How to Permanently Remove Facebook Photos

The social networking site Facebook makes it easy to upload and share Facebook photos with your friends and the entire network. Over time, however, you may wish to delete photos that are inappropriate or that you no longer wish to be posted. Facebook allows you to easily permanently delete individual photos and entire photo albums. Keep in mind, however, that you can only delete photos that you have posted--not those that others have posted of you.

Follow the steps below to delete individual pictures.

Step 1: View Your Profile

Go to www.Facebook.com and log in to your account. Click on either the 'profile' link or the link with 'your name' at the very top of the homepage. Both links take you to your profile.

Step 2: View Your Photos

Click on the 'photos tab' in your profile to view your pictures. This takes you to your 'photos page'. Here you can view the photos that you've been tagged in regardless if you uploaded them or not. At the bottom of the page you can see the photos you uploaded. They're organized into albums.

Click on the album to see the pictures in.

Step 3: Delete The Unwanted Photo

Now you can see all of the photos you uploaded in this album. Click on the thumbnail of your unwanted photo to begin the deletion process. This takes you to a new page where your photo is in its original size. Under the photo are several links with the options to 'tag this photo', 'edit this photo', 'delete this photo' or 'make it your profile picture'. Click 'Delete this photo'.

A dialogue box appears asking for confirmation that you want to delete it. Click 'Delete'. 

Now it's gone.

Tagged Photos

Sometimes someone uploads a photo of you that you don't like. On top of that they tag you in it so anyone on Facebook can know that it's you and they can find it from viewing your profile. You can't delete these photos because you didn't upload them. You can view the individual picture and at the bottom, next to your name, is the option to 'untag' yourself. Click it to remove all associations of yourself from that photo.

Follow the steps below to delete entire albums that you have posted.

Step 1: View Your Photos

Follow the same login steps to access the photos tab in your profile. 

Step 2: View the Unwanted Album

Click on the album you wish to get rid of. Once that album is loaded there are several options. Click 'Edit Photos'

Step 3: Delete the Album

Once you're on the 'edit photos' page click the 'delete tab' at the top of the page. This takes you to another page which asks you to confirm that you really want to delete the album. Click 'Delete'.

It's just as easy to send unwanted photos to the cyberspace grave yard as it is to upload them. Facebook shares your life with the world, but it still allows you the ability to control what others will see.