A simple monthly routine to keep your iPhone photo library small
Summary. A photo library stays small when you trim it a little often, not when you rescue it once a year. This routine takes about twenty minutes a month and has six short steps: check storage, clear screenshots, trim bursts and duplicates, review big videos, look at Recently Deleted, and make one copy of what you would hate to lose.
Key takeaways
- Small, regular sessions beat one huge cleanup. Mistakes happen when you are tired.
- Do the steps in the same order each month, so that it becomes a habit.
- Only delete what you have looked at. Leave doubtful photos for next month.
- Keep a separate copy of irreplaceable photos. Syncing is not a backup.
Why monthly
A month is long enough to collect a useful batch and short enough that you remember what the photos were. Screenshots from last week are easy to judge. Screenshots from three years ago are not. A short routine also keeps the decisions light, so you do not end up deleting on autopilot.
Pick a day you will remember, such as the first Sunday of the month, and set a reminder in your calendar. Twenty minutes is the target. If you run out of time, stop. The rest will be there next month.
Step 1: Check the numbers (2 minutes)
Open Settings, General, iPhone Storage. Note how much Photos takes and how much is free. You do not need a target. You are only looking at the direction, so that you notice when the trend changes. If System Data looks odd, the Other storage guide explains what you can and cannot do.
Step 2: Screenshots (4 minutes)
Open Photos, Albums, Media Types, Screenshots. Skim the newest ones, save anything you still need to Wallet, Notes or Contacts, then select the rest and delete. The method is in how to delete screenshots on iPhone in bulk.
While you are there, open Screen Recordings if you have the album. A recording you already shared can usually go.
Step 3: Bursts and look-alike shots (5 minutes)
Open Bursts under Media Types and keep one or two frames from each new burst. Then scroll Recents for the month and look for runs of near-identical shots. Keep the sharpest, with eyes open, and remove the rest. Use the Duplicates album under Utilities for exact copies, which is available on iOS 16 and later.
Poofora can group these for you. The first scan covers your last 12 months, results are saved, and later scans look only at what is new, so a monthly pass has a small amount to check. It suggests a Best photo in each group, and you can change the choice.
Step 4: Big videos (4 minutes)
Videos are the heaviest items. Open the Videos album and look for long clips. Delete test recordings and clips you already sent. Poofora lists your largest videos first, so you can review them in order, and it can save a compressed copy of a video. The original is only removed when you confirm.
Step 5: Review, then delete (3 minutes)
The habit that matters most is separating marking from deleting. Mark first. Look at the whole list. Then delete.
In Poofora, marked photos wait on the Review screen, and nothing is deleted until you tap Delete and confirm. iOS then asks you to confirm once more. If you work in Photos instead, pause before you tap the trash button and look at what is selected.
Favorites, photos in albums and photos you chose to keep are protected in Poofora. It does not mark them for you.
Step 6: Recently Deleted (2 minutes)
Deleted photos wait in Photos, Albums, Utilities, Recently Deleted, usually for up to 30 days, and the space comes back only when they leave. Do not empty it the same day. A good pattern is to empty it at the start of the next session, which gives you a month to notice a mistake. If you need the space sooner, look first and then delete. What happens to deleted photos, and how iCloud changes it explains the rules.
Once in a while: the copy
Once or twice a year, make a copy of the photos you could never replace. That is a copy on a computer or an external drive, not iCloud syncing, which deletes everywhere when you delete. It does not have to be the whole library.
Make it easier to remember
- Poofora has a storage widget for the Home Screen, so used and free space is visible without opening Settings.
- It also has Siri shortcuts that open Space Rescue or start a quick review.
- Poofora’s This day shows photos from the same date in earlier years, which turns a chore into something closer to browsing. You keep or mark each one, and marked photos wait for your review.
None of this is required. A calendar reminder works as well.
What the routine will not do
It will not make your library tiny, and it does not claim to. Your own habits decide the size. Poofora shows sizes as estimates, and we do not promise any amount of freed space. It also does not clean apps, Messages or System Data. Check Settings, General, iPhone Storage after each session and compare with last month.
Your monthly checklist
- Check iPhone Storage.
- Clear screenshots and old recordings.
- Trim bursts and similar shots.
- Review the biggest videos.
- Look over the whole list, then delete.
- Empty last month’s Recently Deleted.
Poofora is coming soon to the App Store. Scanning and reviewing are free, and the home page shows what the app does.