# How to delete original DNG files from LR mobile (Android)?



## prbimages

_Mobile Operating System_: Android 8.1.0
_Desktop Operating System_: Windows 10 Home (Version 1709)
_Exact Lightroom Version (Help menu > System Info)_: Classic 7.2

When I take photos with Lightroom Mobile on my Android phone, the DNG files are stored in the directory DCIM / LightroomCamera. If I delete the photos using LR mobile, the original DNG files stay in that directory, needlessly taking up space. Is there any way, from within the Lightroom app, to purge those files?

I notice that there is an option on the main menu labelled "Device Info & Storage", and under that, an option to "Manage Storage", but when I choose that, I just see a mostly empty screen with the text "No Albums Available". What does that mean? What is the "Manage Storage" option supposed to do?

There is also a "Clear Cache" option, which doesn't appear to have any effect on those files either.

I assume I can just go into that directory and manually delete the files, but it seems strange that I should have to do that.


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## prbimages

OK, I can answer one of my sub-questions: From the Adobe web site:

_The "Manage Storage" option_: Tap to view a list of all albums for which you've enabled the _Store Locally_ album option. In the list of albums displayed, choose one or more albums and tap Clear to release it's locally stored copies and free up space on your device; the originals are still backed up in the cloud.​It appears, however, that these "stored locally" copies are separate from the files that I am seeing in DCIM / LightroomCamera, since I have never enabled the _Store Locally_ album option (which is confirmed by the "No Albums Available" message I see).

The "Clear Cache" option "clears previews and temporary files from your mobile device".

But I still have a directory full of large DNG files, and no way to purge or delete them, as far as I can see. Is that right?


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## johnbeardy

In LrClassic, unsync those DNGs.

The quick way is to go to All Synced Photos and remove them from there - this removes the originals from the cloud. It will also remove those photos from any synced collections, so (to sync them only as smart previews) I put the files into the Quick Collection and then add them back to the collection afterwards.

John


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## prbimages

No, I've done that, even if I delete/unsync the photos, those "extra" DNG files never get deleted from my phone. That was my point. There doesn't appear to be any way to get rid of the DNG files (apart from using a file utility to brute-force a deletion).


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## johnbeardy

OK, sorry, I did misunderstand. I don't know Android, and I cannot shoot DNG on my iPhone, but I am pretty sure that in LrM / iOS you have to manually delete the phone's own copies of the files. I think it will be the same for you.

John


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## prbimages

OK, that seems like quite a serious design flaw then 

I don't know the iOS environment at all, but Johan's post here:

Export DNG from iPhone SE

seems to indicate that on iOS one doesn't even have the option of manually deleting the files!

I can't help thinking that I must be missing something; otherwise, why isn't this a huge problem for people? Anyone taking DNG images will be filling up their phone's storage space, with no option to delete the files and reclaim the space.


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## Jim Wilde

On iOS, there's a different behaviour depending on which camera is being used. Specifically, if the LRCC camera is used, the files are only written into the LRCC app space on the device, and synced from there. After syncing, removal of the image from the cloud deletes the original from the app space on the device(s). Using the device's camera app, however, the captured images are added to the device's camera roll, from where they can be imported into LRCC....at that point 2 copies of the images exist on the device. Subsequent deletion of an image will remove it from the cloud and the LRCC app space on the device, but does not delete the original capture from the camera roll.

I would have thought the LRCC for Android app would operate in a similar way, but I don't know for sure.


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## prbimages

Jim Wilde said:


> Specifically, if the LRCC camera is used, the files are only written into the LRCC app space on the device, and synced from there. After syncing, removal of the image from the cloud deletes the original from the app space on the device(s).



That makes perfect sense, and is what I would expect to happen.


> I would have thought the LRCC for Android app would operate in a similar way, but I don't know for sure.



It doesn't appear to work that way, for me at least.

I found a two-year-old thread on the Adobe Forums which says "After chatting with tech support it turns out there is no option to delete the original file from the device like you can on desktop version.", see here:

How can I delete file from device through Light... | Adobe Community


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## graafber

Dear people, I’m an ipad user and when I import RAW files they dissapear after a while once they be synced to the cloud. Not sure how long that takes, but when I check the raw files after some time they become smartpreviews. The originals are of course in the cloud. Could imagine it works the same way within Android.


Bernard de Graaf
www.bernarddefotograaf.nl

Verzonden vanaf mijn iPad met Tapatalk Pro


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## Victoria Bampton

graafber said:


> Dear people, I’m an ipad user and when I import RAW files they dissapear after a while once they be synced to the cloud. Not sure how long that takes, but when I check the raw files after some time they become smartpreviews. The originals are of course in the cloud. Could imagine it works the same way within Android.


That's right Bernard, Lightroom will manage its own cache on both iOS and Android, so it'll remove large files once they've uploaded to the cloud. It doesn't delete files outside of its own control though, so it won't delete originals managed by the OS on Android or by Photos on iOS.


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## prbimages

Victoria Bampton said:


> That's right Bernard, Lightroom will manage its own cache on both iOS and Android, so it'll remove large files once they've uploaded to the cloud. It doesn't delete files outside of its own control though, so it won't delete originals managed by the OS on Android or by Photos on iOS.


But it doesn't work on (my) Android, that's the point of this thread. I take DNG photos using the Lightroom Camera, it creates DNG files in the directory _DCIM/LightroomCamera_, and those files NEVER get deleted, in my experience.


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## Victoria Bampton

prbimages said:


> But it doesn't work on (my) Android, that's the point of this thread. I take DNG photos using the Lightroom Camera, it creates DNG files in the directory _DCIM/LightroomCamera_, and those files NEVER get deleted, in my experience.


Hmmmmm, report that as a bug then Official Feature Request/Bug Report Forum


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