Tapping photos one by one to select them is painfully slow. Instead, you can drag across the grid to select a whole range instantly — and use the same gesture to deselect.

How to do it

1. Open the Photos app and go to any album or your library
2. Tap Select in the top right
3. Tap and drag from any photo — swipe sideways across a row, then drag down to sweep through entire rows
4. Lift your finger to stop selecting

The key trick: start by swiping horizontally across a row, then change direction and drag down (or up). This lets you select a big rectangular block of photos in one smooth motion.

Select ALL photos with one gesture

Here's the real power move:

1. Scroll to the bottom of your library or album
2. Tap Select
3. Start dragging from the bottom-right photo — swipe left to begin selecting
4. While still holding your finger down, tap the status bar (the top of the screen showing the time) with another finger

Tapping the status bar triggers scroll-to-top — but because you're still holding down the selection drag, it selects every single photo as it scrolls. You'll have your entire library selected in seconds.

Deselect the same way

Already selected too many? Use the exact same drag gesture on selected photos to deselect them. Drag across a range of checked photos and they'll uncheck as your finger passes over them.

When to use it

• Bulk deleting — select a huge chunk of photos and tap the trash
• Sharing — grab a range of vacation photos to AirDrop or send
• Moving to albums — select a batch and add them all at once
• Cleanup — select everything, then deselect the few you want to keep

Good to know

• Works in any grid view — library, albums, search results
• The larger your screen, the more useful this becomes (iPad is great for this)