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A trash you empty when you are sure

PrunePic never deletes a photo the moment you swipe. Everything you trash waits in the PrunePic Trash, where you can put items back or delete them all at once, and iOS still keeps them in Recently Deleted for 30 days after that.

By Edouard Barbier · Updated

From swipe to gone, in five steps

A photo you swipe away in PrunePic goes through two safety nets before it is really gone: the PrunePic Trash, then Recently Deleted in the Photos app.

  1. 1You swipe leftThe photo is queued. It is still in your library.
  2. 2PrunePic TrashPut it back any time. Undo reverses your last swipe.
  3. 3You empty the trashiOS asks you to confirm the deletion.
  4. 4Recently DeletedKept in the Photos app for up to 30 days. You can still recover it.
  5. 5Gone for goodAfter 30 days, or when you delete it from Recently Deleted.
With iCloud Photos turned on, each step happens on all your devices at once.

1. Swipe left to mark a photo

When you drag a photo to the left, the card turns red and a TRASH stamp appears. Let go and the photo is queued in the PrunePic Trash. It is still in your library and in iCloud Photos.

A surf photo in PrunePic dragged to the left, tinted red with a TRASH stamp
1Drag left. The TRASH stamp shows what will happen when you let go.
The next photo in the PrunePic feed with a Trashed message, an Undo button and 3.5 MB ready to free
2The next photo slides in. Undo and the ready-to-free total appear at the bottom.

2. Undo the last swipe

Moved too fast? Tap Undo in the bottom bar right after a swipe and the photo comes back to the feed, untouched. Undo works for a keep or a favorite too, not only for trash.

3. Check the PrunePic Trash

Tap the trash counter in the bottom left to open the PrunePic Trash. It shows how many items are waiting and how much space they take, with every photo listed with its date, size and resolution.

The PrunePic Trash: total weight 5.6 MB, 3 items, Put Back All and Delete All buttons, and the first trashed photo with a Put Back button
3Put Back one photo, Put Back All, or Delete All when you are sure.

Nothing here is deleted yet. You can leave photos in the trash for as long as you like and empty it once a week, or after every session.

4. Confirm with iOS

When you tap Delete All, iOS steps in and asks you to confirm. PrunePic cannot skip this step, and the message spells out what happens next.

An iOS alert: Allow PrunePic to delete 3 photos? These photos will be deleted from the library. They will be in Recently Deleted for 30 days. Buttons: Don't Allow and Delete.
4iOS asks before anything leaves your library, and reminds you about Recently Deleted.

5. Recently Deleted keeps them for 30 days

Deleted photos move to Recently Deleted in the Photos app: open Collections, scroll to Utilities and tap Recently Deleted. The album is locked by default, so you unlock it with Face ID or your passcode. From there you can recover a photo, or delete it for good to free the space right away.

The Collections tab of the iOS 27 Photos app showing Media Types and Utilities, including Recently Deleted with a lock
5Photos › Collections › Utilities › Recently Deleted.
The Recently Deleted album in Photos asking for the passcode, with a View Album button
Unlock with Face ID or your passcode to see what is inside.

Undo, Put Back and Recently Deleted are different

Undo Put Back Recently Deleted
Where PrunePic bottom bar PrunePic Trash Photos app
When Right after a swipe Any time before you empty the trash Up to 30 days after you empty it
What it does Reverses your last keep, trash or favorite Returns a photo to your feed Restores a deleted photo to your library

Frequently asked questions

Can I undo a swipe in PrunePic?

Yes. Right after a swipe, tap Undo in the bottom bar to reverse it. Later, open the PrunePic Trash and tap Put Back on any item that is still waiting there.

Where do photos go when I empty the PrunePic Trash?

After you confirm, they move to Recently Deleted in the Photos app, where iOS keeps them for 30 days before removing them for good. You can recover them from there during that time.

Does PrunePic ever delete photos automatically?

No. Photos are only removed from your library when you empty the PrunePic Trash yourself, and iOS asks you to confirm every deletion.

Do photos in the PrunePic Trash still use storage?

Yes. They stay in your library until you empty the trash, and after that they keep using storage in Recently Deleted for up to 30 days. Delete them from Recently Deleted in the Photos app to get the space back right away.

Can I recover a photo after it is gone from Recently Deleted?

Not from your iPhone. Once a photo leaves Recently Deleted, the only copy left would be in a backup you made before deleting it.

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