How to empty Recently Deleted on iPhone

To empty Recently Deleted, open Photos, tap Collections, then Recently Deleted under Utilities. Tap View Album, unlock it with Face ID or your passcode, and delete the items. The space comes back right away. Until you do, deleted photos and videos keep taking space for 30 days.

Steps on iOS 26

1. Open Photos and tap the Collections tab at the bottom.
2. Scroll down to Utilities and tap Recently Deleted.
3. Tap View Album and unlock it with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.
4. Tap Select. To empty the whole album, tap Delete All; to remove only some items, select them, tap the More button (•••) and choose Delete.
5. Confirm. The items are removed from this iPhone, iCloud and your other devices.

Steps on iOS 18

The Photos app on iOS 18 is a single scrolling screen. Scroll down below your library until you reach Utilities, tap Recently Deleted, unlock it and delete as above.

Recover instead of delete

In the same album, tap Select, pick the items you want back, tap the More button (•••) and choose Recover. They return to your library with their original dates.

Before you empty it

• It is final. Once removed, photos cannot be recovered from Photos. With iCloud Photos, emptying on one device empties everywhere.
• Check converted items. If you shrank videos or converted photos, their originals wait here. Emptying the album makes the new versions the only ones.
• Keep a backup of anything you could not replace.

How DustFox helps

DustFox cannot empty the album itself: Apple’s photo framework gives apps no access to it. So its Empty button shows these steps, then opens Photos. When you come back, DustFox measures free space again and confirms that the space returned.