Delete or restore your photos & videos

If you accept turned on Support and Sync, photos and videos you delete will stay in your trash for 60 days before they are deleted forever. Learn how to turn on Back up and Sync.

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

Earlier you delete photos & videos

Delete photos & videos

Of import: If you back up photos and videos to Google Photos on a mobile device, when y'all delete them from the Google Photos app, they're as well deleted from your device. Learn how to remove backed up photos and videos from Google Photos simply non your device.

  1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Photos app Photos.
  2. Sign in to your Google Account.
  3. Tap and agree a photo or video you want to move to the trash. You lot tin can select multiple items.
  4. At the top, tap DeleteDelete.

Acquire what happens to photos you've deleted

  • If you delete a photo or video that's backed upwardly in Google Photos, it will stay in your trash for 60 days.
  • If you delete an particular from your Android 11 and up device without it being backed up, information technology will stay in your trash for xxx days.
  • If you lot see a photo or video in Google Photos that you think you deleted, it might be on a removable retention card. To delete it, use your device's gallery app.

Empty your trash

If yous see a request to "Delete permanently" when y'all try to move an item to trash, your trash is total. Your trash can hold 1.5GB.

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

To empty information technology:

  1. On your Android telephone or tablet, open the Google Photos app Photos.
  2. Sign in to your Google Account.
  3. At the bottom, tap Libraryand then Trash and then More More and thenEmpty Trash and then Delete permanently.

Remove an item from your device

Permanently delete photos & videos

  1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Photos app Photos.
  2. Sign in to your Google Account.
  3. Select the items you lot desire to delete from your Android phone or tablet.
  4. In the top correct, tap More thanMoreand then Delete from device.

Acquire how to gratuitous upwardly space on your device.

Restore photos & videos

If you deleted an item and want it dorsum, check your trash to run into if information technology's there.

  1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Photos app Photos.
  2. At the bottom, tap Libraryand then Trash Delete.
  3. Affect and hold the photo or video you lot want to restore.
  4. At the lesser, tap Restore. The photograph or video will be dorsum:
    • In your phone's gallery app
    • In your Google Photos library
    • In any albums it was in

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

Don't meet the photo or video?

If a deleted photo or video isn't in trash, yous can't restore information technology. You won't exist able to restore a photograph if:

  • You moved information technology to trash more than 60 days ago.
  • You moved it to trash, and so emptied your trash.
  • You moved it to trash more than thirty days agone on an Android 11 and upwards device, and it wasn't backed upwardly.
  • You permanently deleted information technology from your trash.
  • Yous permanently deleted it from your device's Gallery app, without backing it upward commencement.

To find and recover photos easily, turn on dorsum upwardly & sync.

Important: If your Google Photos account is inactive for 2 years or you're over your storage limit, your content may exist impacted.Learn more about this.

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