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Permanently deleting photos on Mac

I have deleted photos but was told that they are not permanently deleted for awhile (45 days?). How can I delete them faster to free up space on my Mac?


MacBook Air 13″, macOS 10.12

Posted on Sep 5, 2020 3:34 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 5, 2020 3:53 PM

See #3 below:


Deleting Photos from a Photos Library


1 - regardless of where you are in the library, i.e. Photos, Memories, Favorites, People, Recents, Imports, albums or smart albums, select the photo(s) you want to delete and use the key combination of Command+Delete to move the photos to the Recently Deleted smart album.    Without the Command key held down you'll be presented with a confirmation Yes/No window regarding the deletion. 


2 - click on the Recently Deleted smart albums in the sidebar.


NOTE 1: If you're using Photos 1.2 or earlier use the File  Show Recently Deleted menu option.


3 - in the Recently Deleted album you can opt to let the photo automatically delete after the 30 day waiting period is up, delete them immediately or restore them to the library.


NOTE 2: deleting a photo from an album, slideshow, book, etc., with the Delete key only deletes the photo from that item. There is no key combination that will delete a photo from a project and move it directly to the Recently Deleted smart album.


NOTE 3: deleting a photo from a Moment or Collection (the Photos window) or the All Photos window deletes ALL occurences of that photo in the library.

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 5, 2020 3:53 PM in response to kathi901

See #3 below:


Deleting Photos from a Photos Library


1 - regardless of where you are in the library, i.e. Photos, Memories, Favorites, People, Recents, Imports, albums or smart albums, select the photo(s) you want to delete and use the key combination of Command+Delete to move the photos to the Recently Deleted smart album.    Without the Command key held down you'll be presented with a confirmation Yes/No window regarding the deletion. 


2 - click on the Recently Deleted smart albums in the sidebar.


NOTE 1: If you're using Photos 1.2 or earlier use the File  Show Recently Deleted menu option.


3 - in the Recently Deleted album you can opt to let the photo automatically delete after the 30 day waiting period is up, delete them immediately or restore them to the library.


NOTE 2: deleting a photo from an album, slideshow, book, etc., with the Delete key only deletes the photo from that item. There is no key combination that will delete a photo from a project and move it directly to the Recently Deleted smart album.


NOTE 3: deleting a photo from a Moment or Collection (the Photos window) or the All Photos window deletes ALL occurences of that photo in the library.

Permanently deleting photos on Mac

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