Right from iOS 8, one of the most annoying features on iOS is the “Recently Deleted” folder which stores deleted photos. This folder acts like the recycle bin on your PC but then, a lot of people find the idea not well thought out. Most people sometimes forget that deleted photos still go into the recently deleted folder and end up keeping what shouldn’t be on the device any longer sitting in one forgotten folder.
Unfortunately, it’s another iOS feature forced down users throat; there’s no way to turn it off from the settings and you can’t delete this folder. However, photos in the recently deleted folder get completely deleted after 30 days if they’re not restored.
Also read: Download Facebook Videos on iOS with Facebook++ Tweak
Permanently delete photos on jailbroken devices
One of the perks of jailbreaking your device includes finding a way around Apple’s many restrictions. If you have a jailbroken device, you only need to find the right tweak to perform functions you desire. NoRecentlyDeleted is a tweak that worked perfectly on iOS 8 for permanently deleting pictures but I recently tried it on iOS 9 without luck. One I found that works perfectly is DeleteForever.
DeleteForever is a jailbreak tweak that stops photos from going to the Recently Deleted folder. It’s available in the BigBoss repository for free. After installing, there’s nothing really you have to do. It creates it’s own section in Settings and it should be already enabled.
Before deleting picture you should be asked whether you want to just delete the picture the photo or delete forever. The tweak looks like a light one, barely 500kb in size.
Permanently delete photos on non-jailbroken device
As mentioned earlier, you can’t stop photos from going into this folder if your device isn’t jailbroken. There’s no setting for it, all you can do go through complete deletion. It’s can be a pain in the butt, but till Apple decides not everybody likes this feature and you’re not willing to jailbreak, this is the only option available.
- Go to Photos and tap Recently Deleted.
- Hit the Select button at the top-right.
- Tap Delete All and that’s it.
Well, it’s not the best solution because every time you delete a photo, you just got to make sure you repeat these steps.