Delete, Delete, Delete! Top 4 Reasons to Delete Photos from your Phone

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Is your phone jam-packed with photos that are no longer important to you, but you’re worried about “What if I need them?” There are many reasons to delete photos from your phone and many excuses for why you don’t.  I’ll share my top 4 reasons why you should make this habit a priority.

Deleting photos on your phone can take time. Making tough decisions about what photos to delete can require mental energy. However, making space for the images that you cherish is important and can be very freeing.

To answer a question some people forget to ask, “If I delete a photo on my phone, will it be gone in the iCloud?” Yes, it will.  ICloud is a syncing app; thus, what is on the phone will also be in the iCloud, and vice-versa what is deleted will also be eventually deleted in the iCloud. You may continue to see the photo for 30 days making the testing of this theory deceptive. So if your 3-year-old gets ahold of your phone and deletes some photos, you will have time to retrieve them; however, if you don’t look for them within the 30-day window, they will be gone.

My 3-year-old phone

Yep, my phone is three years old. THREE YEARS! I’m pretty proud of that. Getting a new phone will happen soon, and we probably would have done it earlier if our country wasn’t in the middle of a complete shutdown. My current phone only holds 32 GB of data. The photos and videos on my phone take up a large portion of the storage. In fact, it takes up almost 1/2 the space on my phone at 14.32 GB.

I’ve had to be proactive in deleting photos for about the last year because I don’t have enough room to store the apps I want to keep and the pictures and videos that I love. I’ve sat at multiple kid events when I realize my phone storage is full, and I don’t have room to video a portion of the concert or take a photo of a sporting event. This is very frustrating. I can do better, and I have been doing better with keeping less on my phone, so I have plenty of room to store the photos and videos that I love and cherish. I want to share my tips on why this might help you, too.

There are many reasons why you should take the time to delete photos from your phones and other devices. I’ve created the top 4 reasons why this could be important to you, too.

Deleting photos on your phone can create more room in your camera roll. Having 5000 photos can take up to 10 GB of space. And having 10 minutes of videos can take up to 3.5 GB of space on your phone. That means you’ll have less room for other apps that might help you stay connected and organized. 

Reason #1 Why you should delete photos from your phone

You’ll be able to save time by having fewer photos on your phone. Having fewer photos on your phone will help you find the images you love. Sometimes you’re scrambling to find a photo to upload to a photo site or to share with a friend. If you have taken the time to delete pictures that are no longer important to you, you’ll be able to find the important ones right away. 

Believe me, storing not-so-perfect images in multiple places is a waste of time. I won’t need to transfer them in the first place, and it will mean I don’t have to delete them in 2 places. Again, the 1st reason to delete photos from your phone is you can save time.

Reason # 2 Why you should delete photos from your phone

If you have fewer photos on your phone, you’ll save money on printing costs or creating photo books. By deleting pictures off your phone, you can effortlessly create photo books with the photos that you enjoy the most. 

You can hold off on updating your phone because you’ll have more storage on your device for a more extended period of time. The main reason I’ve been able to keep my cellphone for another year is because I transferred the photos I want to continue to use my photo hub, which is my PC. I also move my videos to my PC, which takes up a large portion of space on my phone. Keeping the most current photos, and I can reference the ones I love with either my photo sync app or on my pc. Again save money by not buying a phone.  Here is where you can learn more about my digital hub. 7 Easy Steps to Organize Your Digital Photos

Keeping my phone as long as possible is my ultimate goal.   I tend to be thrifty in certain areas of my life. Phones have increased significantly over the years, and maintaining the one you have is an economical way to live.  The second reason I think you should delete photos on your phone is to save money.

Reason #3 Why you should delete photos from your phone

And having fewer photos on my phone means I have more room left in the storage on my small older, outdated phone. Maintaining data management on my phone has helped. Having too many photos of the same event can hinder you from appreciating them.  So reason number 3 to delete photos from your phone is to create more space for the apps you love.

Reason #4 Why you should delete photos from your phone

Having fewer photos on your phone will help you organize the images that you want to keep. You can upload your favorite pictures to photo printing sites, and not worry you’ll be sending blurry photos or photos you don’t like.  The ease of creating photo projects is reason number 4 to delete photos from your phone.

Tips on What Photos to Trash

Here are some tips on what to trash: 1.) Can delete blurry photos. 2) Get rid of multiples. You can prevent this from happening by turning off the burst feature on the iPhone. 3.)You can probably delete screenshots or move them to another device to reference them there. 4.) Delete photos that you took for reference, such as things to buy.  

Places to Look for Photos

Photos can be hidden in other places other than the camera roll. You should look in email attachments across the multiple email accounts you have on your phone. They can also be stored in text messages that you’ve received from family and friends. You might find your favorites images that have been shared with you, or you might find ones taking up space on your phone. 

Keep in mind that trashed photos are still stored on iPhone and Android phones for up to 30 days in the trash bin. So this also means it is taking up storage space. Knowing this also means you can recover a photo that has been accidentally deleted. I’ve had this happen when my daughter got ahold of my phone.  (Recovering the deleted photos was easy with this feature.)  So bottom line, if you need space immediately on your phone, the trash bin is one place to take a look quickly. You can go thru and permanently delete the photos and videos that are taking up a lot of space on phones and devices.

Deleting photos from your phone helps you enjoy the images that are the most important. It will save you time, save space on your devices, and saves you money. So there you go, the top 4 reasons to delete photos from your phone. So go delete some pictures and remember to look in the hidden places. Your future self will be grateful you took the time to get rid of them now instead of later!