Google: Bulk Delete Images/Videos from Photos

Environment

Google Photos

Issue

How do I delete Google Photos in bulk instead of one at a time? 

Resolution

Google allows you to delete your photos and videos individually or in bulk from Google Photos. However, if you have many photos and videos, this process is manual and will take a while.

1. Go to Google Photos.
2. Choose how you want to select your photos/videos:
   1. Click the checkmark next to each date in your library to select all photos from that date.
   2. Click the checkmark in the top left corner of the most recent photo in your library, hold Shift, click the last photo you can (since it is difficult to scroll while holding Shift), stop holding Shift, scroll down, hold Shift again, and repeat this process. (If you have a lot of photos, you will want to complete this in more manageable chunks until everything is deleted.)

3. Click the trash can icon in the top-right corner of the page, then click Move to trash to confirm your deletion. (You may need to click Got it before Move to trash appears if you’ve never deleted data from Google Photos.)

   Tip: If you receive a prompt to "Delete permanently" when moving photos and videos to the trash, your trash is full.

Although photos/videos in Photos Trash don’t count toward your storage limit right now, it is still important to remove anything you no longer need. You can either wait 60 days for Google to automatically delete everything from your Trash, or select Trash from the left navigation, click Empty trash in the top-right corner, then click Empty Trash to confirm.

Once emptied, your deleted photos and videos become unrecoverable. After reducing your storage, it can take up to 72 hours for Google's systems to reflect this reduction. Refer to the Google Help Center for more information on deleting photos/videos in Google Photos.

Note: If you have stored any photos or videos in the Locked Folder in Google Photos, ensure you check and delete them as well, as they also count against your storage.

Additional Information

Refer to Tips for Cleaning Up Your U-M Google Account for more information.

Need additional information or assistance? Contact the ITS Service Center.