HT205856: Delete photos on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

Learn about Delete photos on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
bkdhrobinson
Level 1 (4 points)
Photos for Mac

Q: bulk delete from iphone?

How do I bulk delete pix from the iPhone?   I tried through Image Capture and don't see the option... ideas? I have over 12K  pix on my phone... eeek.

iPhone 5s, iOS 9.3.5

Posted on Sep 11, 2016 10:21 PM

by léonie,Apple recommended
léonie léonie
Level 10 (105,882 points)
iCloud
A:

When you connect your iPhone to USB and launch Image Capture, do it like this: (from the Image Capture Help)

 

  • Connect your device to your computer, then turn the device on.You may be asked to unlock your device with a passcode or to trust the device.
  • In Image Capture, select the device in the Devices or Shared list.
  • Use the buttons at the bottom of the Image Capture window to view the thumbnails as a list, or to see larger thumbnails , or to rotate , or delete images.

However, this will not work, if you enabled iCloud Photo Library on your iPhone.  Then the delete button will not be available. With iCloud Photo Library enabled, the originals will be stored in iCloud, and there is no way to delete photos from the iPhone by connecting it to USB. In that case delete the photos from iCloud at www.icloud.com to remove them from the iPhone (or if you are syncing with iCloud Photo Library on the Mac, delete them using the Photos.app on the Mac.

 

You can also not delete the photos by importing, if they have been synced to the iPhone using iTunes. Synced photos can only be deleted by syncing again.

Posted on Sep 12, 2016 4:05 AM

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bkdhrobinson

Q: bulk delete from iphone?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by léonie,Apple recommended

    léonie léonie Sep 12, 2016 4:05 AM in response to bkdhrobinson
    Level 10 (105,882 points)
    iCloud
    Sep 12, 2016 4:05 AM in response to bkdhrobinson

    When you connect your iPhone to USB and launch Image Capture, do it like this: (from the Image Capture Help)

     

    • Connect your device to your computer, then turn the device on.You may be asked to unlock your device with a passcode or to trust the device.
    • In Image Capture, select the device in the Devices or Shared list.
    • Use the buttons at the bottom of the Image Capture window to view the thumbnails as a list, or to see larger thumbnails , or to rotate , or delete images.

    However, this will not work, if you enabled iCloud Photo Library on your iPhone.  Then the delete button will not be available. With iCloud Photo Library enabled, the originals will be stored in iCloud, and there is no way to delete photos from the iPhone by connecting it to USB. In that case delete the photos from iCloud at www.icloud.com to remove them from the iPhone (or if you are syncing with iCloud Photo Library on the Mac, delete them using the Photos.app on the Mac.

     

    You can also not delete the photos by importing, if they have been synced to the iPhone using iTunes. Synced photos can only be deleted by syncing again.