My work requires me to take a lot of screenshots, resulting in the accumulation of too many screenshots. Luckily, I found a way to use MacroDroid to easily cleanup screenshots when I no longer need them.
What Is MacroDroid?
MacroDroid is one of the few apps I always install on my Android phone. It lets you use macros—tasks you can run manually or specify to trigger automatically—to automate repetitive tasks on your phone. You can download macros created by MacroDroid’s community members or create ones specific to your needs.
For example, you can create a macro for auto-rotating your phone’s screen in certain apps, so you don’t have to toggle screen orientation manually. Similarly, you can set up a macro that automatically turns on Wi-Fi when you’re near your home and turns it off when you leave. Another great use case for MacroDroid is to delete screenshots from your gallery, as you’ll see in the following sections.
Using MacroDroid to Delete Screenshots Manually
If you want to delete screenshots from your phone’s gallery whenever you want, it’s best to set up a macro that you can run manually. To do this, you need to create the macro and add it to your phone’s home screen.
First, download MacroDroid on your Android phone and follow the on-screen instructions to finish the initial setup.
Once installed, open MacroDroid and go to the Macros tab. Hit the + button in the lower-right corner to create a new macro. Be sure to give it a descriptive name so you know what it is.
Now, tap the + button on the Triggers card, select MacroDroid Specific, and tap Empty Trigger to add it to the macro.
You can also tap the search icon at the top and look up Empty Trigger directly.
Next, hit the + button on the Actions tab. Then, tap Files, choose File Operation, and select the Delete option in the prompt.
Tap OK, and MacroDroid will ask you to choose the folder from which you want to delete files. Go to the folder where your screenshots are saved. It’s typically the Screenshots folder under DCIM unless you’ve changed it.
Tap Use This Folder and confirm by hitting Allow.
You’ll now see the Select File Type prompt asking you to choose the type of file you want to delete. Select Images and hit OK.
In the subsequent prompt, make sure Block next actions until complete is selected and tap OK. This will add the Delete Images action to your macro.
Again, tap the + button on the Actions tab on the macro page. Tap Notification and select Display Notification.
Here, type a title for the notification in the text field under Title. Similarly, type the notification text that appears with the notification title in the text field under Notification text.
Now, we need to add a button to our MacroDroid notification so we can dismiss it individually without clearing all the notifications.
Tap the Add Action Button at the bottom and type Dismiss or Clear, based on what you prefer, in the Label text field. Then, check off the Clear notification on press checkbox.
Finally, tap OK and hit the save icon to save the macro.
Once done, we need to create a shortcut to run it. From the Macros tab, tap and hold the macro you just created, and select Create home screen shortcut.
When prompted, change the icon if you want or hit OK to proceed with the MacroDroid icon. Finally, tap Add, and MacroDroid will add the shortcut to your macro on your Android phone’s home screen.
With the macro added, anytime you want to delete screenshots from your gallery, tap the macro. It’ll then delete the screenshots and display a notification when the job is completed.
Using MacroDroid to Delete Screenshots Automatically
If you don’t want the hassle of manually running the macro to delete your screenshots, you can set the macro to run automatically. I’ll show you how to get the macro to run on a specified day of the week, but you can set it per your preference.
To do this, first create the macro without setting up a trigger using the instructions above. Once done, hit the + button on the Triggers card, tap Date/Time, and select Day of the Week/Month.
You’ll now be prompted to choose between Day of the Week and Day of the Week.
Tap Day of the Week, then hit the drop-down at the top, and select your preferred day. Similarly, set the time for the trigger and tap OK.
Finally, hit the checkmark in the lower-right corner to save the macro.
With your macro created and enabled, ensure MacroDroid is running, and it’ll automatically trigger the macro on your specified day and time. You’ll see a notification when it runs and deletes the screenshots.
Creating a macro takes a little effort upfront, but once you’ve done it, it ensures your phone gallery doesn’t get cluttered with screenshots again. I prefer running the macro manually since it gives me control over when the screenshots are deleted. This way, even if I forget to save important screenshots, my macro won’t delete them per the specified schedule.
