How to Find and Delete Duplicate Photos on Mac

Duplicate photos are a silent storage killer. They accumulate from importing photos multiple times, transferring between devices, and screenshot bursts. Here's how to find and remove them.

Why Duplicates Happen

Importing the same photos from iPhone multiple times

Transferring photos from old devices during iPhone upgrades

Screenshots taken in quick succession

Burst mode photos where you keep multiple similar shots

Importing from multiple sources — camera, iPhone, old hard drives

Method 1 — Using Apple Photos Built-in Duplicates Detection

Since macOS Ventura, Photos has a built-in duplicates detector:

Open Photos on your Mac

In the sidebar under Library, click Duplicates

Photos shows all detected duplicate groups

Click Merge on each group to keep the best version and delete the rest

Or click Merge All to handle everything at once

This is the safest method as Photos is smart about keeping the highest quality version.

Method 2 — Using Gemini 2

Gemini 2 is a dedicated duplicate finder for Mac that goes beyond what Photos detects:

Download Gemini 2 from the Mac App Store

Add your Photos library or photo folders

Gemini scans and groups duplicates and near-duplicates

Review and delete with one click

Gemini also finds similar photos — not just exact duplicates — so you can cull burst shots and multiple attempts at the same photo.

Method 3 — Manual Review

For smaller libraries you can review manually:

In Photos, sort by date

Look for groups of very similar photos taken within seconds of each other

Select the ones you want to delete and press Delete

Empty the Recently Deleted album to free the space immediately

Before You Delete — Back Up First

Always make sure you have a backup before deleting large numbers of photos. Use Migrate Moments to export your library to an external drive first — then you can delete duplicates from iCloud with confidence knowing everything is safely archived.

How Much Space Can You Reclaim?

It varies enormously but users with large libraries often find:

5-15% of their library are duplicates

Burst photos can account for hundreds of near-identical shots

Old imports from switching phones can double-count years of photos

A library of 50,000 photos might have 5,000-8,000 duplicates — potentially saving 10-20GB.

After Removing Duplicates

Once you've removed duplicates, empty the Recently Deleted album in Photos to immediately reclaim the storage. Go to Recently Deleted in the sidebar and click Delete All.

Then consider archiving older photos to an external drive with Migrate Moments to keep your library lean going forward.

Related articles

How to organise 10,000 photos on a Mac

Mac running slow because of photos — how to fix it

How to free up iCloud storage without losing a single photo