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Updated Jul 2026

Delete media and use the Trash

Move media to the Trash when you want it gone. Trash items are deleted permanently after 30 days, or you can delete them immediately.

Before you start

You can’t trash or archive media that’s attached to a pending or approved post. Edit the post to remove the image, or wait until the post is no longer pending or approved (it publishes, is rejected, or expires). See “If something goes wrong” below.

Trash vs. Archive

Both take media out of your everyday Library view, but they mean different things:

  • Archive keeps media forever. Use it for media you want out of the way but might reuse later. Archived media never gets deleted automatically.
  • Trash is for media you intend to delete. Anything in the Trash is deleted permanently 30 days after you move it there, unless you restore it or delete it sooner.

Move media to the trash

  1. Go to the Media page.
  2. Find the item, either in the Library grid or the Archived tab.
  3. Select Trash on the item’s tile (or Move to trash if you opened the item’s preview).
  4. The item moves to the Trash tab immediately. There’s no confirmation step for this action.

The Trash tab

Select the Trash tab to see everything you’ve moved to the trash. A banner at the top reminds you what’s coming:

Items in the trash are deleted permanently after 30 days.

Restore an item

  1. Go to the Trash tab.
  2. Select Restore on the item’s tile (or in its preview).
  3. The item moves back to the Library and is usable again.

Delete an item immediately

If you don’t want to wait for the 30-day countdown:

  1. Go to the Trash tab.

  2. Select Delete on the item’s tile (or Delete now in its preview).

  3. Confirm the prompt:

    Permanently delete this item? This can’t be undone.

  4. The item’s file is removed right away. A record of the item stays behind for your history. See “What “permanently” means” below.

Empty the trash

To delete everything in the trash at once:

  1. Go to the Trash tab.
  2. Select Empty trash.
  3. Confirm the prompt, which shows how many items you’re about to lose.
  4. Once it finishes, you’ll see a confirmation, for example “Deleted 3 items permanently” (or “Deleted 1 item permanently” for a single item), with no trailing period.

Doing this for several items at once

You can trash, restore, or delete more than one item in a single action:

  1. Select Select above the media grid.
  2. Select each item you want to act on.
  3. Choose an action from the bar at the bottom of the screen. The choices depend on which tab you’re in:
    • Library: Archive, Move to trash
    • Archived: Restore, Move to trash
    • Trash: Restore, Delete now
  4. For Delete now, confirm the prompt first.
  5. If any of the selected items can’t be acted on (for example, one is still attached to a pending post), the rest still go through, and you’ll see a message telling you how many were skipped and why.

What “permanently” means

Deleting an item (through Delete now, Empty trash, or the automatic 30-day purge) removes the actual file. It cannot be recovered. A record that the item existed is kept for your history. It lets you trace what media a past post used, but the file itself is gone.

Storage

Media sitting in the Trash still counts against your storage until it’s actually deleted. Moving something to the trash doesn’t free up space by itself. Deleting it (immediately, in bulk, or after the 30-day countdown) does.

If something goes wrong

“Media is in the trash — restore it first”: You tried to archive an item that’s already in the trash. Restore it from the Trash tab first, then archive it if that’s what you want.

“Media is not in the trash”: You tried to restore an item that isn’t trashed. Nothing to do here.

“Media has already been deleted”: You tried to trash or delete an item that’s already gone permanently. It can’t be brought back.

“Media is attached to a pending or approved post”: This item is used by a post that hasn’t published yet. Approve/reject/publish that post first, or remove the image from it, then try again.

“Media belongs to a group with pending or approved posts”: Same as above, but the item is used as the shared image for a whole post (not a single platform version). Resolve that post before trashing or archiving.

“N skipped: {reason}” (bulk actions): Some of your selected items weren’t eligible for the action (for example, still attached to an active post). The reason is shown, and the rest of your selection still went through.