Delete or restore your photos and videos

If you have turned on back up & sync, photos and videos that you delete will stay in your bin for 60 days before they are deleted forever. Learn how to turn on back up & sync.

Tip: To move all of your photos to a different account, share your photo library with that account.

Before you delete photos and videos

Learn where photos and videos do and do not get removed

Items that you delete from Google Photos are also removed from:

photos.google.co.uk and the Photos app on any synced devices
Google Photos albums
Some Google Photos movies. Learn more about deleted photos in movies.
Shared albums and conversations to which you added them

Items that you delete are not automatically removed from:

Blogger
YouTube
Gmail
Local storage when the files are downloaded onto the following devices: iOS and Android 11 and up

Before you start

Download and install the Google Photos app.

Delete photos and videos

Important: If you back up photos and videos to Google Photos on a mobile device, when you delete them from the Google Photos app, they're also deleted from your device. Learn how to remove backed up photos and videos from Google Photos but not your device.

On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Photos app .
Sign in to your Google Account.
Tap and hold a photo or video that you want to move to the bin. You can select multiple items.
At the top, tap Delete .

Learn what happens to photos that you've deleted

If you delete a photo or video that's backed up in Google Photos, it will stay in your bin for 60 days.
If you delete an item from your Android 11 and up device without it being backed up, it will stay in your bin for 30 days.
If you see a photo or video in Google Photos that you think that you deleted, it might be on a removable memory card. To delete it, use your device's gallery app.

Empty your bin

If you see a request to 'delete permanently' when you try to move an item to the bin, your bin is full. Your bin can hold 1.5 GB.

Important: If you empty your bin, you permanently delete any items in your bin.

To empty it:

On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Photos app .
Sign in to your Google Account.
At the bottom, tap Library Trash More Empty bin Delete permanently.

Remove an item from your device

Permanently delete photos and videos

On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Photos app .
Sign in to your Google Account.
Select the items that you want to delete from your Android phone or tablet.
At the top right, tap More Delete from device.

Learn how to free up space on your device.

Give permissions to delete photos from your SD card

Step 1: Check if you have Android 7.0 and up

These steps will only work if you have Android 7.0 and up. Learn how to check your Android version.

Step 2: Delete a photo or video

When you try to delete a photo or video, you can let Google Photos read your SD card.

On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Photos app .
Sign in to your Google Account.
At the bottom, tap Library Photos on device.
Open your SD card folder.
Select the item that you want to delete from your SD card.
Tap Delete Move to bin.
Tap Allow Allow.

To change your permissions back, open your device’s settings. Tap Apps Photos Storage.

Remove backed up photos and videos from Google Photos but not your device

On your mobile device, turn off backup and sync in the Google Photos app.
On your computer or in the Chrome browser on your mobile device, go to photos.google.com and remove your selected backed up photos and videos from Google Photos.
- If you turn backup and sync on again, all photos and videos on your device are backed up and synced to Google Photos again.

Restore photos and videos

If you deleted an item and want it back, check your bin to see if it’s there.

On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Photos app .
At the bottom, tap Library Bin .
Touch and hold the photo or video that you want to restore.
At the bottom, tap Restore. The photo or video will be back:
- In your phone’s gallery app
- In your Google Photos library
- In any albums that it was in

If the item is not in your bin, it may be permanently deleted.

Can't see the photo or video?

If a deleted photo or video isn't in the bin, you can’t restore it. You won't be able to restore a photo if:

You moved it to the bin more than 60 days ago
You moved it to the bin, then emptied your bin
You moved it to the bin more than 30 days ago on an Android 11 and up device, and it wasn’t backed up.
You permanently deleted it from your bin
You permanently deleted it from your device's gallery app, without backing it up first.

To find and recover photos easily, turn on back up & sync.

Important:

If you're inactive in Google Photos for two years or more, your content may be deleted. Learn about the Google Photos inactivity policy.
If you're over your storage limit for two years or more, your content may be deleted. Learn more about how your Google storage works.

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