Learn About Deleting Photos From Cloud Storage

Understanding Cloud Storage and Photo Deletion Basics

Cloud storage services store your photos on remote servers operated by companies like Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon. When you upload a photo to these services, it exists both on your device and on the company's servers. Many people use cloud storage to back up important memories, free up space on their phones, or share photos with family members across different devices.

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Deleting a photo from cloud storage is different from deleting it from your phone. When you remove a photo from cloud storage, it typically goes into a trash or recycle bin folder first, rather than disappearing right away. This gives you a window of time—usually 30 to 60 days depending on the service—to recover the photo if you change your mind. Only after this period expires does the photo get permanently removed from the company's servers.

Understanding how deletion works across different platforms matters because each service handles the process slightly differently. Some services delete photos from all connected devices when you remove them from the cloud, while others only remove them from cloud storage and leave copies on your individual devices. Knowing these differences helps you make informed decisions about what you're deleting and prevents accidental loss of photos you want to keep.

Most cloud storage services offer both web-based deletion (using a browser on your computer) and app-based deletion (using the official app on your phone or tablet). Some users find one method easier than the other, so having information about both options helps you choose what works best for your situation. The web interface often shows more details about your photos and storage usage, while the app method may feel faster for everyday use.

Practical takeaway: Before deleting any photos, identify which cloud storage service you use and where your photos are stored. Check whether you have the service's app installed on your devices and whether you can access it through a web browser. This preparation prevents confusion when you need to delete photos.

How to Delete Photos From Google Photos

Google Photos is one of the most widely used cloud storage services, with millions of active users. The service offers a free version that stores unlimited photos in "storage saver" quality and a paid version for original quality backups. To delete photos from Google Photos, you need to access your account either through the Google Photos app or the Google Photos website.

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Using the Google Photos app on your phone or tablet, open the app and locate the photo or photos you want to delete. You can select multiple photos by tapping and holding the first photo, then tapping additional photos you want to remove. After selecting the photos you want to delete, look for a trash or delete icon, which typically appears at the top or bottom of the screen depending on your device type. Tapping this icon moves the selected photos to the trash folder.

On a computer, visit photos.google.com and sign in with your Google account. Browse to the photo you want to delete using the search, albums, or library features. Click on the photo to open it, then look for the delete icon, usually shown as a trash can symbol. This icon is typically located near the top right of the screen. Clicking it moves the photo to trash. You can also delete multiple photos by clicking the checkbox next to each photo in library view, then clicking the delete button.

Google Photos keeps deleted photos in a trash folder for 60 days. During this time, you can restore photos by opening the trash folder, selecting the photos you want to keep, and choosing the restore option. After 60 days, Google Photos automatically and permanently deletes these photos from their servers. If you want to permanently delete photos before the 60-day period ends, you can open the trash folder and select "delete forever," but this action cannot be undone.

One important consideration: deleting a photo from Google Photos only removes it from your cloud storage. If you backed up your photos to Google Photos from your phone, the original photo files remain on your phone unless you separately delete them there. To fully remove a photo from all your devices, you need to delete it from both Google Photos and your phone's local storage.

Practical takeaway: Choose whether you want to delete photos using the app on your phone or the web interface on your computer based on which method feels more comfortable for you. Remember that the 60-day trash period gives you time to recover photos you delete by mistake, so there's less risk in removing photos you're unsure about.

Removing Photos From iCloud and Apple Devices

iCloud is Apple's cloud storage service integrated into iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers. If you use Apple devices, photos taken on these devices often back up automatically to iCloud. Apple provides 5 gigabytes of free iCloud storage, though many users upgrade to paid plans for more storage space. Understanding how to delete photos from iCloud is important because the process differs from Android-based services.

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On an iPhone or iPad, open the Photos app and navigate to the photo you want to delete. Tap the photo to open it in full screen, then look for the trash icon, usually located at the bottom right of the screen. Tapping the trash icon deletes the photo. When you delete a photo from an iPhone or iPad with iCloud Photo Library enabled, the photo is removed from iCloud and all your connected Apple devices at the same time. This simultaneous deletion across devices is different from some other cloud services where deletion happens only in the cloud.

If you want to delete photos from iCloud but keep them on your iPhone, you need to turn off iCloud Photo Library first. To do this on iPhone, go to Settings, tap your name, select iCloud, then Photos, and toggle off iCloud Photo Library. This creates a local copy of your photos on your device that exists independently from iCloud. You can then delete the iCloud version without affecting the local copy on your phone.

On a Mac computer, open the Photos app and locate the photo you want to delete. Select the photo and press the Delete key, or right-click the photo and choose Delete Photo from the menu. Similar to iPhone, deleting on Mac with iCloud Photo Library enabled removes the photo from iCloud and all connected devices. On a Windows PC, you can manage iCloud photos through the iCloud.com website by signing in to your Apple account, selecting Photos, and deleting from there.

Apple keeps deleted photos in a "Recently Deleted" album for 30 days. During this period, you can recover photos by opening the Recently Deleted album, selecting the photos you want to restore, and choosing the recover option. Photos in the Recently Deleted folder count toward your iCloud storage, so if you're trying to free up space, permanently deleting photos from Recently Deleted actually frees storage. After 30 days, Apple automatically removes photos from Recently Deleted.

Practical takeaway: If you use multiple Apple devices, understand that deleting a photo affects all your devices simultaneously. If you want to keep photos on one device but remove them from iCloud storage, disable iCloud Photo Library first, create a local backup, and then manage deletions separately. The 30-day Recently Deleted period matches many users' comfort level for accidental deletion recovery.

Managing Photo Deletion in Microsoft OneDrive and Amazon Photos

Microsoft OneDrive and Amazon Photos represent two additional major cloud storage options with different features and deletion processes. OneDrive integrates with Windows computers and Office products, while Amazon Photos comes with Amazon Prime membership and offers unlimited photo storage for Prime members. Both services handle photo deletion differently, so users should understand the specific process for whichever service they use.

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In Microsoft OneDrive, you can delete photos through the OneDrive app on your phone or through OneDrive.com on your computer. Using the mobile app, open OneDrive and navigate to the Photos folder or wherever your photos are stored. Long-press on a photo to select it, then tap the delete icon that appears. Selected photos move to the recycle bin. On the web, go to OneDrive.com, sign in with your Microsoft account, and navigate to your photo folders. Click on a photo to select it, then click the delete button in the toolbar. OneDrive keeps deleted items in the recycle bin for 93 days, which is longer than most other services.

Amazon Photos works differently because of its unlimited storage benefit. To delete photos from Amazon Photos, open the Amazon Photos app or visit photos.amazon.com. Find the photo or photos you want to delete, and select them. Look for a delete option, typically shown as a trash icon or delete button. Unlike some other services, deleting from Amazon Photos removes the photo from Amazon's servers but does not delete it from your phone if you haven't deleted it there separately. This means you need to manage deletions