Google Photos: How to Select All Photos at Once

To select all photos in Google Photos at once, open the app or website, tap and hold on any photo to enter selection mode, then tap the “Select all” button that appears at the top of the screen. This works for the entire grid of photos on the current view, whether you’re in the Photos tab, an album, or a search result.

Why Selecting All Isn’t Always Obvious

Google Photos doesn’t have a permanent “Select All” button visible at all times. The option only appears after you’ve entered selection mode by long-pressing (on mobile) or hovering and clicking the circle (on desktop) on a single photo. This design choice prevents accidental mass selection, but it also confuses many users who expect a checkbox or menu item right away. Once you know the trick, selecting everything in a view takes just two taps.

How to Select All on Mobile (Android and iOS)

Open the Google Photos app and navigate to the view you want—Photos, an album, or a search result.
Press and hold your finger on any photo thumbnail until it shows a checkmark and the screen enters selection mode.
Look at the top of the screen. You’ll see a circular checkbox icon with a slash through it (or a square with a checkmark on some versions). Tap it.
All photos in the current view will be selected. The top bar will show the total count.
Now you can delete, share, add to an album, or download them as a batch.

On tablets, the same long-press works. The “Select all” button is always in the same top area, regardless of whether you’re on Android or iOS.

How to Select All on the Web (photos.google.com)

Go to photos.google.com in your browser and sign in.
Hover your mouse over any photo thumbnail. A circular checkbox appears in the top-left corner of that photo.
Click that circle to enter selection mode. The photo gets a blue checkmark.
In the top-right corner of the screen, a “Select all” button appears (it looks like two overlapping squares or a checkbox icon). Click it.
All photos in the current grid are selected. The top bar shows the count.

This works in the main Photos tab, inside albums, and in search results. It does not work in the “On this day” memory carousel or in the “Explore” tab, which are curated views rather than standard grids.

What “Select All” Actually Selects

The button selects every photo currently loaded in the view, not every photo in your entire library. If you’re scrolled down in the Photos tab, it selects only the photos that have been loaded into the grid so far. To select your entire library, you’d need to scroll to the very bottom of the Photos tab (which loads all photos) and then tap “Select all.” For most people with thousands of photos, this is impractical. A more efficient approach is to use the search bar to filter by date, location, or people, then select all within that smaller set.

Common Problems and How to Fix Them

The “Select all” button doesn’t appear: Make sure you’ve actually entered selection mode by long-pressing (mobile) or clicking the circle (web). The button only shows after that first selection.
It only selects a few photos: You’re likely in a search result that shows a limited set, or the view hasn’t loaded all thumbnails yet. Scroll down to load more, then tap “Select all” again.
Can’t find the button on iPad: The button is in the top toolbar, but on iPadOS it may be hidden behind the “More” (three-dot) menu if the screen is narrow. Rotate to landscape or tap the three dots and look for “Select all” there.
Selecting all in an album selects photos outside the album: This happens if you’re viewing the album but the selection mode is applied to the underlying photo grid. Make sure you’re inside the album view (the album name is at the top) before selecting.

What You Can Do After Selecting All

Once everything is selected, the action bar at the bottom (mobile) or top (web) gives you several options:

Delete: Moves photos to the trash, where they stay for 60 days before permanent deletion.
Share: Creates a link or sends via other apps. Be careful—sharing hundreds of photos at once may create a large, unwieldy link.
Add to album: Creates a new album or adds to an existing one.
Download: Downloads all selected photos as a ZIP file (on web) or individually (on mobile).
Archive: Removes them from the main Photos tab but keeps them in the library.

There’s no way to move photos to a folder directly in Google Photos—albums are the closest equivalent. Also, you cannot select all across multiple albums at once; you’d need to do each album separately.

Selecting All in Specific Views

Different views handle “Select all” slightly differently:

Albums: Selecting all selects every photo in that album, regardless of how many are loaded.
Search results: Selecting all selects all matching photos, but only those that have been loaded. For broad searches like “dogs,” you may need to scroll a lot.
People & Pets: Same as search—selects all visible thumbnails in that person’s group.
Utilities > Free up space: This view shows photos already backed up. Selecting all here lets you delete local copies to free phone storage.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I select all photos in Google Photos on my iPhone?

Open the app, go to the Photos tab or an album, press and hold on any photo until it lifts up and shows a checkmark, then tap the “Select all” button at the top. It works exactly the same as on Android.

Why doesn’t Google Photos have a permanent “Select all” button?

Google intentionally hides it to prevent accidental mass selection. The action is destructive (delete) or privacy-sensitive (share), so requiring a deliberate long-press first reduces mistakes. It’s a common design pattern in photo apps.

Can I select all photos in a specific year?

Yes. In the Photos tab, scroll up to the search bar and type a year (e.g., “2023”). Google Photos shows all photos from that year. Then long-press any photo and tap “Select all” to select every photo from that year.

Does “Select all” select photos that are still uploading?

No. Only photos that have finished uploading and appear in the grid are selected. If you have pending uploads, wait until they finish or check the backup status icon before selecting.

How do I deselect a few photos after selecting all?

Tap the checkmark on any individual photo to remove it from the selection. The count at the top updates immediately. This is useful when you want to delete all but a few.

Is there a way to select all photos on the Google Photos Android widget?

No. The widget only shows a preview of memories or recent photos. You must open the full app to use selection mode.

General steps for current mainstream versions; menus can differ by device and version. See the disclaimer or report an error.

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