How to Delete All Screenshots on iPhone — The Fast Way

Why Screenshots Are the #1 Storage Killer on iPhone

Every time you press the side button and volume button simultaneously, your iPhone saves a full-resolution capture of your screen. On a modern iPhone with a high-resolution display, that's a 1–4 MB file. That seems small until you realize most people take multiple screenshots per day — directions, receipts, conversations, social media posts, articles — and almost none of them are ever cleaned up.

Unlike real photos, screenshots have an inherently temporary purpose. A screenshot of your Uber arrival time is useful for exactly 20 minutes. A screenshot of a tweet is read once. A screenshot of a recipe might be referenced a few times before being forgotten forever. Yet these files accumulate in your photo library indefinitely, taking up the same storage as genuine keepsakes.

Screenshots are often the single largest junk category on iPhone — larger than blurry photos, larger than duplicate shots, larger than accidental captures. If you haven't cleaned your screenshots recently, there's a high probability they represent 1–5 GB of easily recoverable storage sitting on your device right now.

How Many Screenshots Does the Average iPhone User Have?

The honest answer is: a lot. Studies and user surveys consistently find that iPhone users underestimate their screenshot accumulation. Here's a rough breakdown by usage pattern:

• Light user (1–2 screenshots/week): ~100–200 per year, or 100–400 MB.
• Moderate user (3–5 screenshots/day): ~1,000–1,800 per year, or 1–4 GB.
• Heavy user (social media, work, frequent captures): 3,000–5,000+ per year, potentially 5–10+ GB.

Most people who haven't specifically cleaned their screenshots in the past year fall into the moderate category. If you've owned your current iPhone for 2–3 years without cleaning, it's reasonable to estimate 2,000–5,000 screenshots sitting on your device.

To check your actual count right now: open the Photos app, go to Albums, scroll down to Media Types, and tap Screenshots. The number in the top left corner is your count.

Method 1: Delete Manually in the Photos App (Slow)

The built-in Photos app has a Screenshots album that makes it easy to find all your screenshots in one place. Here's how to delete them manually:

1. Open the Photos app.
2. Tap the Albums tab at the bottom.
3. Scroll down to Media Types and tap Screenshots.
4. Tap Select in the top right.
5. Tap individual screenshots to select them, or drag your finger to select multiple.
6. Tap the trash icon in the bottom right.
7. Tap Delete [number] Photos to confirm.

Limitation: This method forces you to either delete everything (including screenshots you might want) or manually select each one you want to delete. The grid view makes it hard to quickly evaluate each screenshot — you have to tap into each one to see it clearly.

For a "nuke everything" approach, this works fine. But if you want to be selective — keeping some and deleting others — the manual Photos method is slow and frustrating. Method 2 (Swype) is far better for selective cleanup.

Method 2: Use Swype Photo Cleaner's Screenshot Smart Group (Fast)

Swype Photo Cleaner is purpose-built for exactly this task. Its Screenshot Smart Group shows you every screenshot full-screen, one at a time, and lets you make a keep/delete decision with a single swipe. It's the fastest way to selectively clean screenshots on iPhone.

Step-by-Step Walkthrough

1. Download Swype Photo Cleaner from the App Store (free — no in-app purchases).
2. Open the app and grant photo library access when prompted.
3. Tap the Screenshots card on the home screen. You'll see your total screenshot count.
4. Enter the swipe view. Your first screenshot appears full-screen.
5. Swipe left to delete a screenshot. Swipe right to keep it. The next screenshot loads instantly.
6. Tap any screenshot to zoom in and inspect it before deciding.
7. Continue swiping until you've reviewed all screenshots (or stop whenever you like — your progress is implicit in which photos remain).
8. Empty Recently Deleted in the Photos app to permanently free the storage.

Because you see each screenshot full-screen before deciding, you can make accurate keep/delete decisions without missing anything important. The gesture-based interface makes the process feel natural and fast — most users can clean 200+ screenshots in under 10 minutes.

Method 3: Use Native iOS "Select All" in Screenshots Album

If you want to delete every screenshot at once without reviewing any of them, iOS has a built-in "Select All" that works in the Screenshots album:

1. Open Photos app > Albums > Screenshots.
2. Tap Select in the top right corner.
3. Tap the first screenshot, then drag your finger across the entire grid to select all visible items — or tap the first item, then scroll down, hold Shift and tap the last one.
4. Alternatively, you can tap and hold "Select" and some iOS versions will show "Select All".
5. Tap the trash icon and confirm.
6. Go to Recently Deleted and tap Delete All to permanently free the storage.

Note: This method deletes everything with no review. Only use it if you're comfortable losing all your screenshots, including any you might want to keep. If you have any screenshots you'd want to preserve, use Swype (Method 2) to review selectively first.

How to Prevent Screenshot Buildup Going Forward

Deleting your backlog is just the first step. To keep your screenshot folder from filling up again, change the behaviors that create unnecessary screenshots in the first place.

Use Bookmarks/Favorites Instead of Screenshots

If you're screenshotting a webpage to remember it later, bookmark it in Safari instead. Bookmarks are searchable, organized, and take zero storage. Most apps also have a native "save" or "favorite" function — use it instead of reaching for a screenshot.

Use Safari Reader for Articles

If you're screenshotting articles to read later, use Safari's Reading List (Share button > Add to Reading List) or a read-later app like Pocket. The text is saved cleanly, searchable, and accessible offline — far better than a screenshot of an article.

Use Reminders or Notes Instead of Screenshotting

If you're screenshotting something as a reminder (a phone number, an address, a code), paste it directly into the Notes or Reminders app. It'll be searchable and organized, unlike a screenshot buried in your camera roll.

Setting Up a Weekly Screenshot Cleanup Habit

Even with the best intentions, screenshots accumulate. The sustainable solution is a regular cleanup habit, not a one-time purge. A weekly 5-minute pass through your screenshots — using Swype's Screenshot group — keeps the backlog from ever growing large enough to be a problem.

The routine that works best:

• Sunday evening: Open Swype, tap Screenshots, swipe through the week's accumulation. Takes 5 minutes or less.
• Empty Recently Deleted: Complete the cleanup by going to Photos > Recently Deleted > Delete All.
• Check storage: A quick look at Settings > General > iPhone Storage confirms the space was freed.

After a few weeks of this habit, your Screenshots album will rarely grow beyond 20–30 items — a far cry from the hundreds or thousands that accumulate when cleanup is neglected.

Start cleaning your screenshots now

Download Swype Photo Cleaner free — the easiest way to clean iPhone screenshots fast.

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