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This simple trick helps me tame my chaotic camera roll in just a few minutes
If you’re anything like me, you have thousands of photos and videos on your phone — and you’ve probably experienced the frustration of opening your photo app to search for that one adorable picture of your kid or a fun moment from a trip years ago, only to get lost in a sea of duplicates, accidental pocket shots, blurry photos, random screenshots, and memes you forgot you saved.
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After years of syncing with the cloud without regular decluttering, my photo library has become a digital jungle. At this point, the thought of organizing everything feels overwhelming, and those apps that promise one-tap decluttering? They’re either sketchy or require more trust than I’m willing to give. So, what’s the solution?
Good news: I recently discovered a trick that helps me tame my chaotic camera roll in just a few minutes a day. It’s so simple and effective that I had to share it.
How to organize your phone’s camera roll in minutes
Modern photo apps, like Apple Photos and Google Photos, have gotten pretty smart over the years. They now let you search by specific terms — including dates (like “February 14”) — to view photos taken. If you search by date, you’ll see all the photos taken on that day across different years. So, instead of dealing with thousands of pictures, you’re tackling a small, manageable batch.
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What you’ll need: An iPhone or Android phone with tons of photos and videos saved, and a photo app such as Apple Photos or Google Photos. If you use a different photo app, just check for a smart search bar — most offer such a feature. I use Apple Photos, so this guide will visually show how to declutter your camera roll with that app, but I provide instructions for Google Photos, too.
Start by launching your go-to photo app. The default apps on iPhones (Apple Photos) and Android devices (Google Photos) both have powerful search capabilities.
- Apple Photos: Open the Photos app and tap the Magnifying glass icon at the top.
- Google Photos: Open Google Photos, tap the Ask button at the bottom, and switch to classic search.
Now, type today’s date into the search bar. If it’s February 14, search for “February 14.” Your app will display every photo and video taken on that date in past years. For instance, when I did it on and for “February 9,” I saw 71 photos and videos. That’s a lot quicker to review than my entire library that has over 20,000 images.
Bonus tip: If you’re organizing photos in the evening, try searching for the next day’s date to get ahead.
Take a quick look through the results and delete any duplicates, blurry shots, or screenshots you no longer need.
If you find keepers, move them to albums. In Apple’s Photos app, you can even hide certain photos, locking them in a private folder that requires authentication to access. In Google Photos, you have the added option to archive photos, moving them to a separate folder where they’re out of the way but still accessible when needed.
- Apple Photos: Select a photo, tap the More (three dot) icon, and choose Add to Album or Hide.
- Google Photos: Select a photo, tap the More (three dot) icon, then tap Add to Album or Move to Archive.
Now, here’s perhaps the most important part of this hack: Set a daily reminder for this task. In a year, you’ll have reviewed every date once, clearing thousands of unnecessary photos without ever feeling overwhelmed.
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The point is, instead of spending hours tediously deleting photos until you’re seeing double, you’ll have tackled it bit by bit — just a few minutes each day. By the end of the year, you’ll have a beautifully clean, well-organized camera roll and your sanity intact. An added benefit of this hack is that it can be surprisingly fun and interesting to reminisce as you revisit what you were doing on that day in past years.
Can I recover a photo if I delete it by accident?
Absolutely. Both Apple Photos and Google Photos move deleted images to a “Recently Deleted” or “Trash” folder for 30 days.
Are there other smart search terms I can use?
Definitely! Try searching “screenshots” or “selfies,” for instance. Both are a goldmine for easy deletions.
How long will it take to organize my entire library?
With daily date-based searches, you’ll spend just a few minutes a day and be able to review your entire collection within a year.
What about videos?
Videos show up alongside photos when you search by date. You can also try terms like “Videos” to find and organize them separately. I also found “TikTok” works to find old TikTok videos I’ve saved to my camera roll.
