If your OneDrive is full of photos you no longer need, you might be looking for a quick way to clear them out. This guide explains how to delete all photos from OneDrive at once—easily and safely. Whether you're managing storage, organizing your files, or switching services, you'll find step-by-step methods that suit your needs.
Why does my OneDrive have so many random photos? I didn’t upload most of them manually, but now my storage is almost full. Are they syncing automatically from my phone or PC? How do I stop this and clean everything up without deleting my actual photos from my devices?
- Question from Reddit
You're not alone—this happens to a lot of people. OneDrive often syncs photos automatically from your phone, PC, or even apps like WhatsApp or Screenshots if you enabled camera upload or folder backup during setup. That’s likely why you're seeing so many unexpected images.
Here’s what you can do:
✅ 1. Check if Camera Upload is On (Mobile)
✅ 2. Review Synced Folders on PC
✅ 3. Sort & Delete Unwanted Photos
Now that you understand how all those photos ended up in your OneDrive, let’s go over how to quickly delete them and take back control of your cloud storage.
Once you’ve decided to clear out your OneDrive photo library, there are two simple ways to do it—on the web or through the desktop app. Let’s break down both methods step by step.
If you want a straightforward way to delete pictures from OneDrive without installing extra software, using the web interface is a great choice. Since you can access your entire photo library from any device with internet, this method works well for quick cleanups or when using shared computers. The bulk selection feature (Ctrl/Command + A) allows you to select multiple photos at once, thereby speeding up the deletion process.
While this method is convenient, keep in mind that factors like a slow internet connection or a large photo collection can slow down the deletion process and occasionally cause your browser to lag or time out. Additionally, photos stored in multiple folders require you to delete them one folder at a time, as OneDrive doesn’t offer a universal “delete all photos” option online. Finally, remember that deleting photos moves them to the Recycle Bin first—you must empty it to free up your storage completely.
📋 When you need to delete large groups of photos in OneDrive, following this guidance can make the task hassle-free:
Step 1. Go to onedrive.com and log in with your Microsoft account.
Step 2. Click on the Photos tab or navigate to the folder containing your pictures.
Step 3. Press Ctrl + A (Windows) or Command + A (Mac) to select all photos on the page.
Step 4. Click the Delete icon (trash bin) at the top to move selected photos to the Recycle Bin.
Step 5. To free up storage permanently, go to the Recycle Bin on the left panel and click Empty Recycle Bin.
You can manage your OneDrive photo storage more efficiently by working directly through the desktop app. This method works well for users who want their changes to reflect instantly across devices. When you delete photos from the OneDrive folder on your computer, OneDrive syncs the action to the cloud automatically. This setup helps you maintain consistent storage without needing to log in through a browser.
Still, you need to proceed carefully. If you want to delete photos on OneDrive but keep them on your PC, the sync may remove the files from both places unless you adjust your settings first. This method best suits users who prefer efficient file control and understand how OneDrive’s sync behavior affects local and cloud data.
📋 The following tutorial will teach you how to delete photos from OneDrive:
Step 1. Open File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) on your computer.
Step 2. Navigate to the OneDrive folder and locate the Pictures folder or the folder where your photos are stored.
Step 3. Select the photos you want to delete. You can press Ctrl + A (Windows) or Command + A (Mac) to select all pictures in the folder.
Step 4. Right-click the selected photos and choose Delete, or simply press the Delete key on your keyboard.
Step 5. Empty the Recycle Bin (Windows) or Trash (Mac) to permanently remove the photos and free up storage space in OneDrive.
After learning how to delete pictures from OneDrive using the desktop app, you might wonder how to remove photos from the cloud without affecting the copies on your computer. The next section will guide you through methods to delete photos from OneDrive while keeping them safely stored on your PC.
To delete photos from OneDrive without affecting the copies on your PC, you can choose between two main options. The first option is to move your photos outside the OneDrive folder to another location on your computer. Alternatively, you can stop syncing specific folders by adjusting the OneDrive settings.
When your photos stay inside the OneDrive folder, any changes—such as deletions—sync automatically across all devices and the cloud. Moving your photos outside the OneDrive folder breaks this sync connection.
This allows you to delete photos from OneDrive online while keeping the local copies safe on your computer. This method works well if you want to free up cloud storage but still access your pictures offline. Just be sure to organize your files carefully after moving them to avoid confusion or accidental deletion.
📋 Step-by-step tutorial to delete photos on OneDrive without deleting from PC:
Step 1. Open File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) and go to your OneDrive folder.
Step 2. Select the photos or folders you want to keep locally but remove from OneDrive.
Step 3. Move the selected photos to a folder outside the OneDrive directory on your computer.
Step 4. Log in to onedrive.com and locate the photos or folders you moved.
Step 5. Delete those photos or folders from OneDrive online and then empty the Recycle Bin to free up cloud space.
Unsyncing a folder causes OneDrive to stop syncing changes between your computer and the cloud for that folder. This means you can delete photos from OneDrive online without affecting the local copies saved on your device. This method works well if you want to free up cloud space but still keep certain folders only on your computer. Just be sure to manage your sync settings carefully and keep track of which folders are unsynced to avoid any confusion.
📋 Follow these simple steps to delete all photos from OneDrive without removing them from your PC:
Step 1. Click the OneDrive icon in your system tray (Windows) or menu bar (Mac).
Step 2. Select Settings from the menu.
Step 3. Go to the Account tab and click Choose folders.
Step 4. Uncheck the folders containing your photos that you want to keep locally but remove from OneDrive.
Step 5. Confirm your changes and then delete the photos from OneDrive online or the OneDrive folder—it won’t affect the unsynced local copies.
To delete photos from OneDrive without removing them from your phone, you need to manage the sync settings carefully. When you delete photos directly in the OneDrive app, it usually removes them from both the cloud and your device because of syncing. To avoid this, first disable the photo sync feature in the OneDrive app settings.
Then, delete the photos from OneDrive via the website or desktop app instead of your phone. This way, the photos stay safely on your phone while you free up space in your OneDrive cloud storage. Always double-check your sync preferences to prevent accidental deletion across devices.
📋 If you want to clear out large groups of photos from OneDrive while keeping them on your phone, here’s a simple guide to help you do that safely:
Step 1. Open the OneDrive app on your phone.
Step 2. Tap your profile icon or settings gear (usually top-left or top-right).
Step 3. Find and turn off Camera Upload or any photo backup/sync option to stop automatic syncing.
Step 4. Go back to your photo folders in OneDrive within the app.
Step 5. Select the photos you want to delete, then tap the Delete icon. Confirm to remove them from the OneDrive cloud only.
Managing large photo libraries in OneDrive can sometimes feel overwhelming, especially when you want to sync, back up, or transfer OneDrive photos efficiently. That’s where CBackup comes in handy. CBackup is a powerful cloud backup and sync tool designed to simplify how you manage your OneDrive photos and other files.
With CBackup, you can easily back up your photos to OneDrive or sync files between multiple cloud accounts automatically, saving you time and effort. It offers nearly unlimited cloud storage by combining free cloud storage from multiple accounts, so you never run out of space. The tool supports scheduled backups, real-time sync, and file versioning, allowing you to restore previous versions if needed.
Plus, CBackup’s intuitive interface makes it simple even for beginners to keep their OneDrive photo library organized and secure. Using CBackup helps you automate backups, manage cloud storage efficiently, and protect your photos without hassle.
📋 Here is how to use CBackup to manage your OneDrive photos:
Step 1. Download and install the CBackup desktop app from cbackup.com, then create an account or log in.
Step 2. Add your OneDrive account by going to the Storage section. You just need to choose OneDrive and authorize CBackup to access your files.
Step 3. To backup or sync photos, select the OneDrive folder containing your pictures, then choose a destination (another cloud or local storage) and set up a backup or sync task. You can schedule it to run automatically.
Step 4. To delete photos from OneDrive effortlessly, use CBackup’s cloud file manager. Navigate to your OneDrive storage inside CBackup, select the photos you want to remove, and delete them directly within the app—no need to switch to OneDrive’s website.
Step 5. Monitor your tasks and storage usage easily through CBackup’s dashboard to keep your OneDrive photo library organized and under control.
In this post, we explored multiple methods on how to delete all photos from OneDrive efficiently—whether through the web interface, desktop app, or by managing sync settings to keep local copies safe. We also discussed ways to prevent accidental deletion from your devices and introduced helpful tools like CBackup to simplify managing and deleting photos in OneDrive.
By understanding these options, you can choose the best approach to free up cloud storage while keeping your files organized and secure. Knowing how to delete all photos from OneDrive gives you full control over your digital space.
Now that you’ve learned various methods to delete all photos from OneDrive, let’s address some common questions users often have. These FAQs will help clarify doubts and provide quick solutions related to managing and deleting photos in OneDrive.
To select all photos in OneDrive, first open your OneDrive folder on the web or desktop app. On the web, click any photo to activate selection mode, then press Ctrl + A (Windows) or Command + A (Mac) to select all photos in the current folder. On the desktop app, open your OneDrive folder in File Explorer, then use the same keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl + A or Command + A) to select all files quickly. This makes it easy to manage, move, or delete large groups of photos at once.
Deleting multiple folders in OneDrive helps you free up space and keep your cloud storage organized. Instead of removing folders one by one, selecting and deleting several at once saves time and effort. Whether you use the OneDrive web interface or desktop app, the process is straightforward.
Here’s how to delete multiple folders in OneDrive in 5 simple steps:
When you need to free up cloud storage quickly or organize your photo library, removing large groups of photos from OneDrive at once makes the process much easier. Instead of deleting photos one by one, you can select multiple files and delete them together. This approach works smoothly on both the OneDrive web interface and desktop app, providing flexibility no matter which device you use.
Here’s how to delete large groups of photos in OneDrive in 5 easy steps: