We all do it: we screenshot a recipe, a funny text, or a tracking number, meaning to use it just once. Fast forward a year, and your iPhone has 3,000 screenshots taking up 10 GB of space. Here is how to quickly get rid of them.
Method 1: Bulk Delete from the Screenshots Album
iOS automatically groups all screenshots into a single folder, which makes them easy to find.
- Open the Photos app and go to the Albums tab.
- Scroll down to the Media Types section.
- Tap on Screenshots.
- Tap Select in the top right corner.
- The fast swipe trick: Tap and hold the first screenshot, then without lifting your finger, swipe right and drag down to select hundreds of screenshots at once.
- Tap the Trash icon to delete them.
Bulk deleting is fast, but risky. You might accidentally delete a screenshot you actually need (like a password, concert ticket, or important document).
Method 2: Review Before Deleting (The Safe Way)
If you don't want to blindly delete everything, you need to review them. Doing this in the Photos app requires tapping each photo, looking at it, backing out, selecting it, and deleting it — a very slow process.
Using a cleaner app like Swipe Photo Cleaner makes this much faster:
- The app isolates your screenshots and presents them full screen.
- You quickly swipe right to save the important ones (like documents) and swipe left to trash the junk (like old memes).
- It turns an hour-long chore into a 5-minute process.
Don't Forget to Empty the Trash
When you delete screenshots, they move to the Recently Deleted album and still consume storage space for 30 days. To reclaim your storage instantly, go to Albums → Recently Deleted, authenticate, and select Delete All.