How to permanently delete photos from Google Photos
Google Photos is one of the easiest ways to manage your photos, automatically upload them to the cloud, and share them with others. Given it’s compatible with virtually all Android phones, computers, iPhones, andChromebooks, it’s one of our favorite cloud storage solutions.
Since Google Photos is a Google service, it shares its storage space with other Google apps, including Gmail and Docs. This means your storage space may quickly become full. Whether you use the free 15GB tier or a paid membership, deleting old photos to free up space may be a good idea. Here’s how to quickly and permanently delete pictures from Google Photos.
Meet the Swiss Army knife of gallery apps
How to permanently delete pictures on Google Photos
The steps for deleting images in Google Photos are similar on the mobile and web versions of the software. Here’s a breakdown.
Deleting a picture on the mobile app
The above steps move the picture to the trash, which isn’t automatically emptied before 60 days. To make sure the pictures are permanently removed, empty the trash.
The image is deleted from your mobile device and cloud storage immediately. If your Google Photos cloud storage isn’t at risk of running out, or you don’t mind waiting 60 days for the image to be deleted, it’s enough to put the item in the trash.
We illustrate the steps using an Android phone. However, the experience is similar when deleting photos on the iOS mobile app.
Deleting a photo on the web app
Deleting images on the Google Photos web app is as simple as the mobile version. Follow these steps:
How to permanently delete multiple pictures on Google Photos
If you have numerous images to delete, follow these steps to speed up the process:
The above steps move the picture to the trash, which isn’t automatically emptied before 60 days. To verify the pictures are permanently removed, you must empty the trash.
Follow similar steps to delete several pictures simultaneously on the iOS or web app.
How to delete pictures from a Google Photos album
If you created an album in Google Photos, it’s possible to delete individual pictures from it without removing the entire album.
Deleting album pictures using the mobile app
Deleting a picture from your Google Photos album on the mobile app isn’t as straightforward, but it isn’t complicated.
Deleting album pictures using the web app
How to archive pictures in Google Photos
You don’t always have to delete your photos. For example, if you don’t want specific pictures to be shown in the Google Photos gallery, hide them by moving them to the Archive. Here’s how.
Archiving pictures on the mobile app
The picture moves to the Archive folder and stops appearing in your gallery. However, you’ll still see it in any album you previously added it to and in the search results.
Moving pictures to the archive on the web app
You can access the Archive folder by navigating toArchiveunder the Library tab. You’ll find this on the left sidebar of the web app and the lower-right corner of the screen on the mobile app. From here, you can follow the same steps above to unarchive the photo. You can also delete it using the trash button in the upper-right corner of the screen.
Archived photos are only hidden from your main gallery and continue to take up storage space.
Take your storage to the next level
Google Photos comes with 15GB of free storage, which is shared with Gmail, Google Drive, and other Google services. That means your Gmail and Google Drive compete for space with your Photos, so you may want to look there to see if you’re able to make some space. If you store plenty of pictures in Google Photos, you canupgrade your storage to 100GBfor $2, making it one of the most affordable cloud storage solutions.
If you aren’t in the market for cloud storage, permanently deleting old pics is a good first step toward cleaning up your Google Photos feed. After you get rid of those old photos, check out some ways tomake your Google Photos feed more manageable.
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