Delete multiple photos from iCloud

Hello rhwolfson,

Thank you for using the Apple Support Communities!

It sounds like you want to be able to remove multiple pictures from iCloud Photo Library at the same time. I will do my best to help find a solution for you.

The easiest way to remove multiple photos is to sign into iCloud.com on one of the computers you listed. Once signed in, click on the photos icon. When you are in the "Moments" view, you should see "Select Photos" in the upper right of the browser window. Click "Select Photos". You should now be able to select multiple photos, and then click the "Delete" button that appears. This should allow you to remove multiple photos at one time.

Have a great day!

Thank you guys for all the answers above.

I did encounter the same issue while moving thousands of photos from iCloud to other online photo services. The way I resolved this issue is using Photo application on iMac (OS X El Capitan). Here is what I did, hope it will be helpful to anyone who has the same issue:

1. Open Photos app on Mac desktop (iMac, Macbook, ..., as long as it's Mac OS X).

2. Turn on iCloud Photo Library sync in Photos app, choose "Optimize Mac Storage" option to make the sync progress faster.

3. Then all photos and albums will be synchronised to your local Photos app.

4. Beware! What actions you take on these photos in Photos app will be applied to iCloud photos as well, which means you delete one photo, the photo on iCloud will be also deleted.

5. Select as many photos as you want for deletion in "All Photos" album. My case is all for deletion.

6. Check "Recently Deleted" album to confirm "Delete All" and make them permanently gone. This is to make sure the restoring is impossible after leaving iCloud photos service.

7. Done.

In my case, I also working on "Album" tab of Photos app to remove all albums. This is because I don't want to use iCloud photos anymore. Perhaps someone wants to keep. :-)

Good luck~

Not sure if anyone still needs this but I think I figured out a way to delete photos on iCloud.com that is less painful than doing it individually. You can select multiple photos on a Windows computer by holding the Control (ctrl) button and then it will allow you to delete all of them at once. Still would be nice to have a select all, but better than deleting each photo one by one!

Hiya

In photos App select Albums, All Photos, Select (top right), then touch top left photo and a white tick in blue circle designates selected. Then touch adjoining photo and drag horizontal or diagonal as far as you wish. The timing of the second touch and sweep seems to effect the function (a clean sweep is best!), annoying but it does work when done in this order.

Good luck!

Vajrin

Though you cant delete all the photos at once, atleast you can delete "Date/Moments" wise reducing the no:of deletes and much faster than deleting individual photos.

1. logon on to icloud.com

2. Click on photos, to go to moments

3. Against each moments/date wise photos, click on the "+" button (on the right-hand corner)

4. click the "delete" button

I just spent some time on the phone with Apple. They confirmed it: There is no way to select a lot of photos in the icloud on a Mac and delete them. You have to do it one by one. Grr. But there is one shorter workaround.

My trouble was I kept on getting notifications to upgrade my iphoto (i.e., pay more) because my icloud was full. All I wanted was "My Photo Stream" option on (in photos preferences on a Mac), so only the latest would appear on my devices. I wanted the remainder of the older photos just on my hard drive. But since they were already up there on icloud, I kept on getting the full message.

I found one workaround to save a little time getting older photos off the icloud.

1. Set your preferences in photos on your Mac, ipad, etc., to "My Photo Stream."

2. Then get on your iphone, and open photos. (This would not even work on my ipad either, so iphone's it). Try "albums" first. You should be able to "select," "select" again, then hit the trash sign. If not, look at "Collections," and try it again. It gets rid of groups of photos.

3. Check in Albums whether you have one called "Trash." Delete it too.

4. Complain to Apple.

There is still a way to select all and delete. Trust me its working 🙂

First Select "Photos" (Moments), and on the right side of the moment you see "Share" button, click on it, it will select all the images, now click on the "Delete" icon on the top right.

I found a work around, so you can speed things up if you want to DELETE ALL PHOTOS asap in your browser iCloud.com:

1. click on top item in list "Photos"
2. every day you see a 'stack of photos' click on the 'share icon' top right of each stack... This selects ALL THE PHOTOS of that day...
3. hit DELETE top right

This way all pics of that day delete. I deleted over 1000 pics within 1 minute, yey ;-)

Apple love you, and hate you. Please be GOOD^

Hi

So frustrating so after downloading the icloud application onto my windows machine (painful) still couldnt delete photos using that and none of the normal keys for selecting multiple photo's work in browser either! However, managed to get working by going to moments via the on a PC using the "Alt" key to multi-select hope it helps!

Grrr

I had this problem as well. I find it very strange you can only select one photo at the time in iCloud.

So, I went to a Windows 10 PC, through the Chrome browser I accessed iCloud, and was not able to select multiple photos at the same time to delete or download. I tried to press and hold the Control key, the Shift key, but that didn't work. However, when I press and hold the ALT key while selecting, I can select multiple photos. I have to click one by one though while holding the ALT Key. I didn't find out in Windows how to select a whole range at once. Anyhow, if this works on windows with ALT, than probably on Mac OS using Safari something similar can be done. I'll try tonight at home. Good Luck! Gerrit

So you can press Ctrl+Alt and select multiple photos and press delete icon.

Please follow below steps to delete multiple photos at a time from icloud:

1. Open icloud.com. Open photos.

2. Select All photos (shown in image attached)

3. Select '+' icon on top right corner. This icon will be visible for All photos tab only.

4. Once you click on it, all the photos of corresponding album will be selected.

5. Finally click Delete icon and select move to trash.

This way all the photos of that will move to trash. From trash all the photos will be deleted within 40 days automatically.

They have removed the "Select Photos" feature, and replaced it with holding down the Command-key whilst selecting all the pictures you want deleted. You can thereafter proceed to click the "Delete" button.

There is an option with + sign to select multiple photos captured on same day that you can select and delete them at once. For that go to photos, look at the middle at right corner of the screen there will be sign of '+' click on it and u can select the multiple photos captured in a day , press Delete and u can delete multiple pictures through it.

TO delete multiple pictures on mac or apple

Press on command key and right click on picture you want deleted do it again for as many pictures as u want then press the delete button on top

Other than apple

Do the same but instead of command key use the ALT key

sometimes it does not work so click on another picture then go back n do it again.

Note if u press the alt key n click on nothing, all selected pictures will be Unselected