iCloud is a great way to keep all of your devices in sync with each other. But duplicate and similar files of all types are just wasting precious storage space on the cloud. And then you’re not getting everything you’re paying for.
- Delete duplicate photos from your iPhone, Android, Mac or PC. Use free apps like Photos Duplicate Cleaner and Duplicate Cleaner.
- Its Free version has options to view all the duplicate photos in the Mac, get a visual report, check the cleanup hints, and even delete the duplicate files in the Trash. When the Pro version is being discussed, this duplicate photo remover mac software offers to remove similar photos, merge folders and even restore the removed duplicates.
- Download and start Umate Mac Cleaner. Select 'Delete Duplicate Files' tab on the left side. Enter the directory to scan and then click on the 'Scan' button. After scanning, the app will show you both original files and their duplicates, and automatically tick off duplicate ones for quick deletion.
Also Read: How to Import Photos from iPhone to Mac Part 2: How to Remove Duplicate Photos on Mac for Free. There are a large number of third-party 'Duplicate Photo Remover' apps for your Mac that claim to clean, shrink, de-clutter, or remove duplicates from Photos. To find duplicate photos on your Mac, do the following: Download Gemini for free and launch it; Click Scan for Duplicates. Your Home folder is pre-selected, so Gemini 2 will check all files on your Mac. When the scan is over, hit Review Results; All the duplicate photos you have on your Mac will be grouped under All Duplicates Images.
Pictures are probably the most commonly duplicated. Whether it’s actually duplicated photos, different versions of the same image you’ve edited, or just similar pics you took and changed the angle ever-so-slightly. And before you know it, you’re running out of iCloud storage and being prompted to upgrade.
But don’t worry. In this article, you’ll read about how to delete multiple pictures from iCloud and free up more storage.
There are duplicate file finder apps that can scan for not just exact duplicates but also similar-looking pictures on your computer. Gemini 2 is one of those duplicate file finders, and with just a couple clicks, it will scan your photo library and get rid of the pics that are just wasting space.
Why you have duplicate photos in iCloud?
It’s important to note that just because you’re seeing pictures in multiple places in your Photos app, that doesn’t necessarily mean they're duplicated. If a picture is in two albums and in All Photos, it only lives in one location and is simply being referenced in the albums. The same thing is true if you see pictures in All Photos and My Photo Stream.
One of the frustrating things about iCloud Photos is that it won’t tell you if you’re trying to import a picture you’ve already imported. Instead, it will just modify the filename and add a number at the end.
How to remove duplicate photos from iCloud
Unfortunately, iCloud doesn’t have an easy way to view all duplicate pictures. But thankfully, by default, it shows you your pictures in chronological order. So, in theory, you should be able to scroll through your iCloud Photos and spot the duplicates that are next to each other. Then, after you manually find the duplicates, these steps will show you how to delete multiple pictures from iCloud:
- Open your browser and go to iCloud.com.
- Sign in with your iCloud account.
- Click Photos.
- Select the picture(s) you want to delete and click the trash can.
How to remove duplicates iCloud Photo Library on Mac
The good news is you can save time and spare yourself the headache of manually looking for your iCloud Photo duplicates. You can use the app Gemini 2 to automatically scan and get rid of them. But Gemini 2 can only scan pictures that are stored locally on your Mac. The first thing you have to do is make sure your Mac is syncing with iCloud Photos.
Follow these steps to turn on iCloud Photos on your Mac:
- Open the Photos app.
- Click Photos > Preferences.
- Select the iCloud tab.
- Check the box next to iCloud Photos.
Depending on how big your library is, this can take a little while to finish. You might want to get that set up and then check back on it in about an hour or so. Mini ninjas for mac.
After your photos are synced with your Mac, this is how to delete duplicate pictures on iCloud with Gemini 2:
- Download and open Gemini 2.
- Click + > Pictures folder > Scan for duplicates.
- Choose Smart Cleanup or Review Results.
When Gemini 2 is finished scanning your Photos library, you’re given a choice between two options. Smart Cleanup uses Gemini’s algorithm to select the best version of your photos and delete the rest. It’s that simple. There’s nothing else you have to do.
On the other hand, clicking Review Results will group your pictures together so you can decide which ones you want to keep or delete. This is really helpful for your similar-looking photos. The ones where the angle is slightly different or maybe you’ve got your eyes closed in one and not the others. And of course, there are some instances where you might want to keep two or three versions of a similar picture.
How to download multiple pictures from iCloud
While you’re cleaning up your duplicate photos on iCloud, you might find a handful that you want to download and save on your computer. Rather than trying to download the pictures one at a time, it’s easiest to download a few at once. Follow these steps to download all the pictures you want to at one time.
- In your browser, go to iCloud.com.
- Sign in with your Apple ID.
- Click Photos.
- Then, click on the first photo you want to save, hold down Shift and click on the last photo you want to save.
- Select the download button that looks like a cloud.
- Choose whether you want the unmodified originals or to include the edits.
- Click Download.
Storage space always feels like a scarcity, but that’s especially true when it comes to cloud-based services like iCloud. When you’re paying for each gigabyte, it’s important to not waste any of it with duplicate or similar photos. Fortunately, Gemini 2 makes it easy and convenient to regularly scan your pictures and tidy up.
Known as Mac OS X from 2001 to 2012, OS X from 2012 to 2016, and macOS since 2016, the operating system for Apple’s Mac computers comes with a preinstalled app called Photos to browse, organize and manage photos. The photos in Apple OS X Photos are stored in the Photos library in your Mac’s Pictures folder.
As with any apps, it’s not perfect. Duplicate photos are one of the most common issues with the Photos app. How do I delete duplicate photos in OS X Photos? You will find the best answer in this guide.
The Best App to Delete Duplicate Photos in OS X Photos
Cisdem Duplicate Finder
- Safely remove duplicate photos from Photos library
- Even support Photos library stored on external hard drive
- Find duplicate photos in regular Mac folders as well
- Also find duplicate audios, videos, documents, archives and other duplicates
- Identify true duplicate files based on content
- Support Mac’s HD, external HD, SD card and more
- Offer 3 preview modes, allowing side-by-side image preview
- Automatically select duplicates to mass remove with 1 click
- Also let you control the selection by offering 8 selection rules
- Support macOS 10.10 and later
Why does Photos duplicate photos when importing?
3utools stuck at 60. Apple Photos for Mac (previously iPhoto until 2015) makes it easy to import photos from an iPhone, a digital camera, an external storage device or a regular folder on Mac. It informs users of any duplicate upload of the same file, as an effort to avoid duplicates.
However, Photos app could still duplicate photos when importing sometimes. There are two common scenarios or reasons.
When you import photos from iPhone to Mac Photos app, the app’s “Import All New Items” can automatically recognize and import new photos. Sometimes, it may fail to recognize and import photos that are already in your Photos, leading to duplicate photos.
Also, the issue may be caused by iCloud, when “iCloud Photos” and “Optimize iPhone Storage” are enabled on your iPhone.
How to remove duplicate photos from Photos library, automatically and safely
To delete duplicate photos on Mac photos app, you need to remove duplicates from the Photos library. It’s possible to do the removal manually. But you won’t want to try it if there are hundreds, thousands or more items in your library!
The best way is to use duplicate photo finder and cleaner software to automatically identify them, saving you from browsing through numerous photos and manually locating duplicates. For this guide, I use Cisdem Duplicate Finder, which is considered the best duplicate photo finder Mac 2020 by many Mac users.
Cisdem Duplicate Finder uses advanced algorithms to accurately detect duplicate photos in your library based on content regardless of filename. After that, it automatically and smartly decides which photos to delete and which to keep, or lets you decide yourself.
And then Mac Photos asks if you allow this duplicate photo finder to delete the unwanted duplicates. The deletion won’t happen until you grant the permission.
The software is safely designed for Mac Photos, and the whole process adheres to the mechanisms of Photos, ensuring absolute safety and reliability.
Below are the steps to remove duplicate photos from Photos library easily, securely and quickly.
1. Download Cisdem Duplicate Finder for Mac. Install the software. Open it.
2. Locate your Photos library, which is in Mac’s Pictures folder by default.
3. Drag Photos library (rather than Photos app) into the software. Click Scan.
4. Once the scan is done, choose Images tab > Duplicate sub-tab. View, sort and preview the duplicate photos as you like.
5. The Auto-Select function already smartly and automatically selects duplicates for you to mass delete with one click.
If not satisfied with the auto-selection, highlight all items under Duplicate sub-tab with Command-A and choose a desired selection rule.
6. Now all unwanted photo duplicates are selected. Click Delete.
7. In the pop-up dialog box, click Delete to allow the deletion.
Delete Duplicate Photos Mac Free Software
Now the duplicate photos are deleted and go to Recently Deleted in Mac Photos app. And the app will automatically delete them permanently after 29 days. Or, you can get rid of them right away by clicking Delete All.
Note 1: If your MacBook Pro, MacBook Air or iMac, etc. is running on macOS 10.14 Mojave or earlier, Step 7 will be different. And a few extra easy steps will be needed. In this case, the software will delete duplicates by moving them to the Cisdem Duplicate Album it creates in Photos app.
Note 2: If your MacBook Pro, MacBook Air or iMac, etc. is running on macOS 10.15 Catalina or later, and the Photos library is set as the System Photo Library (likely to be so if you have only one library for your Mac Photos), the 7-step guide above is all you need to delete duplicate photos on Mac Photos. If it is not the system library (may happen if you have multiple libraries), there are a few additional easy steps to follow.
Tips to automatically delete duplicate photos in OS X Photos
Find near duplicate photos
In addition to exact duplicate photos (photos exactly identical regardless of filename), Cisdem Duplicate Finder can also help find and delete near duplicate photos (or called similar photos) on Mac. Exact duplicates are listed under the Duplicate sub-tab, near duplicates under the Similar sub-tab.
Thinkorswim mac. They are grouped for you to easily pick the best shots to keep and select the unnecessary ones to eliminate. If you want to, you can choose a desired selection rule to select in bulk.
Remove duplicate photos between two Mac Photos libraries
It’s possible to have multiple libraries for Mac Photos app. You can use this duplicate photo finder and cleaner to scan multiple libraries for the duplicates in and across them.
Cisdem Duplicate Finder for Mac
- Securely delete duplicate photos on Mac Photos app
- Work with Photos libraries stored on Mac and external hard drive
- Also remove dupes from iPhoto, iTunes and Music apps
- Find duplicate pictures, videos, songs, documents, archives and more
- Scan one or multiple folders or libraries for duplicates
- Let you preview and compare photos side by side
- Offer multiple options to select dupes for a 1-click deletion
- Help free up space
How To Remove Duplicate Photos On Mac Free
Free Download
How to delete duplicate photos on Mac Photos manually
You can choose to delete duplicate photos in OS X Photos app by hand if there are only a few photos in your Photos library.
- In Apple Photos app on your Mac, choose Library > Photos.
- Click the Photos tab at the top. Make sure it is showing all photos.
- Press and hold the Command key and select the unwanted photo duplicates by hand.
- When you are done selecting, perform a right-click. Click Delete .. Photos.
- Go to Recently Deleted. There, select all the items and click Delete All.
Tip to delete duplicate photos in Photos by hand
Mac OS X Photos has a function called Smart Album. If you need to find out the duplicates among a certain type of photos rather than all your photos in Photos library, this function can help.
Hover your mouse over My Albums, and a plus icon will appear. Click it and choose Smart Album. Name this album and create one or more conditions. Click OK. Photos that fall into this condition or combination of conditions will appear in this Smart Album.
Now create a regular Photos album and put these photos in to it. Browse through these photos, identify duplicates and select the unwanted ones for elimination.
Conclusion
Keeping your Photos app free from duplicate photos brings a better browsing experience and makes it easier to organize your photos. Removing duplicate photos from Mac Photos app can also reduce library size and help free up space on Mac. This article shows you how to safely and effectively get the job done on macOS 11 Big Sur, macOS 10.15 Catalina, macOS 10.14 Mojave and earlier OS X versions.