How to clean up your iPhone camera roll

Before you start

• Know where things are. Since iOS 26, Photos has separate Library and Collections tabs. In iOS 18 it was one scrolling view.
• Deleting syncs. With iCloud Photos on, a photo you delete is deleted on every device that uses iCloud Photos.
• Mistakes are recoverable for 30 days. Deleted photos wait in Recently Deleted, under Utilities in Collections, for 30 days. If you're over your iCloud storage limit, Apple removes them immediately instead.

Step 1: Merge duplicates

1. In Photos, tap Collections, then Utilities, then Duplicates.
2. Tap Select, then Select All, then Merge. Or merge one set at a time.

Photos keeps the copy with “the highest image quality and relevant data” and sends the rest to Recently Deleted. If Duplicates is missing, Photos hasn't found any yet; Apple says detection “may take some time.”

Step 2: Clear screenshots

1. Tap Collections, then Media Types, then Screenshots.
2. Tap Select and slide your finger across the ones you no longer need.
3. Tap the Trash button and confirm.

Check Recently Saved too. It holds items saved from Messages, Safari, Mail and AirDrop, which are easy to forget.

Step 3: Review videos

Photos has no sort by size, so check videos as a group. Tap Collections, then Media Types, then Videos to see only videos. Open one and view its Info panel to see its file size. On iOS 27 you can also use the Media Types filter in the library to show only videos.

Step 4: Go through recent days

1. Tap Collections, then Recent Days, then Show All.
2. Open a day, tap Select, and slide across the near-misses, blurry shots and test photos. Then tap the Trash button and confirm.
3. For bursts, open the burst, tap Select, keep the shots you want, then tap Done.

Years and Months views hide “similar photos, screenshots, whiteboards, and receipts.” Tap All when you want to see everything.

Step 5: Put keepers somewhere safe

• Favorites: find them in Collections > Pinned > Favorites.
• Albums: group photos in Collections > Albums. Deleting an album keeps its photos.
• Hidden: open a photo, tap More, then Hide. Hidden photos are in Utilities.

Step 6: Review the rest one at a time

What remains is the part bulk tools can't decide for you: individual photos, each a keep or a delete. Apple's documentation describes no built-in mode for reviewing photos one at a time. You can open each photo and use the Trash button, which works but is slow.

SwipeLeft was built for this step. It shows one photo at a time with its file size and date. Swipe left to send it to SwipeLeft's trash, swipe right to add it to your kept collection, and undo if you change your mind. Nothing goes to Recently Deleted until you empty SwipeLeft's trash, and your photos never leave your device.

Get SwipeLeft on the App Store

Make it a habit

A library stays tidy when you clear new photos while you still remember why you took them. A few minutes a week on Recent Days keeps the backlog small. SwipeLeft's free plan includes 50 swipes a day, which suits a short daily session, and its Home Screen widget is a reminder to keep going. For bigger clean-ups, see how to delete lots of photos on iPhone quickly and how to free up space when iPhone storage is full.