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Deleting Photos ​

Ente uses a two-stage deletion system to protect against accidental data loss. When you delete a photo or video, it first moves to Trash where it stays for 30 days before being permanently deleted. This gives you time to recover accidentally deleted items.

How Deletion Works ​

When you delete a photo in Ente:

  1. Photo moves to Trash - The file is immediately removed from your albums and moved to a special Trash folder
  2. 30-day retention - The file remains in Trash for 30 days, giving you time to restore it
  3. Automatic permanent deletion - After 30 days, the file is permanently deleted and cannot be recovered
  4. Manual permanent deletion - You can also manually empty trash or delete specific items at any time

Important: Items in Trash count toward your storage quota until permanently deleted.

Deleting Photos ​

On mobile ​

  1. Long press to select the photo(s) you want to delete
  2. Tap the trash icon in the action bar
  3. Confirm the deletion

The selected photos will be moved to Trash.

On web/desktop ​

  1. Select the photo(s) you want to delete
  2. Click the trash icon or press the Delete key
  3. Confirm the deletion

The selected photos will be moved to Trash.

Bulk deletion ​

On mobile:

  • Long press the first photo to enter selection mode
  • Tap additional photos to select them
  • Tap "Select all" to select all visible photos
  • Tap the trash icon and confirm

On web/desktop:

  • Click the first photo
  • Hold Shift and click the last photo to select a range
  • Or use Ctrl/Cmd+A to select all photos
  • Press Delete key or click the trash icon and confirm

All selected photos will be moved to Trash together.

The Trash Folder ​

What is Trash? ​

Trash is a special folder where deleted photos are held temporarily before permanent deletion. Think of it as a "recycle bin" for your photos.

Trash characteristics:

  • Photos remain for 30 days before automatic permanent deletion
  • Photos are hidden from normal views (galleries, search, albums)
  • Photos still count against your storage quota
  • You can restore photos anytime within the 30-day window
  • You can manually empty trash to free up storage immediately

Accessing Trash ​

On mobile:

  1. Open the Albums tab
  2. Scroll to the bottom
  3. Tap "Trash"

On web/desktop:

  1. Open the sidebar menu
  2. Click on "Trash"

Storage considerations ​

Items in Trash are included in your storage quota calculation. If you need to free up storage space immediately, you have two options:

  1. Empty trash completely - Permanently deletes all items in trash
  2. Delete specific items - Permanently delete only selected items

Once files are permanently deleted, the storage space will be freed up and reflected in your account.

Learn more about Storage optimization.

Restoring Deleted Photos ​

If you accidentally deleted photos, you can restore them from Trash within 30 days.

On mobile ​

  1. Open the Albums tab
  2. Scroll to the bottom and tap "Trash"
  3. Select the photos you want to restore
  4. Tap the "Restore" button

On web/desktop ​

  1. Open the sidebar menu
  2. Click on "Trash"
  3. Select the items to restore
  4. Click the "Restore" button

Restored photos will be moved back to their original albums.

Recovery time limit ​

Important: You can only recover files within 30 days of deletion. After 30 days, files are permanently deleted and cannot be recovered. This is an irreversible operation.

If you're unsure about deleting certain items, we recommend:

  • Regularly checking your trash before the 30-day limit
  • Using the Archive feature instead of deletion for photos you want to hide temporarily
  • Exporting important photos as a backup before deleting

Permanent Deletion ​

To free up storage space immediately, you can permanently delete items from Trash.

Warning: Permanently deleted items cannot be recovered. This action is irreversible.

Emptying all trash ​

On mobile and web/desktop:

  1. Open Trash
  2. Click/tap "Empty trash" or the trash icon
  3. Confirm that you want to permanently delete all items

All items in Trash will be permanently deleted and storage space will be freed immediately.

Deleting specific items permanently ​

On mobile and web/desktop:

  1. Open Trash
  2. Select the items you want to permanently delete
  3. Choose "Delete permanently" from the menu
  4. Confirm the action

Only the selected items will be permanently deleted.

Special Deletion Scenarios ​

Deleting albums ​

When you delete an album in Ente, you'll be given two options:

Option 1: Delete album and keep photos

  • The album is removed from your library
  • Photos that were exclusively in that album are moved to Uncategorized
  • Photos that exist in other albums remain in those albums

Option 2: Delete album and photos

  • Both the album and all photos in it are moved to Trash
  • Photos will be permanently deleted after 30 days unless restored

Choose carefully based on whether you want to keep the photos or remove them entirely.

Deleting from collaborative albums ​

In collaborative albums, deletion permissions vary:

If you're a collaborator:

  • You can only delete photos that you uploaded
  • When you delete your photo, it goes to your trash
  • You cannot delete photos uploaded by other collaborators

If you're the album owner:

  • You can remove any photos from the album
  • You can only permanently delete photos you own
  • Other collaborators' photos will be removed from the album but remain in their accounts

When someone leaves: When a collaborator leaves or is removed from a shared album, any photos they uploaded are also removed from that album (but remain in their personal library).

Shared photos ​

You cannot permanently delete photos that someone else owns and shared with you. Only the owner of a photo can permanently delete it from Ente.

If someone has shared an album with you and you want to stop seeing it:

  • Leave the shared album, OR
  • Archive the shared album to hide it from your main view

Learn more about Sharing and collaboration.

Device deletion does not sync ​

Important: If you delete a photo from your device's native photos app (iOS Photos, Google Photos, etc.), it will not be automatically deleted from Ente.

This is by design for two reasons:

  1. Safety: Prevents accidental loss of your backed-up photos
  2. Platform restrictions: iOS and Android don't allow apps to automatically delete users' photos without manual confirmation

If you want to delete a photo from Ente, you must do it manually within the Ente app.

Watch folder deletion ​

On desktop, if you delete a file from a watched folder, the corresponding photo in Ente is moved to Uncategorized, not Trash.

This prevents accidental deletion when reorganizing files on your computer. If you want to delete the photo from Ente, you must delete it from within the Ente app.

Basic Deletion:

Trash and Recovery:

Special Cases:

Troubleshooting: