Screenshot
Also known as: screenshots, screen capture, screen grab
A screenshot is an image captured of whatever is on your screen, saved into your photo library like a regular picture. Individually small, screenshots accumulate fast and clutter the camera roll because most are saved once and never needed again.
- An image of your screen, saved like a photo
- Small individually, but they accumulate fast
- iOS groups them in a Screenshots album
Why screenshots pile up
We capture screenshots for quick reference — a receipt, a message, a map, a how-to — and then forget about them. Each one is saved to the same library as your photos, so over time hundreds of throwaway captures mix in with the pictures you actually care about.
Most screenshots are modest in size, so the real problem is clutter rather than raw gigabytes. They bury your real photos and make the camera roll harder to scroll and search.
Clearing them out
iOS gathers screenshots into their own Screenshots album, which makes a periodic cleanout easy: open the album, select the ones you no longer need, and delete. A dedicated cleaner can also single out screenshots automatically so you can clear stale ones in one pass.