How to Free Photo Space on iPhone or iPad

Open your iPhone's or iPad's Settings., Scroll to the fourth group of options and tap iCloud. , Select Photos. , Slide the iCloud Photo Library switch right to the "On" position., Exit the Settings app., Open your iPhone's or iPad's Photos., Tap...

30 Steps 3 min read Advanced

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Open your iPhone's or iPad's Settings.

    It's the grey gear icon that's on one of your Home screens (or in a folder entitled "Utilities").
  2. Step 2: Scroll to the fourth group of options and tap iCloud.

    ,, It should turn green, signifying that your entire Camera Roll is now uploading to iCloud.

    In order for the iCloud Photo Library to work on your device, you'll need to have enough storage in your iCloud account for your entire library to fit.

    While in the "Photos" menu, you can also slide the My Photo Stream switch off to disable Photo Stream, which also eats up photo space. , After your photos finish uploading to your iCloud Photo Library, you can delete any undesired duplicates from your iPhone. , This is the multicolored pinwheel icon on one of your Home screens.

    If you can't find the Photos app on any of your Home screens, check your folders as well. , This is in the bottom right corner of your screen. , If you want to view all of your photos in one place, you can select Camera Roll in the top left corner of the page. , This is in the top right corner of your screen. ,, It's in the bottom right corner of your screen. , Depending on how many photos you're deleting, this button will change.

    For example, if you're deleting 12 photos, the button will read "Delete 12 Photos."

    You'll find this in the top left corner of your screen. ,,, It's in the bottom left corner of the screen. , Doing so will permanently remove your selected photos from your phone, thereby clearing up space for more photos to follow. , It's the grey gear icon that's either on one of your Home screens or in the "Utilities" folder. ,,, It should turn green.

    Doing this will prevent your iPhone from keeping the normal exposure of a photo that was taken with HDR enabled, which will cut down on the amount of space each individual photo takes. , It's in the "Camera" group of options above the "Keep Normal Photo" slider. , Not all iPhones or iPads will have every option listed here: 720p HD at 30 FPS
    - Takes up 60 MB per minute. 1080p HD at 30 FPS
    - Takes up 130 MB per minute. 1080p HD at 60 FPS
    - Takes up 165 MB per minute (iPhone 6S/iPad Pro and up). 4K at 30 FPS
    - Takes up 350 MB per minute (iPhone 6S/iPad Pro and up). , This is in the top left corner of your screen. , Only iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone 7, and iPad Pro users will see this option., Your options include: 1080p HD at 120 FPS
    - 350 MB per minute. 720p HD at 240 FPS
    - 300 MB per minute. , Your videos will now be recorded in a lower resolution.

    If you shoot a lot of video, this will make a noticeable difference in the amount of space your videos take up. , This is the camera-shaped icon on one of your Home screens.

    You can also swipe up to open the Control Center and then tap the camera icon in the bottom right corner. , This will disable the "Live Photos" feature.

    Live Photos combine a burst of photos into one exposure--disabling this feature will clear up a significant amount of room for future photos.

    If you don't have an iPhone 6S or newer model (or an iPad Pro), you won't have this option.

    If this circle is white, the Live Photos feature is already disabled. , This is to the left of the Live Photos circle.

    Tapping it will disable the "High Dynamic Range" (HDR) setting, which compresses multiple exposures into one photo.

    If HDR has a slash through it, it's already disabled.
  3. Step 3: Select Photos.

  4. Step 4: Slide the iCloud Photo Library switch right to the "On" position.

  5. Step 5: Exit the Settings app.

  6. Step 6: Open your iPhone's or iPad's Photos.

  7. Step 7: Tap Albums.

  8. Step 8: Select an album.

  9. Step 9: Tap Select.

  10. Step 10: Select each photo you'd like to delete.

  11. Step 11: Tap the trash can icon.

  12. Step 12: Tap Delete Photos.

  13. Step 13: Tap < Albums.

  14. Step 14: Scroll to the Recently Deleted album and select it.

  15. Step 15: Tap Select.

  16. Step 16: Tap Delete All.

  17. Step 17: Tap Delete Photos.

  18. Step 18: Open your iPhone's or iPad's Settings.

  19. Step 19: Scroll to the sixth group of options and select Photos & Camera.

  20. Step 20: Scroll to the bottom of this menu.

  21. Step 21: Slide the Keep Normal Photo switch left to the "Off" position.

  22. Step 22: Select Record Video.

  23. Step 23: Select a recording resolution.

  24. Step 24: Tap < Photos & Camera.

  25. Step 25: Select Record Slow-mo.

  26. Step 26: Select a slow-mo resolution.

  27. Step 27: Exit the Settings app.

  28. Step 28: Open your iPhone's or iPad's camera.

  29. Step 29: Tap the orange circle at the top of your screen.

  30. Step 30: Tap the HDR option.

Detailed Guide

It's the grey gear icon that's on one of your Home screens (or in a folder entitled "Utilities").

,, It should turn green, signifying that your entire Camera Roll is now uploading to iCloud.

In order for the iCloud Photo Library to work on your device, you'll need to have enough storage in your iCloud account for your entire library to fit.

While in the "Photos" menu, you can also slide the My Photo Stream switch off to disable Photo Stream, which also eats up photo space. , After your photos finish uploading to your iCloud Photo Library, you can delete any undesired duplicates from your iPhone. , This is the multicolored pinwheel icon on one of your Home screens.

If you can't find the Photos app on any of your Home screens, check your folders as well. , This is in the bottom right corner of your screen. , If you want to view all of your photos in one place, you can select Camera Roll in the top left corner of the page. , This is in the top right corner of your screen. ,, It's in the bottom right corner of your screen. , Depending on how many photos you're deleting, this button will change.

For example, if you're deleting 12 photos, the button will read "Delete 12 Photos."

You'll find this in the top left corner of your screen. ,,, It's in the bottom left corner of the screen. , Doing so will permanently remove your selected photos from your phone, thereby clearing up space for more photos to follow. , It's the grey gear icon that's either on one of your Home screens or in the "Utilities" folder. ,,, It should turn green.

Doing this will prevent your iPhone from keeping the normal exposure of a photo that was taken with HDR enabled, which will cut down on the amount of space each individual photo takes. , It's in the "Camera" group of options above the "Keep Normal Photo" slider. , Not all iPhones or iPads will have every option listed here: 720p HD at 30 FPS
- Takes up 60 MB per minute. 1080p HD at 30 FPS
- Takes up 130 MB per minute. 1080p HD at 60 FPS
- Takes up 165 MB per minute (iPhone 6S/iPad Pro and up). 4K at 30 FPS
- Takes up 350 MB per minute (iPhone 6S/iPad Pro and up). , This is in the top left corner of your screen. , Only iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone 7, and iPad Pro users will see this option., Your options include: 1080p HD at 120 FPS
- 350 MB per minute. 720p HD at 240 FPS
- 300 MB per minute. , Your videos will now be recorded in a lower resolution.

If you shoot a lot of video, this will make a noticeable difference in the amount of space your videos take up. , This is the camera-shaped icon on one of your Home screens.

You can also swipe up to open the Control Center and then tap the camera icon in the bottom right corner. , This will disable the "Live Photos" feature.

Live Photos combine a burst of photos into one exposure--disabling this feature will clear up a significant amount of room for future photos.

If you don't have an iPhone 6S or newer model (or an iPad Pro), you won't have this option.

If this circle is white, the Live Photos feature is already disabled. , This is to the left of the Live Photos circle.

Tapping it will disable the "High Dynamic Range" (HDR) setting, which compresses multiple exposures into one photo.

If HDR has a slash through it, it's already disabled.

About the Author

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Larry Rogers

Enthusiastic about teaching lifestyle techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.

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