Dealing with Memories on the iPhone can be a bit of a double-edged sword. They’re kinda nice sometimes, giving you a quick trip down memory lane, but other times, they pop up with images or videos you’d rather forget—especially if those memories hit close to home or just bring a lot of unnecessary emotional baggage. On some setups, the Memories feature can feel kinda intrusive, or maybe just plain annoying, especially if it highlights events or people you no longer want to be reminded of. The good news is, there are ways to turn it off or at least tone down the notifications without completely losing the feature. Just be aware that the steps can vary a bit depending on your iOS version, but mainly they follow a similar path after you make sure your device is updated to iOS 16 or newer. Once you get the hang of it, managing Memories becomes less of an annoyance and more of a breeze.
1. Turn off Memories on iPhone
The option to disable Memories on your iPhone is built into the Photos settings, but it’s only available from iOS 16 onward. So, first thing — check your iOS version and update if needed. Because of course, Apple likes to hide some options in unexpected places, and sometimes turning off Memories isn’t as straightforward as flipping a switch. With a recent update, you now have a way to disable the feature that’s pretty easy to find once you know where to look.
Update your iPhone to iOS 16 or newer
- Go to Settings > General > Software Update. If it says you’re on an older version, tap Download and Install. This ensures you get all the latest settings and options, including some sneaky hideaways like disabling Memories.
Disable Memories in Photos Settings
- Open Settings, then tap Photos.
- Scroll down to find the Memories section. Here, you’ll see options like Show Holiday Events and Show Featured Content. Turn both off—this stops the app from generating and showing Memories based on past events or themes.
- If you notice the Memories suggestions still popping up, you can also tap Reset Suggested Memories and Reset People Suggestions. Yep, these are hidden options that push the app to forget what it’s learned about your preferences—kind of weird, but it helps stop the recurring suggestions.
2. Disable Memories Notification for iPhone Photos
If turning off the Memories feature doesn’t do the trick or you still get bombarded with related notifications, adjusting notification settings might help. This applies if you’re fine with Memories existing but just don’t want the alerts popping up all the time.
How to disable Memories notifications
- Open Settings > Notifications.
- Scroll down and tap Photos. Yeah, Photos has its own little section here.
- Tap on Customize Notifications. This will show different notification categories.
- Find Memories and toggle it off. That should prevent the app from pushing those Memory alerts to your screen—instrumental on some setups, especially if you get notified about every little thing or if the notifications are just plain distracting.
3. Delete Specific Memory from iPhone Photos
Honestly, sometimes turning off the feature isn’t enough—what’s really annoying is seeing one specific memory that’s just too personal or awkward to keep around. Good news: you can delete individual Memories without turning everything off. It’s kinda clunky, but it works. Usually, you go to the For You tab, find the Memory, tap the three dots, and delete. Just keep in mind, that doesn’t delete the photos or videos themselves, just the memory collages the app makes.
How to delete a particular Memory
- Open the Photos app and switch to the For You tab.
- Scroll through the Memories until you find the one you want gone.
- Tap on the Memory to open it, then tap the three dots (more options icon) usually at the bottom right.
- Select Delete Memory. Confirm if asked. That should wipe that one from your Memories list, but your actual photos stay in the library—no worries there.
Be aware, though, that deleting memories isn’t perfect—sometimes it doesn’t get rid of every trace of that memory collection if certain images are linked to other Memories or suggestions. Still, it’s the best workaround if you’re trying to clean up specific clutter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I find Memories on my iPhone?
If you’re asking that, it’s in the Photos app — just go to the For You tab. When Memories are active, you’ll see them displayed there, and you can tap See All to browse through the entire collection.
How do Memories work on iPhone?
Basically, the Photos app automatically picks out key moments or people from your library and creates these thematic collections, kind of like a mini movie. The app bases this on location, people, dates, and other metadata, then presents a curated highlight reel that can seem a little too eager sometimes.
Does deleting a memory delete photos?
Nope. Deleting a Memory just removes the collage or collection — the photos themselves stay put. It’s like deleting a playlist, not the songs.
Do Memories take up space?
Yes, memories can take up quite a bit of storage, especially since they’re often videos or collections with videos. If you’re tight on space, you might want to consider deleting or managing large Memories especially if they’re not worth keeping.
Hopefully, this helps someone get a handle on the Memories clutter. Turning off or deleting specific memories can make using your iPhone a little less stressful, especially when the app’s just being too enthusiastic. Good luck!
Summary
- Make sure your iPhone is updated to iOS 16 or newer.
- Disable Memories in Photos Settings, including reset options.
- Turn off Memories notifications in Notification settings.
- Delete individual Memories if they’re bothering you.
- Remember, deleting a Memory doesn’t delete your actual photos, only the curated collection.
Wrap-up
Dealing with Memories can be a bit of a hassle, but once you tweak these settings, it’s way easier to keep that nostalgic clutter in check. It’s kind of weird that Apple made some of these options so tucked away, but at least now they’re within reach. If none of that works, there might be some deeper iOS bugs, but for most people, this should do the trick. Fingers crossed this helps out — at least it’s better than having Memories popping up when you’re just trying to get things done.