How to Permanently Delete Photos from iPhone 16/15/14/13? (4 Ways)

"I'm seeking assistance with permanently deleting photos from my iPhone. I've been trying to manage my phone's storage and want to ensure that the photos I delete are completely removed and not just sitting somewhere in the device. However, I'm not entirely sure about the correct process to do this. When I delete photos, they seem to still occupy space or remain in some sort of 'Recently Deleted' album. I'm looking for a way to ensure that once I delete a photo, it's gone for good and not recoverable, as I need to free up space on my device efficiently. Any guidance on how to achieve this, or any tips on managing photos and storage on an iPhone would be greatly appreciated".

- from Apple Community

It is believed that the iPhone is an ideal tool for taking photos. However, there must be some photos that you don't need any longer after you've looked through them over and over. In this case, you can easily delete them from your iPhone. However, why are deleted photos still on my iPhone? Can deleted photos be permanently deleted on iPhone? Of course. This guide focuses on how to permanently delete photos from iPhone. No matter whether you want to sell the iPhone to someone else or switch to a new phone, you will not worry about the privacy leaked to others.

Part 1. How to Permanently Delete Photos from iPhone via iOS Eraser [Unrecoverable]

When it comes to permanently deleting photos from an iPhone, the safest way to do it is to use a professional iOS eraser tool. Although there are many choices in the market, the Coolmuster iOS Eraser is the most popular one that you can use. With this powerful tool, you are able to erase all the data on your iOS device without restoration, including the photos. Moreover, it offers three security levels for you to choose according to your own needs. The most important point is that the deleted data can not be recovered with any data recovery software.

Highlights of iOS Eraser:

• Erase all data on iOS devices without restoration in one click, including private data, system settings, deleted files, and more.
• Support to permanently delete contacts, SMS, call logs, music, videos, photos, and so on.
• Offer three security level data erasing: Low Level, Medium Level, and High Level.
• 100% clean and read-only mode.
• Compatible with all generations of iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, including the latest iPhone 16 and iOS 18.

Download this software on your computer.

Free Download for PC

Here is how to permanently delete photos so that it cannot be recovered using iOS Eraser:

Part 2. How to Delete Photos from iPhone Permanently from the Recently Deleted Album

As iPhone users, you may find that when you delete the photos by simply choosing them and tapping the trash icon, the photos are actually not entirely deleted. They still remain on your iPhone and will stay there for 30 days in the Recently Deleted album before being permanently removed. Therefore, you have to delete those deleted photos once again in the Recently Deleted album.

Here is how to delete recently deleted photos on iPhone:

Step 1. Open the "Photos" app on your iPhone.

Step 2. Choose "Album" from the bottom of the screen and then click on "Recently Deleted".

Step 3. Tap the "Select" in the right corner to select the photos you want to delete from your iPhone. Or, if you want to delete them all, you can click "Delete All" to mass delete photos from iPhone.

Part 3. How to Permanently Delete Pictures from iPhone with iTunes

Maybe you will encounter such a situation where you cannot delete your pictures or an album by tapping the trash icon. This may be because your photos are synced with iTunes. If you want your iPhone to delete photos permanently, you can do the following steps:

Step 1. Install and launch the latest version of iTunes on your computer.

Step 2. Connect your iPhone to the computer via a USB cable.

Step 3. Click the "Photos" tab in the left sidebar.

Step 4. Tick the box next to "Sync Photos". If already checked, move to the next step.

Step 5. Under "Copy photos from", click the drop-down menu.

Step 6. Choose "Select Folder" > "All Folders" to ensure no photos remain.

Step 7. Click "Apply" to sync the changes and delete all stored photos from iTunes.

Part 4. How to Permanently Delete Photos from iPhone via iCloud

If you have enabled iCloud Photo Library, photos will automatically sync to iCloud, meaning that even if you delete them, they may still exist in the cloud. Therefore, to ensure the photos are completely deleted, you also need to visit iCloud and remove the relevant photos.

How do I permanently delete deleted photos from iPhone via iCloud? Here are the steps:

Step 1. On your iPhone, go to "Settings" > Tap your name > Select "iCloud".

Step 2. Tap "Photos" and make sure "iCloud Photos" is enabled.

Step 3. Open iCloud.com and log in with your Apple ID.

Step 4. Go to the "Photos" section, and select the photos you want to permanently delete.

Step 5. Tap the "trash can" icon in the top-right corner and confirm the deletion.

The Bottom Line

There are four ways on how to permanently delete photos from iPhone. You can follow the step-by-step guide listed below to permanently delete your photos from your iPhone. If you are looking for the safest way to do this, Coolmuster iOS Eraser is the best choice. With this tool, you can permanently delete data, not limited to photos, from your iPhone with ease, and it can never be recovered with the data recovery software.

Download and try it right now. It won't disappoint you.

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