• Photo Cleaner app helps you to remove duplicate photos from your iPhone/iPad. Manage your photos by deleting similar photos and save storage. This app is very fast when it comes to scanning and comparing a large number of photos and videos.
  • Verdict: Duplicate Photo Cleaner is a tool that helps experienced and beginning photographers compare photos, detect and remove duplicates, and organize their photo albums efficiently. Duplicate Photo Cleaner has a bulk scanning feature that allows you to find identical files two times faster. It also incorporates a built-in photo viewer for comparing images side-by-side.

If you shoot as much as the next photographer, most of your hard drive is taken over by pictures. Now, try to imagine how many of them are duplicate photos or just visually really-really similar? Chances are, the answer is a lot.

With a digital camera, you shoot about 10-15 takes from one angle or of one posture before you’re satisfied, right? And then you only choose one for editing. That’s 14 pictures that you will never need right there, and that’s every scene of every photoshoot.

You must already be thinking about getting an external hard drive or buying cloud storage and moving your gallery, because your Mac’s space is not infinite. Or you might have already done that. Anyway, in the long run, billions of photos you no longer need keep piling up and it seems like there’s no escape from it. But worry not, there is.

How to find duplicate photos on Mac

Finding duplicate photos on your Mac can be tedious and time-consuming. Especially if you’re trying to do that manually. But the problem with duplicate and visually similar photos is so commonplace that here at MacPaw we created Gemini 2, the duplicate photo finder. Let’s take a closer look at how you can sort your photos, both manually and with the help of the app.

1. Use a duplicate photo finder to clean up your Photos

Match Edited Photos: By default, Duplicate Cleaner for iPhoto won’t match photos if one has been modified. To change this, select Duplicate Cleaner for iPhoto Preferences and check this box.

First, you need to find duplicate photographs in your gallery. Then you have to figure out which version to delete in each case. All that takes loads of time if done manually, and Gemini 2 does 90% of the work for you.

To find duplicate photos on your Mac, do the following:

  1. Download Gemini for free and launch it
  2. Click Scan for Duplicates. Your Home folder is pre-selected, so Gemini 2 will check all files on your Mac.
  3. When the scan is over, hit Review Results
  4. All the duplicate photos you have on your Mac will be grouped under All Duplicates > Images. Click on the group of photos to view them (Gemini has a built-in photo preview).
  5. Bonus tip: If you switch to grid view using the icon at the top, you’ll see bigger previews of duplicate photos. Double click on a group of duplicates to see all copies side-by-side, along with their metadata and location. The icons at the top will highlight the differences between the duplicates, such as location or date modified.

  6. Once you choose which copies you want to delete, check mark them and proceed to the next set of duplicate images by using those little arrows on the sides.
  7. Finally, click Smart Cleanup to delete all selected photos. And don’t worry, Gemini moves pics to a separate Gemini Duplicates album in Photos, so you can look through them once again before you give the final “Delete” command. That’s because Apple won’t let any third-party app delete anything from the Photos library.

If you think you have too many files in your Home folder and want to focus on pictures, try scanning just the Photos app. Here’s how to find duplicates in Apple’s Photos app:

Apple photos duplicate cleaner free
  1. Download Gemini for free and launch it
  2. Click Restart Now, and then the big “+” in the middle of the screen
  3. Select the Pictures folder and hit Scan for Duplicates
  4. Follow steps 4-6 from the tutorial above

The Pictures folder contains your Photos library, so this should help you remove all the duplicate photos you have in there.

How to get rid of not-quite-duplicate photos

Once you have duplicates off your Mac, it’s time to take a look at similar photos. See, Gemini distinguishes between exact duplicate photos, which are several instances of the same image, and similars — photos that have different editing or were shot at slightly different angles.

For instance, here are two pictures with and without editing, in the same folder. Gemini will find them for you and mark as similar.

Or here are three pictures that were taken a second apart. You definitely don’t need all three, unless you’re going for an art-housy installation on majestic horse breathing.

To see all the similar photos the app has found, look right next to the duplicates in your left-hand menu.

Go through similar shots just like you did with exact duplicate pictures, selecting those you want to delete. When you’re done, click Remove and delete all unwanted copies in bulk.

Dealing with similars is pretty rewarding in terms of disk space, they usually take up even more than duplicates. After you get rid of similar images it's easy to organize your whole gallery and leave only those pictures that you’ll actually use.

2. Remove duplicates from Photos manually

When you import your pictures, the Photos app automatically detects duplicates, but it won’t help you with the ones already in your library. For those images already in your photo library, you’ll have to take a more manual approach.

It’s safe to assume most of your duplicates were taken at the same time, or at least on the same day. Thankfully, the Photos app, by default, sorts your pics by the date they were captured, making duplicate photos a little easier to spot as you’re scrolling through your library.

But if you’re still having trouble finding all of your duplicates, you can further narrow down your search by using Smart Albums. You can filter your pictures by filename, camera model, lens type, and other criteria to help you figure out if a photo has been duplicated. Follow these steps to start using Smart Albums in Photos:

  1. Open the Photos App.
  2. Click File > New Smart Album.
  3. In the pop-up window, name your Smart Album and set the filter criteria.
  4. Select the pictures you want to delete.
  5. Right-click (or hold down Command and click) on any of those images and click Delete.
  6. A window will pop up. Click Delete to confirm.
  7. In the sidebar, click Recently Deleted.
  8. Click Delete All in the top right corner.

Smart Albums are saved in the Photos app's sidebar, so you can return to your cleanup at any time and pick up right where you left off. Which you’ll find helpful if you have quite a few duplicates to go through.

3. Find duplicate photos on Mac in Finder

It’s normal for your Mac to fill up with duplicate files of all types, especially images. Sometimes you edit a photo and save versions of your edits. Or you download the same image from an email multiple times. And because of that, you might not always find your photos in your Pictures folder. They can be spread all over your hard drive from your Downloads folder to your Desktop.

Thankfully, you can set up Smart Folders in Finder to help you find and get rid of duplicates regardless of the specific folder they’re in. To use Smart Folders in Finder to find duplicates:

  1. Open a Finder window.
  2. Click File > New Smart Folder.
  3. Make sure This Mac is selected.
  4. Click the + in the top-right corner.
  5. Change the first drop-down menu to Kind and the second one to Image.
  6. Click on the Name column to sort your files by name. (It’s likely that duplicate images will have identical or consecutive names.)
  7. Select the duplicate photos you want to delete.
  8. Right-click (or hold down Command and click) on any of those images and click Move to Trash.

One of the best ways you can try to prevent duplicates is to import your pictures directly into the Photos app. As you read earlier, it automatically detects duplicate images as you import them. But if the pictures are already in your photo library, then that’s when you’ll need one of the methods mentioned above.

The nice thing about manually removing pictures with Smart Folders in Finder is that you’ll be able to find and remove pics across your entire hard drive, not just the ones in the Photos app. But obviously, the more images you have on your computer, the longer it will take for you to review them one-by-one.

However, that’s where Gemini 2 really excels. It does all the hard work of finding the duplicate and similar-looking images on your computer for you. So, instead of manually finding and deleting them, you just need to review the selections made by Gemini 2.

Final word on removing duplicate photos

We all know that euphoric state in which you return home with an SD-card full of new pictures. We’ve all been there, editing feverishly to publish or print them right away. It’s ok to be a little messy in that moment, but months later you notice that your whole Mac is a mess.

Duplicate

Don’t let those useless files eat up the drive space you need for future photoshoots. There’s nothing more frustrating than the “Startup Disk is almost full” alert when you’re uploading new pictures. It’s best to let Gemini 2 deal with space wasters long before that happens.

Have a good day and may the Photoshop be with you.

Duplicates have always been so hassling that we always look out for a magic wand that can delete all of them in a go and we can sit back and relax. Well, this is possible in real and no magic wand is required to clean all the duplicates that are there on your Mac. Wondering how? Well, the best solution is to get a powerful duplicate photo cleaner for Mac.

A dedicated duplicate photo finder and remover helps you get rid of identical or similar looking images once in a go. All these duplicate photos take up a lot of space on your device and makes it slow. To fix all this up, you need free or paid duplicate photo cleaners or removers that can easily find all those replicas or hidden copies.

Why Is A Duplicate File Finder & Remover Important?

Free Duplicate Cleaner

An ideal duplicate photo remover tool just takes a quick scan and helps you find and filter all your duplicates. The manual process of finding and removing duplicates takes up a lot of time and effort. Therefore, we have listed here some of the best deals of duplicates finder and remover to help you keep your Mac storage organized. It further helps in removing a considerable amount of disk space.

Top 10 Duplicate Photo Finder and Cleaner For Mac 2021

1. Duplicate Photos Fixer Pro- The Best Duplicate Photo Cleaner

Download Duplicate Photos Fixer Pro

Duplicates Cleaner App

Finding and removing duplicate pictures on Mac has been made easy with Duplicate Photos Fixer Pro software for Mac. This is a product by Systweak that is reliable, fast and easy to use. Duplicate Photos Fixer Pro is also available for Windows and Android platforms. With this tool, you can add individual photos, folders, or entire photo libraries to scan for any available duplicates. Not only this, you can also identify similar looking photos i.e. a picture in burst mode, or photo shopped etc. It detects all the picture duplicates whether identical or clearly a duplicate with its features as per your requirements. You can slide the bar of Matching Level, Bitmap Size, Time Interval and GPS to change the geolocation.

Pros

Finds duplicates and identical photos to save Mac’s space.

Easy-to-navigate interface.

Results displayed in groups.

2. Gemini 2: Clean All Kinds Of Duplicates Including Photos

Gemini 2 is a smart tool to find and remove duplicates on your Mac, recovering a lot of storage space in the system. When you add a folder for scabbing, it helps you get a list of all duplicates or similar photos on the screen in a while. As per Gemini 2, ‘Your photos matter, their copies don’t’. This is a simple yet user-friendly tool that gives accurate results at a lighting speed and is counted amongst the best duplicate finders for Mac. It’s smart and robust algorithm makes it a must-have choice for the Mac users.

Pros

Easy to navigate interface for both beginners and experienced users.

A high-end image detection technique to get a list of identical images.

Also allows you to clean identical images from an external drive.

3. Duplicate File Finder Remover: Tool That Merge Duplicates

Duplicate Photo Finder and Remover for Mac has fast scanning algorithms that makes it a must have tool in the list of duplicate finders. This amazing tool can help you find duplicates on Mac easily in and around multiple folders and drives. Furthermore it supports external drives too. You can search for them according to their file type, file list etc. With its free version, you can view all the duplicates on Mac, get it’s visual report, check for cleanup hints, and more. You can also look for duplicate photos stored in trash and delete them within a click. The premium version lets you use all the features including remove similar photos, merge folders and even restore the removed duplicates.

Pros

Several customization options available.

Preview files before deleting them.

User-friendly interface.

Cons

Apple Photos Duplicate Cleaner Reviews

Access advanced features after paying for premium.

4. PhotoSweeper X: Clean Duplicate in A Go

Let us introduce you with the duplicate picture cleaner that can help you filter the gallery and auto-locks the pictures that has been filtered so that you do not get confused with the sorted and not sorted pictures. PhotoSweeper X is an amazing duplicate photo cleaner software that auto detects and deletes duplicates and identical pictures grouped together at a place on your Mac. Additionally, this amazing tool analyzes iPhoto as well. The tool lets you rename the files in bulk and move them to another folder. You can also make some personal customizations like, you can view photos ‘one by one’, ‘face to face’, and ‘All in one’. You can also recover the deleted photos from trash as well if you haven’t manually deleted everything from the Trash.

Pros

Supports a wide array of file formats

Tweak its settings frequently.

Clean duplicates from both internal and external drives.

5. Cisdem Duplicate Finder +: Get Graphical Representation of Duplicates

Cisdem Duplicate Finder + lets you look for real search results that not only compares the file names but also compares the content within. It ensures that the accuracy is maintained. It scans your Mac inside out for any duplicate photos and files including both inside and external hard drives. The scan speed of this awesome tool is really commendable and the USP of this tool is that it delivers scan results in real-time. Lastly, it makes you understand which photos are taking too much space on your Mac. Get rid of all duplicates in a go with Cisdem Duplicate Finder +.

Pros

Enticing and easy-to-use interface.

Detects similar images and files despite different file names.

Saves time with its faster scanning feature.

No option to exclude folders while scanning.

[/Cons]

6. Duplicate Photo Cleaner: A Simple Tool For Beginners

Duplicate Photo Cleaner is a multiplatform tool that is also available for Windows. It supports image similarity finding function that helps you accurately find duplicates and remove them in a go. It has a distinct image comparison algorithm that it follows to determine duplicate images stored on your Mac. Duplicate Photo Cleaner is a host to special scan mode, flexible settings, and more options. The tool is even used by professional photographers who keeps trying to get free space taken over by multiple duplicates of an image. Organize your photo album with this super easy duplicate finder and remover for Mac.

Pros

Multi-platform utility tool. Also compatible with Windows.

Organize photos in different albums.

Photo

Simple interface.

Apple Photos Duplicate Cleaner Free

7. Easy Duplicate Finder: Remove Duplicates From Cloud

Easy Duplicate Finder, as the name suggests, is an easy-to-use duplicate finder and remover for macOS. Even the beginners are quite comfortable using this duplicate finder and along with them there are a large number of professionals who use its powerful technology to search for duplicates in and around the device. You can find similar images from HDD, SSD, and Cloud storages. It works well on both Windows and Mac. When it comes to the image formats this tool supports, JPEG, TIFF, PNG, GIF etc. tops the list. You can always use its advanced filters to find and remove duplicates on Mac.

Pros

Can clean duplicate photos, videos and music.

10+ scan modes for file management.

Find duplicates from both iPhotos and Photos.

Cons

A bit slow and expensive duplicate finder and remover.

8. Disk Drill: Scan multiple locations and folders

Disk Drill is yet another amazing duplicate photo cleaner and remover for Mac. It is easy to install and understand for both beginners and pro users. You can scan for any duplicates with the filters that say Auto, Old or Newest files first accordingly. When you select a particular filter, the duplicates will be found and removed as per your choice and the other ones will be kept intact. It is called one of the best free duplicate photo cleaner due to its offerings in the free trial version. You need not have to invest at and you can save a significant amount of space on your Mac quickly.

Pros

User-friendly interface that is quite easy to navigate.

Scans for all kinds of duplicates.

Choose from manual and auto-cleaning functionality.

9. DupeGuru: Customizable Photo Cleaner Tool

Apple Photos Duplicate Remover

Last but not the least. If you are looking for a basic duplicate finder and remover tool with not much advanced features, DupeGuru comes handy. It is a simple duplicate cleaner tool that not only scans for photos but also scans for almost all file formats. You can, however, use the filters to ease scanning and reviewing process of the results loaded. For those, who just need a basic tool to find and remove duplicates on Mac, DupeGuru is a great tool to consider. With the scanning in process, you’ll be able to see the real time results. Mark and delete the duplicate ones to save space on your Mac.

Pros

Free and easy-to-use duplicate photo cleaner.

Photo Duplicate Cleaner Reviews

Supports several file formats.

Multi-lingual tool.

Duplicate Cleaner 4 Pro

Wrapping Up

That’s all folks! This is how you can easily find and remove duplicate photos from your Mac with no hassle to manually find and remove duplicates. Check these awesome tools and do let us know if you find them useful or not. Also, let us know what has made you choose the particular product. Do tell us if we have missed on any of the best duplicate file finders and removers for Mac.

Keep reading Tweak Library for more top 10 articles.