How to delete all your screenshots on iPhone at once

Screenshots pile up quietly. A map you needed once. A code for a parcel. A funny message from a friend. After a few years there can be thousands of them.

The good news: your iPhone already gathers them in one place. You can clear them with the free Photos app. This guide shows you how, step by step.

Before you delete: look first

Please don't delete them all without a quick look. Screenshots often hold things you still need, such as:

• boarding passes and train or concert tickets
• prescriptions and medical letters
• bank details, receipts and order numbers
• addresses, phone numbers and directions
• passwords or codes you saved "for later"

Scroll through once. If you find something important, keep it, or save it somewhere better (a note, your wallet, or a printout). Then delete the rest.

One more thing. If a screenshot shows bank details or a password, deleting it is a good idea anyway. But do it on purpose, after you have the information somewhere else.

Find your screenshots on iPhone

Apple moved things around in the Photos app in iOS 18 and again in later versions. Use the steps that match your phone.

iOS 26 and later (including iOS 27):

1. Open the Photos app.
2. Tap Collections.
3. Scroll down to Media Types.
4. Tap Screenshots.

iOS 18:

1. Open the Photos app.
2. Scroll down the main screen.
3. Tap Media Types, then Screenshots.

Not sure which version you have? Go to Settings › General › About and look at iOS Version.

Your screen recordings are in the same place. In Media Types, tap Screen Recordings instead. Recordings are videos, so they are often much bigger than screenshots. Look there too.

Select many at once

You don't have to tap each screenshot one by one.

1. In the Screenshots album, tap Select at the top right.
2. Put your finger on one screenshot and, without lifting, drag sideways along the row, then down. Every screenshot you pass over gets a tick.
3. Hold your finger near the top or bottom edge of the screen, and the list should scroll so you can keep selecting (not verified).
4. To unselect one, tap it again.

Drag to select is described by guides such as Trusted Reviews. Apple's own help pages only say to tap Select, then tap the items you want.

Is there a Select All button? Apple's help pages don't mention one for the Screenshots album. Some guides say it appears in some albums and some versions (not verified). If you see it at the top of the screen, you can use it. If you don't, drag to select.

A good habit: work in small batches, a month or a few hundred at a time. It is easier to spot something you want to keep.

Delete them

1. With your screenshots selected, tap the bin icon.
2. Your iPhone asks you to confirm. Tap Delete.

On some versions the bin sits under a More button (three dots) instead (not verified). Menus can differ a little between phone models and iOS versions.

If you use iCloud Photos

This matters. When iCloud Photos is on, deleting a screenshot on your iPhone deletes it everywhere. Apple says it is removed from your iPhone and from "other devices where iCloud Photos is turned on" (Apple Support, read on 15 October 2026). That includes your iPad, your Mac and icloud.com.

So if you want to keep a few, save them somewhere else first.

Empty Recently Deleted to get the space back

Here is the step most people miss. Deleted items are not gone yet. Apple keeps them in Recently Deleted for 30 days, in case you change your mind. Your storage only goes up once they leave it.

To clear it now, on iOS 26 and later:

1. Open Photos and tap Collections.
2. Tap Recently Deleted (below Utilities), then View Album.
3. Unlock with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.
4. Tap Select and choose the items. Then tap the menu button and tap Delete.

On iOS 18, swipe up on the main Photos screen, then tap Recently Deleted below Utilities. The rest is the same.

Once you empty it, those items cannot be brought back. That is why it pays to look first. For more on this, see why storage stays full after deleting.

Hiding is not deleting

The Photos app can hide screenshots from your main library view. Apple calls this a way to "reduce clutter" (Apple Support, read on 15 October 2026). It is handy, but hidden screenshots still take up space. Only deleting frees it.

On Android

The steps depend on your phone and which gallery app you use.

Google Photos:

1. Open Google Photos.
2. Tap Collections, then On this device, then Screenshots.
3. Touch and hold one screenshot, then tap others to add them.
4. Tap Trash.

Google keeps deleted items in the trash for 30 days. Google also says deleting in the app removes the same items from your device, and from your other devices if they are backed up. Screen recordings on many Android phones sit in Collections › On this device › Movies, according to Google's Android help.

Samsung Galaxy (Gallery app):

1. Open Gallery and tap Albums.
2. Open the Screenshots album.
3. Touch and hold a screenshot, then tap the others you want.
4. Tap Delete, then Move to Trash.

To get the space back now, open Gallery, tap Menu (three lines), tap Trash, then More options (three dots) › Empty. Menu names can differ between Galaxy models.

For more Android help, see Android storage full: what actually works.

Stop them piling up again

A simple habit helps. When you take a screenshot for a quick job, delete it as soon as the job is done. Many iPhones show a small thumbnail after you take one. Tap it, and Apple's steps include an option to delete it straight away.

Then set yourself a reminder to look at the Screenshots album once a month.

Where RoomForGems fits, honestly

The free steps above work well. If you are happy doing it that way, you don't need anything else.

RoomForGems does the same job in smaller pieces. It shows your screenshots and screen recordings month by month, oldest first, so you can look over a month at a time instead of one long list. Each screen recording is shown with its size. You swipe to keep or bin, with undo, and nothing is deleted until you confirm in your phone's own dialog. Everything happens on your phone; your photos don't leave it.

It is free to scan and free to clear up to 1 GB. After that it is $9.99 once, charged through the App Store or Google Play. There is no subscription.

If storage is still tight after this, see how to free up space on a full iPhone.