Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Phones
  3. Mobile
  4. How tos

How to use the Clean Up tool in iOS 18 to remove objects from your photos

Add as a preferred source on Google
Using the Clean Up tool on iPhone.
Bryan M. Wolfe / Digital Trends

The initial Apple Intelligence features are gradually being introduced into iOS 18.1 developer beta versions prior to a public release later this fall. In iOS 18.1 beta 3, one of the most exciting new AI-based features, Clean Up, has finally been introduced.

Recommended Videos

Difficulty

Moderate

Duration

10 minutes

What You Need

  • An iPhone or iPad running iOS/iPadOS 18.1 beta 3 or later

  • Apple Intelligence activated on your device

With Clean Up, you can easily remove unwanted objects from your photos with just a few taps on your iPhone or iPad. It works with any image in your photo library, not just photos taken with your iPhone.

To use Clean Up and Apple Intelligence in general, you must have a compatible device. This includes the iPhone 15 Pro series, and iPads with M1 or later installed.

Here's how to use the Apple Intelligence Clean Up tool.

How to remove objects from photos using Clean Up

With iOS 18.1 beta 3 or later installed, you can now begin to use Clean Up on your supported device. Activating it is a seamless process.

Step 1: First, open the Photos app on your device.

Step 2: Next, browse your photo library and choose the image you'd like to edit.

Step 3: From there, you’ll need to enter Edit Mode. Do this by selecting the Edit button at the bottom of the screen.

Step 4: Select Clean up.

Screenshots showing how to access the Clean Up tool on iPhone.
Bryan M. Wolfe / Digital Trends

Step 5: Note: The first time you attempt to use Clean Up, there will be a few minutes of delay as Apple must download the AI model to your device.

After tapping on the Clean Up icon, the tool will automatically identify objects to delete, such as people. These objects will be outlined in color.

Step 6: To remove any of the automatically found highlighted objects, select them one at a time.

Screenshot showing how to remove automatically found objects with Clean Up on iPhone.
Bryan M. Wolfe / Digital Trends

Step 7: You can manually remove objects in your image that Clean Up didn’t find by doing any of the following with your finger:

  • Tap on the object
  • Circle the object
  • Color in the object

You can use pinch-to-zoom to get closer to objects you want to remove.

Step 8: Remove the highlighted objects by tapping on them.

Screenshot showing how to manually select images with Clean Up and erase them on iPhone.
Bryan M. Wolfe / Digital Trends

Step 9: One you're finished editing your photo, choose Done.

How to undo the removal of objects with Clean Up

A change made with Clean Up is never permanent if you don't want it to be. After deleting objects, you can revert to an earlier version.

Step 1: To undo a change during the process, tap the Undo button at the top left of the app. This tool is designed to remove each change step by step.

Screenshot showing how to undo changes made with Clean Up on iPhone.
Bryan M. Wolfe / Digital Trends

Step 2: To undo changes later, select the image you wish to edit, then selct Revert. Choose Revert to original to confirm.

This tool is designed to remove all your changes.

Screenshot showing how to revert images that were cleaned up on iPhone.
Bryan M. Wolfe / Digital Trends

The Clean Up tool in Apple's Intelligence is currently in beta, so there may be changes to it before it's released to the public. As a result, the steps mentioned above could change, and we will update this article accordingly.

It is important to note that the effectiveness of the Clean Up tool may vary depending on the image’s complexity and the object you are trying to remove.

Bryan M. Wolfe
Former Mobile and A/V Freelancer
Bryan M. Wolfe has over a decade of experience as a technology writer. He writes about mobile.
Google’s new desktop mode makes one thing clear: Samsung DeX was onto something
Android 16 finally brings a real desktop mode to Pixel phones, but Google’s long-awaited move mostly proves Samsung spent years getting the hard parts right
File, Webpage, Person

I’ve been waiting for Android to take desktop mode seriously for years. Back in 2019, I bought a OnePlus 7 Pro and wasted an embarrassing amount of time trying to brute-force its half-baked desktop mode into something useful.

The idea made perfect sense to me even then. Phones were already absurdly powerful, and the thought of carrying one real computer in my pocket felt less like science fiction and more like delayed common sense.

Read more
The MacBook Neo made me realize Apple still doesn’t know how to do a truly great cheap iPhone
MacBook Neo gave me an iPhone 17e epiphany
iPhone 17e rear camera.

Apple’s main business still revolves around the iPhone, with roughly half of the revenue being brought in by these devices. But this is why it feels so strange that the company managed to build a better entry-level Apple laptop than an entry-level iPhone.

The MacBook Neo starts at $599 in the US, with buyers getting a full aluminum build, a 13-inch hi-res Liquid Retina display, Apple silicon, and all-day battery life. Apple is clear about what it has built. This isn't a Pro machine with the powerful M series processors. But despite the various cutbacks in hardware, it still feels like a complete product.

Read more
You can’t buy the Galaxy Z TriFold anymore: It’s officially sold out
With a 10-inch display and a lifespan shorter than most gym memberships, the TriFold is already the stuff of tech legend.
Samsung Galaxy TriFold folding, TriFold Phone

Samsung has quietly updated the Galaxy Z TriFold’s product page with a message: the company’s first tri-folding phone is now completely sold out with no restock in sight. If you were hoping to get one sometime in the future, perhaps when the phone goes on sale, it’s time to let go. 

“The limited-run Galaxy Z TriFold is now completely sold out,” an updated message on the Galaxy Z TriFold’s landing page says. The message also asks people to keep visiting Samsung’s website for “one-of-a-kind innovations” and shop for other foldables or mobile devices. 

Read more