To delete a wallpaper on iPhone, press the side button to show the Lock Screen, then touch and hold the Lock Screen until the wallpaper gallery opens. Swipe to the wallpaper you want to remove, swipe up on it, tap the trash icon, and tap Delete This Wallpaper. This works on iPhones with iOS 16 or later.
These steps follow Apple’s support article Delete a wallpaper on your iPhone and the iPhone User Guide page Create a custom iPhone Lock Screen, which has a version for each release from iOS 16 through iOS 27.
Before You Start
- iOS version: The wallpaper gallery exists in iOS 16 and later. To check, go to Settings > General > About and read the iOS Version line.
- A way to unlock: You need Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. The gallery does not open on a phone that is still locked.
- What a wallpaper is now: Each saved wallpaper is a full Lock Screen design. It includes the background, the clock style, any widgets, and the Home Screen look that was set with it. Apple’s User Guide calls the same action “Delete a Lock Screen.”
Warning: Apple’s instructions do not describe an undo for this. When you delete a wallpaper, expect to lose that design’s clock style, widgets and Focus link along with the background. If you only want a different picture, use Customize instead, which is covered below.
How to Delete a Wallpaper on iPhone
- Press the side button. This shows the Lock Screen. If you are already using the phone, press the side button once to turn the screen off, then press it again.
- Touch and hold the Lock Screen. Keep your finger on an empty part of the screen until the Customize button appears at the bottom. If nothing happens, touch and hold again and enter your passcode when asked.
- Swipe to the wallpaper you want to remove. The gallery shows your saved wallpapers side by side. Swipe left or right until the one you want to delete is in the middle of the screen.
- Swipe up on that wallpaper. A trash icon appears below it.
- Tap the trash icon. A confirmation message appears.
- Tap Delete This Wallpaper. The design is removed from the gallery.
To leave the gallery without deleting anything, tap the wallpaper you want to keep using. Apple lists that tap as the way to switch between Lock Screens.
How to Confirm the Wallpaper Is Gone
Touch and hold the Lock Screen again and swipe through the gallery. The deleted design should no longer be in the row. You can also open Settings > Wallpaper, which shows the same saved wallpapers.
There is no “recently deleted” list for wallpapers in Apple’s documentation. To get a design back, you build it again with Add New Wallpaper. Apple’s steps for removing a wallpaper only mention the gallery, not the Photos app, so a photo you used should still be in your library to pick again. Check Photos if that picture matters to you.
Delete Several Wallpapers
Apple does not document a way to select and delete several wallpapers at once. Repeat the swipe up, trash icon and Delete This Wallpaper steps for each design while the gallery is still open. You do not need to lock the phone again between them.
Keep the Design and Change the Picture Instead
Deleting is the wrong tool if you like your clock and widgets and only want a new background. In that case, edit the existing Lock Screen.
- Press the side button, then touch and hold the Lock Screen until the gallery opens.
- Swipe to the wallpaper you want to change and tap Customize.
- Make your changes. Apple says the options depend on the wallpaper type. They can include repositioning the photo, changing the clock, adding or changing widgets, and swiping left or right for color filters.
- Tap Done.
Remove Photos From a Photo Shuffle Wallpaper
Photo Shuffle is a wallpaper type that rotates through a set of photos. If one picture in the set is the problem, you do not have to delete the whole wallpaper. Open the gallery, swipe to the Photo Shuffle wallpaper and tap Customize. Apple says you can then tap the photo thumbnail to change the photo selection, and you can change how often the photos shuffle from the same screen. Tap Done to save.
The exact buttons for removing a single photo are not spelled out in Apple’s guide and can differ by iOS version, so follow the choices shown on your phone.
Add a New Wallpaper From Settings
You can add a replacement before or after you delete the old one. Apple documents this route in Change the wallpaper on iPhone.
- Open Settings and tap Wallpaper.
- Tap Add New Wallpaper.
- Tap a button at the top of the gallery, such as Photos, Emoji or Color, or pick a wallpaper from one of the featured sets. If you do not see an option such as Weather or Astronomy, scroll down and tap Get below it.
- Tap Add.
- Tap Set as Wallpaper Pair to use it on both the Lock Screen and Home Screen, or tap Customize Home Screen to give the Home Screen its own color, photo or blur.
For fonts, widgets and other design choices, see our guide to changing the Lock Screen on iPhone. If your goal is a plain screen with no picture, our article on changing or removing the Lock Screen picture covers that.
iOS 15 or Earlier
Older versions do not have a wallpaper gallery, so there is nothing to swipe up on. Apple says that in iOS 15 and earlier you set a new wallpaper in the Settings app. To delete an image that you used as a wallpaper, you open the Photos app and delete the image there.
Warning: That second step removes the photo itself, not just the background. Only delete it from Photos if you no longer want the picture.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to try |
|---|---|---|
| Gallery does not open | Not on the Lock Screen, or not unlocked | Press the side button, touch and hold, enter the passcode |
| Swipe up goes Home | Swipe started at the bottom edge | Swipe up from the middle of the wallpaper |
| No trash icon | Possibly the only saved wallpaper | Add a second wallpaper, then try again |
| No gallery at all | iOS 15 or earlier | Set a new wallpaper in Settings |
The gallery does not open
Start from the Lock Screen, not the Home Screen. Press the side button first, then touch and hold. Apple notes that if the add button does not show, you should touch and hold the Lock Screen again and enter your passcode. Touch an empty area rather than a notification or a widget, since those respond to a long press in their own way.
Swiping up does nothing or goes to the Home Screen
A swipe from the very bottom edge of the screen is the gesture for going Home. Begin the swipe on the wallpaper preview itself, in the middle of the screen, and make sure the gallery is open first. You should see the Customize button before you swipe.
There is no trash icon
Apple does not list cases where the trash icon is hidden. Some guides report that it does not appear when only one wallpaper is left, because the iPhone always needs a background. That detail is not confirmed by Apple. If you see no trash icon, add a second wallpaper with Add New Wallpaper, switch to it, and try the old one again.
The steps do not match your phone
Check your version in Settings > General > About. On iOS 15 or earlier, use the older method above. On a work or school iPhone, an administrator can restrict wallpaper changes, so ask them if the wallpaper controls are unavailable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does deleting a wallpaper delete the photo?
Apple’s steps for iOS 16 and later remove the wallpaper from the gallery and say nothing about removing the picture from the Photos app. Deleting from Photos is a separate action that Apple only mentions for iOS 15 and earlier. If the photo is important, confirm that it is still in Photos after you delete the wallpaper.
Can I delete a wallpaper from the Settings app?
Apple’s instructions only describe deleting from the Lock Screen gallery. Settings > Wallpaper is documented for adding and customizing wallpapers. Some guides say a swipe up works there on recent iOS versions as well, but Apple does not document it, so the Lock Screen route is the reliable one.
What happens if the wallpaper is linked to a Focus?
A Focus is a mode, such as Work or Sleep, that limits notifications. Apple says a Lock Screen can be linked to a Focus, so that Lock Screen appears whenever the Focus is on, and switching Lock Screens also switches your Focus. After you delete a linked wallpaper, open Settings > Focus and check which screen that Focus uses. Apple explains the options in Set up a Focus on iPhone.
Can I delete the wallpapers that came with the iPhone?
You can delete saved Lock Screens that you no longer need, including ones built from Apple’s own designs. The choices shown under Add New Wallpaper are a catalog of options, not saved wallpapers, and Apple does not offer a way to remove them.
How many wallpapers can I save?
Apple says you can create more than one Lock Screen and switch between them, but its guide does not state a maximum. Deleting designs you no longer use keeps the gallery quick to swipe through.
Next Step
Once the gallery is tidy, tap the wallpaper you want to use and check both the Lock Screen and Home Screen. The picture behind a new Safari tab is a separate setting, covered in how to change the Safari background on iPhone. For other display changes, see how to make apps bigger on iPhone.
Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read hundreds of millions of times.
After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.
His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.