Top 8 Ways to Fix Can't Delete Photos from Android Gallery

The delete function of any application or tool has only one job: delete the object concerned. Problems arise when it does not. The same thing happens with deleting photos on Android phones. Whenever some users delete a photo from the gallery, it reappears after a few minutes. Let’s see how to delete photos from gallery on Android.

Generally, when you delete a photo, it should immediately disappear from your view. But, for some Android users, hitting the Delete button does nothing. Even if the Delete button deletes the image, it reappears after a while. Basically, they cannot permanently delete photos from their gallery.

Let’s see the different ways to fix the photos that will not be deleted from the gallery on Android.

1. Restart your phone

The first thing to do is to restart your phone. Sometimes this is a persistent problem due to the accumulated temporary files as well as the application cache, and restarting the phone can resolve it.

2. Use the correct method to remove

In gallery apps, you will find a unique way to delete photos, that is, by pressing the Delete button. And that should be it. However, if you use Google Photos as a gallery app, things are different.

If you use it as an offline gallery app without storing the photos in its cloud service, you will see a single delete button. But if backup is turned on for Google Photos or another cloud storage service, you will have two ways to delete photos.

First, you will find the Delete button in the lower right corner when you open a photo. Using it will delete the photo from your phone and cloud. You should use it to permanently delete your photo.

Second, if you swipe up or tap the three-dot icon on the photo, you get the option Delete from device.

Using it will only delete the photo from your phone. But since Google Photos constantly syncs with the cloud, only the copy of the device is deleted. You will continue to see the cloud copy on your phone. If you have another gallery app on your phone, you will not be able to see this photo. Find out in detail what happens when you delete photos from Google Photos.

Point: If you swipe again on the same photo, you will now see the Save to device option.

3. Check other cloud services

Outside of Google Photos, you need to check if other cloud services are enabled on your phone. It could also be responsible for the problem. For example, you might have activated the cloud service from Samsung or Huawei.

To disable this, go to your phone’s settings, then to accounts. Tap your cloud account. You will see various items being synchronized. If the photos or gallery are activated, deactivate them. Then delete your photo. This will completely remove all kinds of synchronization with this cloud service from your phone.

4. Empty the trash

Most gallery apps offer the trash folder where the photos stay for 30 to 60 days, after which they are deleted permanently. There may be a problem with the trash or bin folder.

You should try to erase it manually to check whether the photos you deleted are deleted or not. To do this, select all the photos in the trash and press the delete icon. Once you have deleted the trash folder, restart your phone.

5. Clear the cache

Sometimes the problem occurs due to the cache. You must clear the cache of the gallery application that is experiencing the problem. For example, if the problem occurs in Google Photos, clear its cache. If it’s another gallery app, clear the cache. You also need to clear the cache for media storage.

Note: Clearing the cache will not delete the photos from your phone.

To clear the cache, do the following:

Step 1: Open Settings on your phone and go to Applications & Notifications or Applications.

2nd step: You will see the list of installed applications. Tap the three-dot icon at the top and select Show system apps.

Step 3: Look for media storage. Tap it.

Step 4: Tap Storage, then tap Clear cache.

Likewise, clear the cache for Google Photos and other gallery apps installed on your phone.

6. Remove the SD card

If the photos you are trying to delete are saved on the SD card, the card may be the cause. To get started, remove the memory card from your phone, and then reinsert it. Try to delete the photos.

If that doesn’t solve the problem, move 1 or 2 problem photos from the SD card to your phone memory. Then delete them. If they are deleted without problems, your card may have problems. To remedy this, you must first transfer all the data to your PC, then format it.

7. Delete the thumbnail folder

You can also try to delete the folder containing the thumbnail of your images. This will not delete your actual images if you have not deleted them earlier.

To do this, open any file explorer application on your phone. In the application settings, you need to enable Show hidden files. It is mainly present under the three-dot icon. Once activated, go to the DCIM folder. You will have the .thumbnails folder. Select all the files it contains and delete them. Restart your phone.

Point: I am using FX Explorer for the screenshots above. Find out how it fares compared to Solid Explorer.

8. Uninstall the application

Whether you’re using Google Photos or another gallery app, you should try uninstalling them. You will not be able to completely remove the preinstalled gallery apps. For these applications, you can uninstall recent updates.

To do this, open Settings> Applications. Tap your gallery app. If the Uninstall button is present, press it, otherwise, press the three dots icon at the top and select Uninstall updates. Once uninstalled, restart the phone. Then reinstall it from the Play Store.

Point: Learn how to find out if an update is available for apps on Android and iPhone.

Other way to delete photos

We hope the above methods have helped you to permanently delete the photos. If the problem persists and you desperately want to delete the images, you should delete them using the File Explorer application on your phone.