How to delete all photos from your iPhone at once

You can delete all photos from an iPhone in a couple of minutes: tap Select in Photos, drag across the library, delete, then empty Recently Deleted. But first check iCloud Photos — if it is on, “all photos on the iPhone” means all photos on every device and in iCloud.

Read this first: iCloud and backups

Open Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Photos and look at Sync this iPhone (called iCloud Photos in older iOS):

• On — your library is synced. Deleting on the iPhone deletes from iCloud, your iPad and Mac too.
• Off — photos live only on this phone. Once deleted and removed from Recently Deleted, they are gone unless you have a copy.

Either way, make a copy first: download to a computer (see how to transfer photos from iPhone to PC) or to another cloud service. If you want photos off the phone but kept in iCloud, deleting is not the answer — turn on Optimize iPhone Storage instead, and the phone keeps only small previews.

Method 1. On the iPhone: Select and drag

The main library has no “Select All” button, but drag-to-select does the same job.

1. Open Photos. In iOS 26, tap Library; in iOS 18, use the library grid at the top; in iOS 17, go to Library → All Photos.
2. Zoom out (pinch) so more photos fit on the screen.
3. Tap Select.
4. Put your finger on the newest photo at the bottom, slide it across the row, then drag up to the top edge of the screen without lifting. The library scrolls and keeps selecting. With thousands of photos this takes a minute or two.
5. Tap the trash icon and confirm Delete Photos.

Tip: to delete only a category — say, all screenshots or all videos — open it in Media Types and do the same there.

Method 2. On a Mac

With iCloud Photos on: open the Photos app on a Mac signed in with the same Apple ID, click Library, press Command-A to select everything, then Delete and confirm. The deletion syncs to the iPhone. You can do the same in a browser at iCloud.com → Photos.

With iCloud Photos off: connect the iPhone by cable and open Image Capture. Select the iPhone, press Command-A, then click the delete button. This works only for photos stored on the phone itself.

Method 3. On a Windows PC

1. Connect the iPhone by cable, unlock it and tap Trust.
2. Open File Explorer → Apple iPhone → Internal Storage → DCIM.
3. Select the folders or files and delete them.

This deals only with photos physically stored on the phone, and it works reliably only when iCloud Photos is off. With iCloud Photos on, use the iPhone, a Mac or iCloud.com.

Last step: empty Recently Deleted

Deleted photos move to Utilities → Recently Deleted and keep using space for up to 30 days. Open the album (Face ID or passcode), tap Select → Delete All and confirm. After this the photos cannot be recovered from the phone or iCloud. More in Recently Deleted on iPhone.

When deleting everything is a bad idea

Most people asking how to delete all photos actually want free space or a fresh start, not to lose ten years of memories. A few alternatives:

• Need space? Delete videos and screenshots first — they make up a big share of most libraries. See how to clean up your camera roll.
• Want a clean slate but keep the memories? Export everything to a computer or external drive, check that the copy opens, then delete.
• Library is just too messy? Sort instead of wiping. In Temfy you see one photo at a time: swipe left to delete, right to keep, and confirm once at the end. A few short sessions get rid of most of the junk while the photos you care about stay.

FAQ

Is there a “Select All” button in Photos on iPhone?

Not in the main library. Use drag-to-select, or Command-A in Photos on a Mac or at iCloud.com.

If I delete all photos from iPhone, will they stay in iCloud?

Not if iCloud Photos is on — they are deleted there too. To keep them in iCloud, use Optimize iPhone Storage instead of deleting.