On iPhones, the “Photos” app is normally on the first page of the home screen. For non-iPhone users, your photo manager app may appear among your other app icons or in a scrolling bar at the bottom of the screen. Inside your photo app, you’ll find all of the photos you’ve taken or saved, along with the various subfolders they’ve been grouped into—selfies, Panoramas, Instagram photos, etc.
Selecting a photo will also allow you to find out more about it, such as the file size and type and the date it was taken or saved.
Most devices will ask you to confirm whether or not you want to delete the photo. Simply choose “delete” to move forward with the process, or “cancel” if you’ve changed your mind. Choosing to delete a photo doesn’t actually remove it from your phone. Instead, it sends it to a “recently deleted” folder, where it can be either be recovered or permanently erased.
This function is useful if you want to hand pick which photos stay or go, or you’re trying to destroy all evidence of a bad selfie session. Be careful not to accidentally select a photo you want to keep.
It’s impossible to recover a photo after it’s been erased from the deleted files folder, so be certain you can live without it. Photos will usually stay in the “recently deleted” folder for 30 days before they’re automatically deleted. [6] X Research source
If you don’t remember where you put a photo or aren’t sure which folder your PC saves to automatically, you can use your PC’s file search option to locate it. Simply type in the name or keyword from the photo and the file and its location should appear. For the sake of convenience, save all your photos in one location (i. e. a folder labelled “Photos” in your “Documents” folder). Creating different folders to categorize photos can help keep them organized.
Deleting a file relocates it to the trash folder on your desktop. You can pinpoint specific files you want to delete by holding the “Ctrl” key and then clicking the files individually. This is a much faster and more efficient way to get rid of multiple photos than deleting them one at a time. [8] X Research source
On computers that run Microsoft Windows, the trash folder is known as the “Recycle Bin. ”[9] X Research source Drag multiple photos to the trash simultaneously by clicking and dragging your pointer around a group of files to select them all. [10] X Research source
Make sure you’re okay with losing the photos you’ve deleted before emptying your trash can. Once they’re gone, the only way to recover the deleted files is to run a system restore, which reverts your computer to the way it was at an earlier date. Empty your trash can regularly. This can help to free up storage space on your PC.
On iPhones and iPads, the default cloud-storage service is called iCloud; devices that run Android and Other operating systems typically come equipped with Dropbox or Google Drive. [12] X Research source Read up on how to sync your files to the Cloud.
Most email programs offer storage of up to a few gigabytes, more than enough for the average person that doesn’t often exchange large files. Group lots of photos into a folder in order to send them as a single large attachment rather than numerous smaller ones. [14] X Research source
Check to make sure the flash drive you’re using has enough memory to hold the pictures you want to hang on to. Keep up with your flash drives and other external storage devices. If they happen to get lost, so do your pictures.
