How to Delete Screenshots on iPhone

You can delete screenshots on iPhone in the Photos app. Open the Screenshots collection, select what you do not need, and delete. You do not need Deletely or any other app to do this.

Find the Screenshots collection

Photos already groups screenshots on their own. You do not have to hunt through the rest of the camera roll.

1. Open Photos.
2. Tap Collections.
3. If Screenshots is in Pinned Collections, open it. If not, scroll to Media Types and tap Screenshots.

On older iOS, look under Albums, then Media Types, then Screenshots.

Delete one screenshot

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

Apple’s steps for deleting photos are in Delete photos on your iPhone or iPad.

Delete many, or all

1. In the Screenshots collection, tap Select.
2. Tap the screenshots 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 screenshot.
4. Tap the trash button, then confirm.

Select All empties the whole collection. That includes boarding passes, codes, and anything else you meant to keep. Review first if you are not sure.

When storage actually comes back

Deleted screenshots do not leave the iPhone immediately. Photos moves them 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 screenshot, 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 screenshots 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 screenshot 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 screenshots regularly

You do not need another app for a one-time cleanup. If screenshots keep arriving, 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.