Delete and restore photos
Move photos to the trash, undo it, bring them back, and what happens after 30 days.
Deleting a photo moves it to the trash first. It waits there for 30 days, so you can change your mind. After that it is deleted for good.
Which library’s trash
The trash belongs to the current library. If you have family libraries, the trash page and everything you do there apply to the library chosen in the switcher. See Switch libraries.
Who can use the trash
People with the Editor role or higher in the library can move photos to the trash, see the trash and restore photos. Only the library owner can use Delete forever or Empty trash. Contributors and viewers don’t see the trash.
Move photos to the trash
- In the timeline or a folder: select the photos, then open More in the bar at the bottom and choose Move to trash. If it is the only one of those actions you can use, it sits in the bar itself. On a phone, some buttons in the bar show only their icon. Press and hold one to see its name.
- In the photo viewer: click Move to trash, or press Delete (or Backspace) while no keyword is selected. The viewer then shows the next photo, or closes if it was the last one.
The photos leave your timeline at once. If a photo is part of a stack of copies, the whole stack goes together. Photos that a guest added and that are still waiting for your review can’t be moved to the trash. Reject them in the review inbox instead.
A RAW+JPEG photo is two files shown as one tile. Move to trash sends the JPEG only. The RAW file stays in your timeline and shows on its own, without the RAW+JPEG badge. If you restore the JPEG later, the two are not joined again. To trash the RAW file too, open it and move it to the trash as well.
Undo
A notice appears at the bottom, for example “Moved 3 items to trash”. Choose Undo within 10 seconds and the photos return to where they were. After that, use the trash page to bring them back.
The trash page
Open Trash in the sidebar. Each photo shows how long it has left, for example “12 days left”. The photos moved most recently come first, and more load as you scroll.
The top of the page tells you how much space emptying the trash frees.
Restore
Select photos and choose Restore. They return to your timeline on the day they were taken, and to any album they were in.
Delete forever
Select photos and choose Delete forever, then confirm. This can’t be undone. The photos leave the trash at once, and their files are removed within a few minutes. For a short time the page may show how many items are being deleted.
Empty trash
Choose Empty trash to delete everything in the trash. The confirmation tells you how many items there are and how much space this frees. Like Delete forever, it can’t be undone.
After 30 days
We check the trash every hour. Photos that have been there for 30 days are deleted for good, and their space is freed. You don’t need to do anything.
Upload a trashed photo again
If you upload a photo that is still in the trash, we don’t make a second copy. We restore the one in the trash, and the uploader says Restored from trash. This works for people who can use the trash. If the photo is already being deleted, the upload says it can’t be restored. Try again in a few minutes to upload it as a new photo.
Storage
Photos in the trash still count toward your storage until they are deleted for good, either after 30 days or when you use Delete forever or Empty trash. See How storage is counted.
Photos in the trash are left out of downloads and exports. A share link to a trashed photo stops working, and works again if you restore the photo.