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iPhone Photo Library "Ghost" Space

I have no photos in my iPhone Photos, but it appears to be taking up 21.92GB of space.

There are 360 photos in Shared with Me, not sure how to manage these. If I delete from Photos, will they delete from Messages, etc., as well?

The General > About screen shows 0 videos, 0 photos.

What I've tried:

Emptied photo libary by turning off iCloud photos, manually transferring and deleting anything that was left over, and emptying Recently Deleted.

Changing date to 3 years ago (bought phone in Feb. 2020) and checked – no photos, nothing in Recently Deleted.

I threw a couple of hard restarts in. No change.

Any help appreciated!


iPhone 11 Pro

15.0.2 (can't update because there's not enough room)

iPhone 11 Pro

Posted on May 18, 2022 9:16 AM

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Similar questions

1 reply

May 19, 2022 9:27 AM in response to andrea_nyc

Hello andrea_nyck,


It sounds as though you're looking to manage the storage on your iPhone and noticing 360 photos in the Photos app you're wanting to delete. When deleting a photo in the "Shared with You" album, they will remain in the message thread they were sent from but will be deleted from the Photos app. More information about Shared with You can be found in the following article.


Use Shared with You on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch


If you're attempting to update iOS and need more space, you'll want to utilize the tips listed below. You can also find these tips outlined in the following article. It is possible you may want to update using a computer. The article outlines those steps as well.


  1. "Go to Settings > General > [device] Storage.
  2. Scroll to the Recommendations section to see tips.
  3. If you still need more space after you use the recommendations, you can delete apps and content that you don't need. Scroll to the list of apps, then select any app to see how much space it uses.
  4. Tap Delete App. Some apps, such as Music, let you delete parts of their documents and data. You can redownload your purchased apps and content again later. 
  5. Try to install the update again. Go to Settings > General > Software Update."


"If you see Other or System Data in the graph that shows your device storage, you don't need to take action to change them. Instead, delete apps and content that you don't need, and use the recommendations."


If you need more space for an update on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch


You can also find additional details that may be helpful in managing your iPhone storage in the article below.


How to check the storage on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch


Have a great rest of your day and let us know if you need additional support!

iPhone Photo Library "Ghost" Space

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