What's safe to delete from your camera roll
Pictures you can usually delete
These were taken for a job. When the job is done, the picture has usually done its work. Use your own judgement.
- Parking tickets and parking spot photos. Once the ticket is paid or you've left, you usually don't need them.
- Receipts. Keep one while you might still return the item or claim on a warranty. Once both have passed, it can usually go. If you need it for work expenses or taxes, check what you must keep first.
- Boarding passes and tickets. Delete them after the trip. The barcode may hold details that aren't printed, so there's another reason to clear them. Boarding passes: what the barcode gives away.
- Screenshots of codes that have expired or been used. Are old one-time codes in screenshots dangerous? explains why used ones are usually harmless. Backup codes are different, so check before you delete.
- Proof of delivery, once the order is settled and you're happy with it. Parcel photos can show your address. Photos of parcels and delivery labels.
- Old screenshots of maps, prices and messages. Many were only useful for a minute. How to delete old screenshots on iPhone.
- Duplicates. How to delete duplicate photos on iPhone.
- Burst shots. Keep the best one or two. What to do with burst photos.
Keep these, or lock them away
- Pictures of people, trips and pets. Go slowly here and do them last.
- Anything you may need as proof: a damage photo for a claim, a receipt for something still under warranty, a booking you haven't used yet, or a photo of an agreement.
- IDs and important papers. Don't delete the only copy. Keep a copy somewhere safe that isn't this phone. See photos of your ID and where to keep important documents.
- Medical papers. They're private, and you may need them again. Medical papers and test results on your phone.
If you want to keep something private, move it to the Vault or another place with its own lock, instead of leaving it among your holiday pictures.
A quick test
Ask: could I need it again, and could I get it again from an email or the shop? Would it matter if someone else saw it? If you couldn't get it again, keep it. If it's private, lock it away. If neither is true, it's probably safe to go.
How to delete safely
- Back up first if there's anything you couldn't replace.
- Work in small batches. Ten minutes at a time makes for fewer mistakes than one long evening.
- Look before you delete. A group can hold one picture that doesn't belong in it.
- Use Recently Deleted as a safety net. Deleted pictures wait there for 30 days before they're removed for good, and with iCloud Photos on, a deletion applies to your other devices too. How Recently Deleted works has the details and the steps to get something back.
- Wait before you empty it. Leave Recently Deleted alone for a few weeks if you can. For a calm plan from start to finish, see Clean up without losing memories.
How FirstHour helps
Tidy up sorts the pictures on your iPhone into groups, such as People, Receipts, Chats, Shopping, Documents and papers, Places and trips, and Pets and animals, and it suggests Old screenshots, Burst photos and Duplicates. You clear them a little at a time. Keep all marks a group as done and changes nothing in Photos.
Groups such as Receipts, Chats, Shopping, Documents and papers and Places and trips have a Delete all button, and iPhone asks before anything goes. Look through a group first. People, Food and drinks, Pets and animals, Outdoors and Other photos have none, so one tap can't clear your family pictures. Burst photos and Duplicates have their own button that clears the extras instead.
It can put a picture in the wrong group, so look before you delete. It doesn't check videos or your Hidden album, and it can't decide what you still need. Pictures that may show a card, an ID or a code are shown in Protect instead. Deleted pictures go to Recently Deleted for 30 days.
Questions
I deleted something by mistake. What now?
Check Recently Deleted first. Here's how.
This page is general advice. Last checked 4 November 2026.