The quickest way to delete a photo from Facebook
Open Facebook on your phone or computer and go to your profile. Find the photo you want to remove, click or tap the three dots in the top right corner of the post, and select "Delete." Facebook will ask you to confirm — click "Delete" again, and the photo is gone from your profile and your friends' feeds within seconds.
If you're on mobile, the process is identical: tap the three dots, choose "Delete," and confirm. The photo disappears immediately. Facebook does not keep a visible copy on your profile after deletion, though the company retains data in its servers for a period of time.
You can delete a photo whether you posted it yourself or someone else tagged you in it. The steps differ slightly depending on who posted it, which is covered in the sections below.
Key Takeaways
- Photos you posted can be deleted from your profile in two taps or clicks: find the photo, tap the three dots, and select "Delete."
- If someone else posted a photo and tagged you in it, you can untag yourself without deleting the photo, or ask the person who posted it to delete it.
- Deleting a photo removes it from your profile and your friends' feeds, but Facebook's servers retain the image data for a period of time.
- Photos in albums follow the same deletion process as individual posts, and deleting a photo from an album removes it from that album only.
Deleting photos you posted yourself
When you delete a photo you posted, it disappears from your profile, your timeline, and any friend's feed that shows your posts. Anyone who saw the photo before deletion may remember it, but they cannot access it through Facebook anymore.
On a computer, navigate to your profile, find the photo, hover over it, and click the three dots that appear. Select "Delete" from the menu. On a phone, tap the photo to open it, tap the three dots in the top right, and choose "Delete." Either way, Facebook asks you to confirm the deletion before it goes through.
If the photo is part of an album you created, deleting it removes the photo from that album. The album itself stays on your profile unless you delete the entire album separately.
Removing yourself from photos someone else posted
If a friend posted a photo and tagged you in it, you have two options: untag yourself from the photo, or ask the person who posted it to delete the photo entirely.
To untag yourself, open the photo, click or tap the three dots, and select "Remove tag." This removes your name from the photo and stops it from appearing on your profile, but the photo stays on the other person's profile. Your friends will no longer see the photo linked to you.
If you want the photo deleted completely, you need to contact the person who posted it and ask them to remove it. Facebook does not give you the power to delete someone else's post, even if you are tagged in it. If the person refuses to delete it and you believe the photo violates Facebook's rules — for example, it shows you without your consent or contains harassment — you can report it to Facebook.
Deleting photos from albums
Photos stored in albums work the same way as individual posts. Open the album, find the photo, tap or click the three dots, and select "Delete." The photo is removed from the album and your profile.
Deleting a single photo from an album does not delete the album itself. If you want to remove the entire album, go to your profile, find the album, click the three dots on the album cover, and select "Delete Album." Facebook will ask you to confirm that you want to delete all photos in the album at once.
What happens after you delete a photo
Once you delete a photo, it no longer appears on your profile, in your friends' feeds, or in search results. Comments and reactions on the photo disappear as well. However, Facebook stores deleted photos on its servers for a limited time — the company does not immediately erase the image data from all its systems.
If you deleted a photo by mistake, you cannot recover it through Facebook's interface. The photo is gone from your account. If you have a copy saved on your phone or computer, you can upload it again, but it will be a new post with a new timestamp.
People who saw the photo before you deleted it may have taken screenshots or saved it elsewhere. Deletion only removes it from Facebook itself, not from copies that exist outside the platform.
Deleting photos on mobile versus desktop
The process is nearly identical on phones and computers, but the interface looks slightly different. On desktop, you hover over the photo to see the three dots. On mobile, you tap the photo to open it, then tap the three dots in the top right corner.
Some older phones or browsers may show a different menu layout, but the "Delete" option is always present in the three-dot menu. If you cannot find it, make sure you are using the official Facebook app or visiting facebook.com in your phone's browser, not a third-party app.
Bulk deletion and managing your photo history
Facebook does not have a built-in tool to delete all your photos at once. If you want to remove many photos, you will need to delete them one by one. Open each photo, tap or click the three dots, and select "Delete."
If you want to review all the photos you have posted before deciding which to delete, go to your profile and click "Photos" (on desktop) or tap "Photos" in your profile menu (on mobile). This shows every photo you have posted in reverse chronological order. You can scroll through and delete individual photos from this view.
Some people use this method to clean up their profile periodically, removing old photos they no longer want visible. There is no time limit on how old a photo can be — you can delete a photo from years ago the same way you delete one from today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I recover a photo after I delete it?
No. Once you delete a photo from Facebook, you cannot recover it through the app or website. If you have a copy saved on your phone or computer, you can upload it again as a new post, but the original post and its comments are gone.
If I delete a photo, do the comments on it disappear too?
Yes. When you delete a photo, all comments, reactions, and shares on that photo are deleted as well. People who commented will see that the photo is no longer there, but they cannot access the photo or the conversation that happened on it.
What if someone else posted a photo of me and I want it deleted?
You can untag yourself so the photo no longer appears on your profile, but you cannot delete someone else's post. Ask the person who posted it to remove the photo. If they refuse and the photo violates Facebook's rules, you can report it to Facebook for review.
Does deleting a photo remove it from Facebook's servers completely?
Deleting a photo removes it from your profile and your friends' feeds, but Facebook retains the image data on its servers for a period of time. The photo is not immediately erased from all of Facebook's systems, though it is no longer accessible to you or other users.
Can I delete a photo someone tagged me in without asking them?
You can untag yourself from the photo, which removes it from your profile and stops it from being linked to you. However, the photo stays on the other person's profile. To have it deleted completely, you need to ask the person who posted it to remove it.