Mac photo libraries collect duplicates in two ways: the same file imported twice, and the same moment shot several times. They need different tools.
Exact duplicates: the Duplicates album in Photos
On macOS Ventura and later, the Photos app detects identical photos and videos and lists them in the Duplicates album, under Utilities in the sidebar.
- Open Photos and click Duplicates in the sidebar.
- Review each group. Photos shows the copies side by side.
- Click Merge for a group, or select several groups and merge them together.
Merging keeps the highest-quality version, combines the metadata, such as keywords and albums, and moves the extra copies to Recently Deleted. If the album isn’t there, Photos hasn’t found any duplicates yet, or is still analyzing the library.
Near-duplicates: the ones Photos doesn’t catch
The Duplicates album only finds copies of the same file. It won’t group five slightly different shots of the same sunset, a burst of your kids jumping into a pool, or a photo and its edited export.
These near-duplicates are usually the bigger problem. To clear them you need to group photos taken close together, compare how good each one is, and keep the best.
Photo Cleaner does this on your Mac. It compares photos taken moments apart, ranks each set by sharpness and Apple’s on-device Vision score, and puts the best shot first. You can use Keep Best across every set, or open a set and choose by hand. On Mac, press period to favorite and Command-Delete to delete.
Before you start
- Back up first. Time Machine or another backup means a mistake is never permanent.
- Know how iCloud Photos works. With iCloud Photos on, deleting on your Mac deletes on your iPhone and iPad too.
- Start with recent photos. You remember those moments, so picking the best shot is quick.
Freeing the space
Deleted items stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days. To free the space right away, open Recently Deleted in the Photos sidebar and delete them there.
