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How do I delete photos from iPhone while on the Mac?

Is there a way to delete/manage the iPhone photo library from the Mac (either, iTunes, iPhoto, or Aperture)?

I want to get rid of hundreds of old/misc photos on the phone but don't want to delete them all.


My idea app would allow me to sync them with an Aperture folder or similar and just delete them within Aperture and on the next sync, whip them off the iPhone.


I know Apple tends to have a history of not making deleting photos easy (see early versions of iPhoto) but I'm hoping it'll be a matter of one of their "simple 25-step procedures" to do it, vs not being able to do it other than one-by-one.


Thanks.

Posted on May 23, 2011 1:37 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 28, 2017 3:40 PM

I wish that were true. The instructions worked well until "click the delete icon . . ."

There is no delete icon.

This seems only to be useful for importing.

I'm using an imac with iphone 7+

the options are "import" and "import all"

nothing indicating delete.

I even tried "cut" from the pull-down "edit" menu. That did nothing with the photos selected.

30 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 28, 2017 3:40 PM in response to Bob Cozzi

I wish that were true. The instructions worked well until "click the delete icon . . ."

There is no delete icon.

This seems only to be useful for importing.

I'm using an imac with iphone 7+

the options are "import" and "import all"

nothing indicating delete.

I even tried "cut" from the pull-down "edit" menu. That did nothing with the photos selected.

May 23, 2011 2:00 PM in response to Allan Sampson

I'm talking about from the iPhone using the Mac vs doing it one by one on the phone itself.


I think I found the answer in the Archives though... Although it didn't show up when I did a search before posted, it did show up once I wrote out the question.


The solution that works for me is:

  • Connect the iPhone
  • Open Spotlight and type in "Image Capture"
  • Launch Image Capture
  • Click on the iPhone icon in the left hand column.

    The iPhone's camera roll appears.

  • Click each photo you want to delete

    CMD Click on each subsequent photo

  • Click the Delete Icon at the bottom on the Window
  • Bam! The photos are deleted from your iPhone

Mar 17, 2012 2:02 PM in response to Brian Lauzon

This is happening to me too. Before the latest iOS update, when browsing photos on the iPhone, there was a garbage can icon in the lower right corner. It's gone now.


I had imported an album of photos FROM iPhoto TO the iPhone but now want to delete them. I tried the solution presented above, but they never show up in "Image Capture" so there's no way to get rid of them. They do not show up if I plug in my iPhone in iPhoto either. It's like the photos do not exist anywhere.... and yet, there they are on my iPhone and I cannot get rid of them.


Has anyone been able to solve this?

Nov 11, 2015 9:25 AM in response to gp2015

In regard to the "delete" button. It is below the list of photos, it is a international "not" sign, or (dating myself) the "Ghostbusters" sign. See attached screenshot.


I have been using the Image Capture solution to remove photos from my iPhone for years. I synch my photos to Dropbox regularly via wifi and then from time-to-time I delete them all from my phone. They are all safe-and-sound in Dropbox, so no need for them taking up space on my iPhone.


I just had a problem with Image Capture, which brought me back to this thread, but then got it working. My problem was that I could not see any of the photos for my iPhone in Image Capture. While I was in Image Capture, I unplugged the USB cable from my phone and then plug it back in, and then all my photos appeared. I mention this in case anyone else runs into this.


Happy deleting.




User uploaded file

May 23, 2011 1:44 PM in response to Bob Cozzi

I use iPhoto on my Mac and I choose selected iPhoto albums I've created and/or Events under the Photos tab for my iPhone sync preferences.


If I want to remove an entire album, I deselect the album under the Photos tab followed by a sync. Want to remove select photos in an album without removing the entire album, I remove the photos from the selected album in iPhoto followed by a sync. As with removing a song from an iTunes playlist, removing a photo from an iPhoto album does not delete the photo from the iPhoto library.

Sep 8, 2011 10:47 PM in response to Bob Cozzi

I am having the same problem....I had some photos on my iMac that i synced to the iPhone...but deleted the photos from the iMac. Now they are on the iPhone. They are no longer in iPhoto or any other location on my iMac. They do not appear in image capture when the iPhone is connected to the Mac nor do I have the option to delete individual photos from the iPhone. Please help, this is very frustrating...

Mar 17, 2012 2:12 PM in response to outandproud

Before the latest iOS update, when browsing photos on the iPhone, there was a garbage can icon in the lower right corner. It's gone now.


Only with the Camera Roll, not with Photo Library which includes photos that were transferred from your computer via the iTunes sync/transfer process.


I had imported an album of photos FROM iPhoto TO the iPhone but now want to delete them. I tried the solution presented above, but they never show up in "Image Capture" so there's no way to get rid of them. They do not show up if I plug in my iPhone in iPhoto either. It's like the photos do not exist anywhere.... and yet, there they are on my iPhone and I cannot get rid of them.


iPhoto and the Image Capture app on a Mac can delete photos and videos from the iPhone's Camera Roll, not for photos that were transferred from your computer via the iTunes sync/transfer process which are stored in the iPhone's Photo Library.


Photos that were transferred from your computer via the iTunes sync/transfer process (which is selected under the Photos tab for your iPhone sync preferences with iTunes) and are the photos in the Photo Library on your iPhone are removed in the same way - via the iTunes sync/transfer process. To remove all photos on your iPhone that were transferred from your computer, deselect Sync Photos under the Photos tab for your iPhone sync preferences with iTunes followed by a syn. If you are transferring photos from iPhoto on your Mac, you can select sync select iPhoto albums, events, ect. and deselect the iPhoto albums, events, etc. below followed by a sync to remove the albums, events. To remove a select photo only from your iPhone that is in an iPhoto album selected to be transferred to your iPhone, remove the photo from the iPhoto album in iPhoto followed by a sync.

How do I delete photos from iPhone while on the Mac?

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