04mychristie
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: How do I delete pictures from the selfies folder?

I open the picture, click on the arrow at the bottom and I do not have the option to delete, only share, post, or hide (which does not work either).

iPhone 5s, iOS 9

Posted on Sep 23, 2015 2:33 PM

by brenden dv,Solvedanswer
brenden dv brenden dv
Community Specialists
A:

Hi 04mychristie,

 

Ah, ok, that's a bit clearer for me. If you are not seeing the Trash icon, but only for some photos, those photos may have been synced over to your iPhone from your computer. You can test this by taking a "selfie" and seeing if it gives you the option to delete it. If they are synced photos, you may need to un-sync them from the computer side in iTunes, as outlined in the following article:

 

Sync photos from your computer to your iOS device using iTunes - Apple Support

 

Cheers 

Posted on Sep 25, 2015 3:19 PM

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04mychristie

Q: How do I delete pictures from the selfies folder?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by brenden dv,

    brenden dv brenden dv Sep 24, 2015 2:39 PM in response to 04mychristie
    Community Specialists
    Sep 24, 2015 2:39 PM in response to 04mychristie

    Hi 04mychristie,

     

    I'm sorry to hear you are having these issues with your iPhone. It sounds like there may be a bit of confusion regarding the options in Photos. The square and arrow icon in Photos lists your available sharing options for a photo. For photos taken on your iPhone, there should also be a Delete icon that looks like a trash can in the bottom right hand corner, as noted in the following User Guide page:

     

    Delete a photo or video from Photos. Tap the Photos tab, tap the photo or video, tap the trash can button, then tap Delete Photo or Delete Video. Deleted photos and videos are kept in the Recently Deleted album on iPhone, with a badge showing the remaining days until the item is permanently removed from iPhone. To delete the photo or video permanently before the days expire, tap the item, tap Delete, then tap Delete Photo or Delete Video. If you use iCloud Photo Library, deleted photos and videos are permanently removed from all your devices using iCloud Photo Library with the same Apple ID.

     

    Organize photos and videos - iPhone

     

    Cheers 

  • by 04mychristie,

    04mychristie 04mychristie Sep 24, 2015 2:49 PM in response to brenden dv
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 24, 2015 2:49 PM in response to brenden dv

    Thank you for your response. I should clarify a little bit more. I understand the sharing photos and deleting but when I downloaded the ios9 software they installed a "selfies" folder and put a bunch of pictures in that folder. When I open the selfies folder I see thumbnails of all the pictures in in. I hit the "Select" button on the top right and select the photos I want to delete. But the only option it gives me is to share them, the trash icon is shaded out. So there is no way for me to trash any of those pictures. Hopefully you can shed more light on this, thanks!

  • by brenden dv,Solvedanswer

    brenden dv brenden dv Sep 25, 2015 3:19 PM in response to 04mychristie
    Community Specialists
    Sep 25, 2015 3:19 PM in response to 04mychristie

    Hi 04mychristie,

     

    Ah, ok, that's a bit clearer for me. If you are not seeing the Trash icon, but only for some photos, those photos may have been synced over to your iPhone from your computer. You can test this by taking a "selfie" and seeing if it gives you the option to delete it. If they are synced photos, you may need to un-sync them from the computer side in iTunes, as outlined in the following article:

     

    Sync photos from your computer to your iOS device using iTunes - Apple Support

     

    Cheers 

  • by 04mychristie,

    04mychristie 04mychristie Sep 25, 2015 3:19 PM in response to brenden dv
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 25, 2015 3:19 PM in response to brenden dv

    That clears it up! Yes they are synced in another folder I just don't want them in the selfie folder. So looks like I can't have it in one folder and not the other. I will just un-sync then. Thanks so much for your help!

  • by Dvbivs,

    Dvbivs Dvbivs Sep 25, 2015 6:10 PM in response to 04mychristie
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 25, 2015 6:10 PM in response to 04mychristie

    I was infuriated when I got this Selfie "feature" with the i OS 9 update and had no control over it.  It reminds me of the U2 album that I didn't want...  I too found I could not delete ANY of the photos contained in the folder and, even more annoying - the pictures selected as "selfies" were not selfies at all, but photos taken of my family on an older camera then synced via my PC.

     

    The first question I asked myself was what caused i OS 9 to randomly select these photos as "Selfies" (being middle aged, I don't take selfies AT ALL!).  I selected the files in question, and compared their attributes to photos my Apple decided were non selfie photos.  The answer was immediately apparent; the OS tags photos by dimension/resolution. 

     

    Photos designated as "selfies" are anything 640x768 or under it seems.  Any picture over those dimensions, say 768X1025 and the software sees it as a regular photo.  I simply edited the photos on my PC by re-sizing them, then re-syncing.

     

    Not only have the photos been returned to their correct folder, the selfie folder has disappeared altogether!  Not likely to reappear soon - unless I take my first selfie!

  • by brenden dv,

    brenden dv brenden dv Sep 26, 2015 9:56 AM in response to 04mychristie
    Community Specialists
    Sep 26, 2015 9:56 AM in response to 04mychristie

    No problem, glad to help!

     

    Cheers

  • by Endvibe,

    Endvibe Endvibe Sep 30, 2015 2:59 PM in response to 04mychristie
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 30, 2015 2:59 PM in response to 04mychristie

    What worked for me (beware- I have the dreaded Windows)

     

    I only had 4 pics show up in Selfies that are synced through ITunes (all my pics are stored on a hard drive). The photos are showing up in that "selfie" album because my iPhone coded them with EXIF Data (tags info to a photo, a kind of metadata) when i took them with the front camera.

     

    To REMOVE the EXIF data on a photo (on Windows once again) you right click on it---> properties ---> details tab ----> "Remove Properties and Personal Information"---> click on "Remove the Following Properties From This File"----> Select All---> OK

     

    You can do this one at a time or select all the photos at once (if you keep your photos on a drive like I do). When you re-sync your phone/ipad with ITunes the pics are gone

  • by jpony,

    jpony jpony Feb 23, 2016 9:15 AM in response to Endvibe
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 23, 2016 9:15 AM in response to Endvibe

    Thank you for the help, but sorry, that's just stupid that I have to go through all that to remove pictures from a folder that I didn't create, didn't fill and didn't ask or want in the first place. How dare apple take my pictures and rearrange them and make a folder and then display them as they want! Turns out they put a photo that I didn't want on public display as the icon for that f folder for everyone to see. Fortunately it was just the young man at the store helping me that saw it and not my 10 year old nephew, but don't mess with my stuff! No one at the store could understand why I was upset, it sticks photos in there that I don't want in a folder that could inadvertently be opened. Most people would open a folder labeled selfies but not one labeled "Private". Apple claims they listen to there customers, so if enough people complain about this, maybe they will at least make it an optional feature for those who take soooo many selfies that we need their computers to sort through them.

  • by TJBUSMC1973,

    TJBUSMC1973 TJBUSMC1973 Feb 23, 2016 9:15 AM in response to jpony
    Level 5 (7,636 points)
    Feb 23, 2016 9:15 AM in response to jpony

    So perhaps you should use the Apple Feedback channel to submit a feature change request properly?

     

    www.apple.com/feedback