connect the iPhone to the Mac with a cable.
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Unlock the iPhone and tap Trust if prompted.
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Open the Photos app on your Mac and, in the sidebar under Devices, select your iPhone.
From here you can import photos to your Mac and delete unwanted images from the iPhone as part of the same workflow.
- On your Mac, select the photos you want to keep. Use Shift to pick a contiguous range, or choose Import All New Items (or Import All) to select everything.
- On the import screen, enable Delete items after import. This will remove the imported pictures from your iPhone once the transfer completes.
- Click Import Selected (or Import All New Items) and wait for the transfer to complete. If you enabled Delete items after import, Photos will automatically remove the imported images from your iPhone once the import finishes.
On Windows, your iPhone mounts like an external storage device, so you can access photos through File Explorer and delete them directly.
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Connect the iPhone to the PC with a USB cable.
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Unlock the iPhone and tap Trust This Computer if prompted.
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Open This PC, double-click Apple iPhone, then open Internal Storage.
- elect multiple files (use Shift or Ctrl for ranges/individual picks) and press Delete to remove them.
Our verdict: 3/5
This method isn’t the most convenient—it requires a cable and a bit of setup—but it’s useful if you prefer working on a larger screen or already handle photos on a computer for editing or sharing.
How to delete multiple pictures stored in the Files app on iPhone
Images saved to the Files app (for example via a browser download, from other apps, or in iCloud Drive) don’t appear in the Photos library, so you must remove them from Files instead. Remember: deleted Files items go to Recently Deleted and won’t free storage until you empty that folder. To clear Recently Deleted in Files, find the Recently Deleted folder, long-press it, then tap Delete All.
Method 1: Select and delete files directly on iPhone
This is the simplest and safest approach when photos are spread across folders or you want precise control.
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Open the Files app.
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Tap Browse and navigate to the location containing your images (On My iPhone, iCloud Drive, etc.).
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Tap Select in the top-right corner.
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Tap multiple files to choose them, or use Shift-like selection by tapping the first item, then tap and drag (or use multi-select gestures) where supported to select a range.
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Tap the trash icon and confirm to delete the selected files — this removes them from the Files app in one action.
If you keep images organized in folders, you can delete a whole folder at once: long-press the folder and choose Delete. That’s usually faster than selecting files individually.
You can also delete by tag. If you’ve tagged images, open the tag and remove all items associated with it to clear many photos at once.
Our verdict: 4/5
This is a solid choice if you use the Files app as a primary place to store images. It’s worth checking Files when cleaning up storage, but note that iOS limits third-party cleaner apps’ access to Files, so automation is constrained and manual deletion is often necessary.
Method 2: Bulk-delete images in iCloud Drive from a computer
If your Files content is synced to iCloud Drive, deleting from iCloud.com on a computer is much faster than working on an iPhone. This works on both macOS and Windows.
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On a computer, open a browser and go to iCloud.com.
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Sign in with the Apple ID linked to your iPhone and open iCloud Drive.
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Select multiple files or folders (use Shift for ranges or Command/Ctrl for individual selection).
Files deleted via iCloud will sync across devices. If you want the storage freed immediately, don’t forget to empty Recently Deleted.
Tap the trash icon and confirm to delete the selected files. They’ll be removed from the Files app in one action.
If you keep images in dedicated folders, delete the whole folder to remove everything at once — long-press the folder and choose Delete for a faster cleanup. You can also delete by tag: open a tag that contains images and remove all items associated with it to clear many photos quickly.
Our verdict: 4/5
Good choice if you frequently use the Files app for image storage. It’s worth checking Files when freeing up space, but iOS limits cleaner apps’ access here, so automation is limited and manual deletion is often necessary.
Method 2: Bulk-delete images in iCloud Drive from a computer
If your Files content is synced to iCloud Drive, using iCloud.com on a computer is faster than working on an iPhone.
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On a computer, go to iCloud.com and sign in with the Apple ID linked to your iPhone.
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Open iCloud Drive.
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Hold Command (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) to select individual items, or use Shift to pick a range.
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Click Delete (or press the Delete key) and confirm.
Deleted files will be removed from iCloud Drive and will no longer appear in the Files app on your iPhone once sync completes. Don’t forget to empty Recently Deleted if you need the storage to be freed immediately.
Our verdict: 4/5
This is effectively a desktop alternative to deleting directly in Files. It’s handy for users who prefer a larger screen and faster multi-selection, but everything here can also be done on the iPhone.
Conclusion
This guide covered the two main places to remove multiple photos on an iPhone: the Photos app and the Files app. Choose the method that matches your setup:
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For the Photos app, a cleaner app like Clever Cleaner is the most convenient for bulk, automated cleanup.
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For the Files app, manual deletion is typically the simplest approach, though iCloud.com provides a faster desktop option when content is synced.
Remember to check other storage sources too — message attachments, videos, and apps often use more space than photos. If you need, I can summarize cleanup steps for messages, videos, or apps next.