How to Delete Screen Recordings on iPhone

Screen recordings are videos in the Photos app. Open the Screen Recordings collection, play anything you might still need, then delete the rest. You do not need Deletely or any other app to do this.

Where screen recordings go

When you record the iPhone screen from Control Center, Apple saves the file to your photo library. That is why they sit with photos and other videos, not in Files or Settings.

1. Open Photos.
2. Tap Collections.
3. Scroll to Media Types, then tap Screen Recordings.

On older iOS, look under Albums, then Media Types, then Screen Recordings. You can also pin Screen Recordings in Pinned Collections if you clear them often.

Apple’s recording steps, and this Photos path, are in Take a screen recording on iPhone.

Delete one recording

Open a recording first if you are not sure. A long clip of a game, a call, or a bug report can be hard to judge from the thumbnail.

1. Tap the recording to open it.
2. Tap the trash button.
3. Confirm the deletion.

Deleting a video uses the same Photos controls as deleting a photo. Apple documents that in Delete photos on your iPhone or iPad.

Delete many, or all

1. In the Screen Recordings collection, tap Select.
2. Tap the clips you want to remove, or slide your finger across the grid to select several at once.
3. If iOS shows Select All, use it only if you are ready to remove every screen recording.
4. Tap the trash button, then confirm.

Select All empties the whole collection. That can include a clip you meant to send, or a recording of a problem you have not fixed yet.

When storage actually comes back

Screen recordings are videos. One long clip can use more space than a large stack of screenshots. Deleting still does not free that space immediately.

Photos moves deleted recordings to Recently Deleted and keeps them for 30 days. They still use storage until that period ends, or until you remove them there. That is why an iPhone can still look full after a cleanup. The same point is in the FAQ.

To recover a recording, or to free the space now:

1. Open Photos, then tap Collections.
2. Scroll to Utilities and open Recently Deleted.
3. Tap View Album if you see it, then unlock with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode.
4. Tap Select. Recover what you still need, or choose items to remove for good.
5. Tap the More button, then Recover, Delete, or Delete All.
6. If iOS asks, confirm Delete from All Devices, or Delete Photos I Added.

Once you permanently delete from Recently Deleted, those recordings cannot be restored.

If iCloud Photos is on

A deletion on this iPhone is deleted on every other device where iCloud Photos is on and you are signed in with the same Apple Account. Apple’s iCloud Photos page covers that rule.

If a recording sits in an iCloud Shared Photo Library, only the person who added it can permanently delete or recover it from Recently Deleted.

An easier way to review recordings regularly

You do not need another app for a one-time cleanup. If screen recordings keep landing in Photos, Deletely can gather them so they are easier to review. Nothing is preselected. Analysis stays on your iPhone. See Privacy.

When you do delete from Deletely, the items still follow Photos, including Recently Deleted. Deletely cannot recover media for you.