How to Delete Movies from iPad

Free up space and organize your iPad by erasing movies

A boy watching a show on an iPad.

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by Jordan Baranowski
Jordan Baranowski is technology writer with experience writing for SVG, The Nerd Stash, and Feast Magazine. Jordan is also a professional educator.
Updated January 04, 2019

Whether you want to free up some space on your iPad, or you just want to organize it, there are a few different ways to delete movies from your iPad.

If you purchased movies from a legitimate source, like the iTunes Store, you'll be able to download them again as long as you're using the same Apple ID used to download them the first time.

How to Delete Movies From iPad Via the TV App

If you downloaded movies from, say, the iTunes Store, one of the easiest ways to manage them is directly through the TV app. From here, you can delete full movies or individual TV episodes.

  1. Open the TV app, then tap Library at the bottom of the screen.

  2. Tap Downloaded to pull up a list of downloaded movies and episodes.

    If you see the Download icon next to the movie you want to delete, that means it's saved in the cloud and not on your device. The icon looks like a cloud with an arrow pointing down.

    downloaded option ipad tv app
    Apple 

  3. Once you've found what you want to delete, tap Downloaded again to pull up a new list of options. If you're deleting a single episode from a TV series, tap and hold on the title of the episode you want to delete.

  4. Tap Remove Download to erase the file from your device.

How to Delete Movies From iPad Via the Videos App

If you prefer to use the Videos app instead, the process to delete movies from your device is pretty similar.

  1. Open the Videos app and tap the Movies tab.

  2. If you wish to delete entire movies or TV seasons, tap Edit in the top-right corner. This will allow you to select the movies you wish to delete.

  3. If you wish to delete individual episodes of a larger series, swipe left on the episode title.

How to Delete Movies From iPad Via the Settings

One last option to clear out space by deleting movies on your iPad is through your Settings.

delete movies in ipad settings
 Apple

  1. Open your Settings, then tap General > Storage & iCloud Usage.

    Depending on which version of iOS or iPad you have, the final option you tap may be worded a bit differently. There should be an option with the word "Storage" in it. That's what you're looking for.

  2. Tap either TV or Videos, then tap Review iTunes Videos.

    If you don't see this option, it means you have no movies downloaded to your iPad.

  3. Find the movie you want to delete and swipe left on it.

  4. Tap Delete. Once you're finished deleting items, you'll be able to see how much space you now have free on your device.

You may occasionally notice that files removed from your iPad show back up. This is most likely due to your sync settings. If you wish to stop this from happening, you'll need to stop iTunes from auto-syncing. Be aware this may cause you to take extra steps to download movies to your device in the future.