Delete Photos From Photo Stream

This article explains how to delete photos from the Photo Stream on Apple iPhones and iPads. The instructions apply to iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices with iOS 5.1 or later. It includes information on activating the Photo Stream on your device if you don't see My Photo Stream.

How to Delete a Single Photo From My Photo Stream

The Apple My Photo Stream automatically uploads photos to all your connected devices and stores them there for 30 days. But what happens if you take a picture that you don't want to spread to your iPhone or iPad? You can delete an image from the Photo Stream, and unlike iCloud Photo Library, you can remove it from the stream without deleting it from your device.

1. Open the Photos app. To quickly open the Photos app, use Spotlight Search.

2. Tap the Albums tab.

3. Tap My Photo Stream.

4. To delete a photo, tap it, which displays the image full screen, and then tap the trash can icon.

How to Delete Multiple Photos at the Same Time

To delete several images at one time:

1. Tap Select.

   If a single photo is selected, back out of it by tapping the My Photo Stream link in the upper-left corner of the screen.

2. Tap photos to place a blue check mark on them.

3. When the photos you want to delete are checked, tap the trash can icon.

4. Confirm that you want to delete all of the photos, and the photos disappear from the folder.

To remove the image completely from the device, delete it from the Camera Roll album. This removes it from the Camera Roll and from every folder the photo is stored in, including My Photo Stream.

Photos you delete from Camera Roll move to the Recently Deleted album for 30 days. So, if it is the type of image you would like to remove permanently, delete it from the Recently Deleted album. The process for deleting photos from the Camera Roll and Recently Deleted is the same as removing them from My Photo Stream.

How to Turn On My Photo Stream

If you don't see My Photo Stream in your Photo app, you need to turn it on. It isn't active by default in iOS, so go into Settings to get it working.

1. Open Settings.

2. Tap Photos.

3. Turn on the My Photo Stream toggle switch.

4. With this setting on, any device signed in to the same Apple ID can see the photos you take on other devices. When you take a picture on your iPhone, you'll see it on your iPad or Mac without exporting it.

What's the Difference Between My Photo Stream and iCloud Photo Library?

My Photo Stream transfers every photo you take (including screenshots) to every device on your Apple ID account that has My Photo Stream turned on. This is the actual photo, not a thumbnail. Once it goes to your other devices, you don't need an internet connection to view it.

iCloud Photo Library uploads photos to a centralized server (iCloud) and allows your devices to download them from the cloud. The images download as thumbnail versions until you tap one to view, which saves some space on the device. You can also view iCloud Photo Library photos from a PC, Mac, or any web-enabled device that can connect to icloud.com. To turn on iCloud Photo Library in the iPad settings, go to iCloud and choose Photos.

Is There Any Other Way to Easily Share Photos?

If you would rather choose specific photos to share rather than uploading every picture you take on your device, iCloud Photo Sharing is the way to go. Use this feature to create a shared album and send invitations to friends and family. You can even choose to allow them to participate by sharing their photos. To send a photo to your shared album, navigate to the photograph in the Photos app, tap the Share button, then choose iCloud Photo Sharing from the list of destinations.