Short answer
On iPhone, open Photos → Collections → Media Types → Screenshots, tap Select, then Select All, delete, and empty Recently Deleted. On Android, open the Screenshots album in Google Photos or your Gallery app, select and delete, then empty the trash.
iPhone: delete all screenshots at once
The Photos app keeps every screenshot in its own collection, so you can clear them in one go.
- Open Photos, tap Collections, scroll down and tap Media Types.
- Tap Screenshots.
- Tap Select, then Select All. Tap any screenshot you want to keep to deselect it.
- Tap the trash button and confirm.
- To free the space now, empty Recently Deleted. Otherwise the screenshots stay there for 30 days.
On older iOS versions without the Collections tab, find Media Types by scrolling down the main Photos screen or under Albums. With iCloud Photos on, deleted screenshots also disappear from iCloud and your other devices.
iPhone: clear old screenshots with a shortcut
If you want to keep recent screenshots and regularly clear the old ones, the Shortcuts app can do the selecting for you:
- Open Shortcuts and tap + to create a new shortcut.
- Add the Find Photos action and add the filter Is a Screenshot. Add a second filter on the date taken, so it only matches screenshots older than, say, 30 days.
- Add the Delete Photos action below it.
- Run the shortcut. iOS asks you to confirm before anything is deleted, and the screenshots go to Recently Deleted.
Filter names can differ slightly between iOS versions, so check what the shortcut found before you confirm the first time.
Android: the Screenshots folder
Android saves screenshots in a Screenshots folder: Pictures/Screenshots on most phones, DCIM/Screenshots on some. Gallery apps show it as an album.
- Open Google Photos, tap Collections and open the Screenshots album. In Samsung Gallery, open Albums → Screenshots.
- Touch and hold the first screenshot, then tap or drag across the others to select them.
- Tap the trash button or Delete and confirm.
- Empty the trash in the same app to free the space. See how to empty the trash on Android.
Files by Google also suggests old screenshots on its Clean screen. Files deleted there are gone for good.
Keep the useful ones: swipe through screenshots in Shoo
Deleting every screenshot is fast, but some are worth keeping: tickets, receipts, a recipe, an address. In Shoo, set Source to the Screenshots album on iPhone (it needs full photo access) or the Screenshots folder on Android, and swipe through them one by one: keep the useful ones, queue the rest for deletion.
To see only old screenshots, add the period Older than 30 days. Shoo’s own help suggests exactly this combination. Sources and filters in Shoo.
Everything you swipe away waits in the queue until you review it and tap Delete all. On iPhone the screenshots go to Recently Deleted. On Android, deletion is permanent.
iPhone version coming soon.
Why some screenshots don’t show up in date filters
Some screenshots, and many images saved from apps, have no capture date. On Android, Shoo’s date filters (Older than 30 days, a specific month, New since last session) go by the capture date, so those items don’t appear with them. To catch every screenshot, open the Screenshots album or folder with the period set to All time.
Questions
Does deleting a screenshot on iPhone delete it from iCloud?
Yes, if iCloud Photos is on. Deleting it on your iPhone removes it from iCloud and your other devices too.
Can I get deleted screenshots back?
On iPhone, yes, from Recently Deleted within 30 days. On Android, screenshots deleted in Google Photos or Gallery stay in that app’s trash for 30 days. Screenshots deleted in Shoo on Android can’t be recovered.
Where are screenshots stored on Android?
In a Screenshots folder, usually Pictures/Screenshots, or DCIM/Screenshots on some phones. Google Photos and gallery apps show it as the Screenshots album.