How Do I Delete Photos from Other People's iPhone? [Solved]

My iPhone photo library is filled with other people's images. How do I delete photos from other people's iPhones? This article explains the reasons and provides stepwise tutorials.

jean
Jean updated on Jul 29, 2024 | Home > iOS & Mac Topics

It can be frustrating when your iPhone is filled with photos from other people's iPhones, making it challenging to find your pictures and causing your photo library to appear disorganized. In the article, you will learn how to delete photos from other people's iPhones

Why Your iPhone Get Photos from Other People's iPhones

Before attempting to delete the photos sent by other people's iPhones, you should understand why photos on other iPhones appear on your iPhone. There are 4 common reasons behind the presence of photos captured by someone else on your iPhone.

  • iCloud Shared Photo Library: With iCloud Photos enabled, you can set up or join a Shared Library where all participants can share videos and photos from their libraries. When someone shares photos with you in the Shared Library, they will appear in your iPhone's Photos app.
  • Shared Albums: The Photos app allows you to create or join a shared album where all subscribers can see the same photos and videos. If you are part of a shared album in the Photos app, any photos added by other members of the album will show up in your Photos library.
  • AirDrop: AirDrop is a feature that allows you to wirelessly share photos and files with nearby iOS devices easily. If AirDrop is enabled on your iPhone and someone tries to AirDrop photos to you, you may tap Accept, and the photos will be saved to your iPhone.
  • Third-party apps: Some third-party apps, such as messaging apps and cloud storage apps, may automatically download photos and videos while you are using the services. 

How to Delete Photos From Other People's iPhones

How do I delete photos from other people's iPhones? Don't worry. You can easily delete all iPhone photos you don't want to keep, which helps declutter your photo library.

Delete unwanted photos from the shared album

If you are the owner of the shared album, you can delete the entire album or delete photos that other subscribers add. If you are a subscriber, you can only delete the photos you share. 

🪜To delete the whole shared album as the creator of the shared album:

Step 1. Open the "Photos" app on your iPhone.

Step 2. Go to the shared album and tap the "people" button.

Step 3. Select "Delete Shared Album".

delete shared album

🪜To delete photos from the shared album:

Step 1. Open the shared album in your Photos app on your iPhone.

Step 2. Tap the picture captured by another person if you want to delete it.

Step 3. Tap the "Trash" button and then tap "Remove from Album".

Delete photos taken by other people's iPhones in the Shared Library

Unlike the shared album, iCloud Shared Photo Library allows every participant to be able to remove all iCloud photos from other devices. You can delete photos from other people's iPhones without any hassle, as you do to photos in your personal iPhone photo library. 

🪜To delete a single photo from the shared library:

Step 1. Open the "Photos" app on your iPhone and tap the "three dots" at the top right of the screen.

Step 2. Tap "Shared Library" to view its content.

view shared library on iphone

Step 3. Tap the photo that does not belong to you. 

Step 4. Tap the "Trash" button and then confirm by pressing "Delete Photo".

delete a single photo on iphone

🪜To delete multiple photos at once from the shared library:

Step 1. Open the iCloud Shared Photo Library content screen.

Step 2. Tap "Select" at the top right corner.

Step 3. Tap the photos you want to delete or slide your finger across multiple photos.

Step 4. Tap the "Trash" button and then "Delete Photos".

delete multiple photos on iphone

Notice: 
If you want to see any photos shared by other people in a shared library, you can choose to leave or delete the shared library if you are the creator. Just open "Settings" on your iPhone, tap "Photos" > "Shared Library", and choose "Delete Shared Library" or "Leave Shared Library".

delete or leave shared library

Completely remove somebody else's photos from your iPhone

If photos from other people's iPhones show up in your iPhone's photo library through AirDrop or a third-party app, you can permanently delete them by using the following steps.

Step 1. Open the "Photos" app on your iPhone. Go to "Library" > "All Photos".

Step 2. Select one photo or multiple photos you want to remove from your iPhone.

Step 3. Tap the "Trash" button and choose "Delete Photo(s)".

Step 4. Go to the "Albums" and scroll down to the "Recently Deleted" option.

recently deleted album on iphone

Step 5. Tap "Select" and tap on the photos you deleted just now.

Step 6. Tap "Delete" > "Delete From All Devices".

completely delete photos from iphone

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Bottom Line

If you don't want to regularly review your Photos and delete photos received from other people's iPhones in the future, you should adjust your settings for iCloud, AirDrop, shared library, shared albums, and messaging apps. It helps declutter your photo library and navigate through your photos effectively. 

FAQs

1. Does deleting a photo on an iPhone remove it from all devices?

Deleting a photo from your iPhone's photo library won't immediately delete it from all devices. The deleted photo will be temporarily held in the Recently Deleted album for up to 30 days. If you manually delete it from the Recently Deleted album or after 30 days, it will be removed from all devices. 

2. Does deleting photos from an iPhone delete from iCloud?

It depends. If your iPhone has enabled iCloud Photos, delete photos from your iPhone's camera roll, and the library will delete them from iCloud. However, if you have disabled iCloud Photos, deleting photos on your iPhone won't affect the photos that have already been backed up to iCloud.