PhotoWipePhotoWipe FAQ
Everything people ask before and after bulk deleting their Google Photos with PhotoWipe. Can’t find your question? Email contact@auth.specimen.website.
Is PhotoWipe free?
Yes. There’s no paid plan, no limit and no account. The first time you run it, PhotoWipe asks if you’d like to follow the developer and star the project on GitHub. It’s optional, and you can continue without doing it.
Does PhotoWipe delete my photos permanently?
No. PhotoWipe moves photos to the Google Photos trash, exactly like the trash button does. According to Google, items stay in the trash for 30 days before being permanently deleted. To delete them sooner, open the trash and click Empty trash yourself. Here’s how to empty the Google Photos trash.
Will deleting from Google Photos also delete the photos on my phone?
It can. Google says deleted items are also removed from phones and tablets that have Google Photos installed with backup turned on. To keep your phone’s copies, turn off backup on every device first. Full steps in delete Google Photos but keep them on your phone.
Is PhotoWipe safe? What data does it collect?
PhotoWipe collects nothing. It only asks for Chrome’s storage permission (to remember your last settings and a local count of items it moved), and its script only runs on photos.google.com when you start it from the extension. There’s no server and no account, and the code is open source on GitHub.
Can I undo it?
Yes, for 30 days. Choose restore in PhotoWipe, pick all (or a number), and it brings items back from the trash in batches. See how to restore all Google Photos from the trash.
How many photos can PhotoWipe delete?
As many as you want: 100, 500, 1,000, “all”, or any number you type. It works in batches of up to 1,000 and keeps going until it reaches your number or the library is empty.
Which Google account will it clean?
The one you’re signed in to on photos.google.com. Before doing anything, PhotoWipe shows the account name and asks you to confirm, with a button to switch account if it’s the wrong one.
Does it work on a phone, Firefox or Safari?
No. PhotoWipe is a Chrome extension for computers (Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS). Chromium browsers that install from the Chrome Web Store, like Edge or Brave, usually work too, but we test on Chrome. On a phone, use the manual method in how to select all photos in Google Photos.
Can I delete only videos, or only a date range?
Not with PhotoWipe. It removes items in the order Google Photos shows them, most recent first, from your library or your archive. For specific photos, select them by hand with Shift-click, or narrow the view with search first.
It stopped with “couldn’t find the delete button”. What now?
Google probably changed its page layout, or the page was still loading. Click the button to try again: PhotoWipe reloads Google Photos and continues with what’s left. While it runs, keep the tab open and don’t click on the page. If it keeps happening, report it on GitHub.
Why didn’t my Google storage go down?
Space is fully released when items are permanently deleted, so empty the trash. The storage meter can also take a while to update. And Google says photos backed up in High quality before June 1, 2021 never counted toward storage. More in Google Photos storage full: 5 fixes.
Is PhotoWipe made by Google?
No. PhotoWipe is an independent project and isn’t affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Google.