How to permanently delete photos from Google Photos

Google Photos may no longer come with free infinite storage, but the service is still one of the best cloud storage options if you want a central place for your pictures that also takes care of the organizational overhead. With that change in mind, you may want to delete photos permanently to free up space or to get rid of embarrassing shots without any way to recover them.

Permanently deleting an image is simple, and the process is virtually identical across Google Photos on a budget or high-end Android phone, iOS device, or the web. We focus on Android in this guide, but you can use these instructions no matter which platform you use.

How to permanently delete a picture on Google Photos

The steps for deleting a Google Photos image are similar on the mobile and web versions of the software. Here’s a breakdown.

Delete a picture on the mobile app

Once you’ve opened the Google Photos app on your Android device, Apple iPhone, or iPad and found the image you want to delete, there are a few simple steps you have to follow:

1. Tap a photo to bring up the full-screen view.
2. Tap the Delete button in the lower-right corner of your screen. A dialog box appears and asks if you want the photo moved to the trash bin.
3. Select Allow to confirm that you want to trash the photo.
4. Navigate to the Google Photos Library section on the bottom tab of the screen.
5. Open the Bin folder in the upper-right corner of the screen.
6. Locate the photo you trashed and tap it.
7. Tap the Delete button in the lower-left corner of the display.
8. Tap Allow to confirm and permanently delete the photo.

The image is deleted from your mobile device and cloud storage immediately. If your Google Photos cloud storage isn’t at risk of running out, or you don’t mind waiting 60 days for the image to be automatically deleted, it’s enough to put the item in the bin.

We illustrated the steps using an Android phone. However, the experience is similar when deleting photos on the iOS mobile app.

Delete a photo on the web app

Deleting images on the Google Photos web app is as simple as the mobile version. Follow these steps:

1. Visit photos.google.com on your PC.
2. Select the photo you wish to get rid of to open it.
3. Click the Delete button in the upper-right corner of the screen. You’re asked to confirm the deletion.
4. Select Move to trash. The item is removed from the gallery immediately.
5. Navigate to Trash on the left sidebar.
6. Select the photo you just deleted.
7. Click the Delete button in the upper-right corner of the screen. The picture is deleted permanently.

How to permanently delete multiple pictures on Google Photos

If you have numerous images to delete, follow these steps to speed up the process.

1. Tap and hold one of the images you want to delete to select it.
2. Tap the other images you want to delete to select them.
3. Tap the trash can icon in the toolbar at the bottom. You’re prompted to confirm that you want to move the images to the bin.
4. Click Allow.
5. Navigate to the Library section in the lower-right corner.
6. Tap the Bin icon to see all trashed photos.
7. Locate the photos you deleted and select them. You can speed up the process by tapping and holding the first one and then sliding your fingers across the other images you want to delete permanently.
8. Tap the Delete button in the lower-left corner.
9. Click Allow to confirm that you want to delete the selected items permanently. You can also empty the bin using the three-dot button in the upper-right corner.

Follow similar steps to delete several pictures simultaneously on the iOS or web app.

How to delete pictures from a Google Photos album

If you created an album in Google Photos, you can delete individual pictures from it without removing the entire album. Here’s how:

This only works on the web version of Google Photos. On the Android app, you can only remove images from an album.

1. Go to photos.google.com.
2. Navigate to Albums on the left sidebar.
3. Select an album to open it.
4. Click the picture you wish to remove.
5. Go to More options in the upper-right corner of the screen.
6. Select Move to trash from the options.

How to archive pictures on Google Photos

You don’t always have to delete your photos outright. For example, if you don’t want specific pictures to be shown in the Google Photos gallery, you can hide them by moving them to the Archive. Here’s how:

Archive pictures on the mobile app

1. Launch Google Photos.
2. Select the image you wish to hide.
3. Tap More options (the three-dot button) in the upper-right corner of the screen. A menu with several buttons slides out. Alternatively, swipe from top to bottom to reveal the menu.
4. Select Move to archive.

The picture is moved to the Archive folder and stops showing up in your gallery. However, you’ll still see it in any album you previously added it to and in search results.

Move pictures to the archive on the web app

1. Go to photos.google.com.
2. Select the picture you want to hide.
3. Click More options (the three-dot button) in the upper-right corner of the display.
4. Select Archive. You can also use the shortcut Shift+A. The photo is moved to the Archive folder.

You can access the Archive folder by navigating to Archive under the Library tab. You’ll find this on the left sidebar of the web app and the lower-right corner of the screen on the mobile app. From here, you can follow the same steps above to unarchive the photo. You can also delete it using the trash button in the upper-right corner of the screen.

Archived photos are only hidden from your main gallery and continue to take up storage space.

Manage your Google Photos storage like a pro

With Google discontinuing the free unlimited Photos storage option, every picture you back up to the cloud counts toward your allocated 15GB of free Google cloud storage space. This space is shared across Google services, including Google Drive, Gmail, and Photos. If you don’t want to pay for more storage, you can manage the default 15GB by removing unnecessary items.

Permanently deleting old pics is a good first step toward cleaning up your Google Photos feed. After you get rid of those old photos, check out some ways to make your Google Photos feed more manageable.

Conclusion on How to permanently delete photos from Google Photos

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