Thebest camera phones,like theiPhone 15 Pro Max,make capturing stunning moments effortless. You’ll likely need several shots unless you’re a pro, leading to unnecessary copies. Even if you only save the pictures you want, you might end up with extra copies from backing them up to the cloud. There are several ways to manage these storage-consuming duplicates, and we cover them below.
Use the Duplicates feature in the Photos app
The fastest way to remove duplicate photos on an iPhone is to use the Duplicates feature in the Photos app. It identifies similar copies of photos and videos in your library and lets you automatically merge and delete them to save space. Here’s how it works:
Apple added the feature in iOS 16. You can’t use it on iPhones running older iOS versions.
Delete all duplicate groups
The merge button creates a comprehensive image by adding relevant information from all the duplicates to the highest quality picture. It keeps this picture in your photo library and moves the other copies to theRecently Deletedalbum.
Permanently erase duplicates from your device
TheDuplicatesoption doesn’t appear underAlbumsif you don’t have duplicate photos or videos in your library.
Delete duplicate photos manually
Manage your duplicate images manually to have complete control over preserved and deleted photos. It’s like manuallydeleting pictures from Google Photos. Here’s how to do it:
Use a special app to delete duplicates
While the manual method works on any iOS device, the duplicate feature is only available on devices runningiOS 16and above. Use a third-party app to manage duplicate pictures if you have a lower version and don’t want to go through the time-consuming manual process. These applications scan your iPhone for duplicate photos. After scanning, you can manually select which picture to keep and remove or let the app handle it automatically. Popular examples on the App Store include:
Remo Duplicate Photos Remover
Aside from duplicates, the app can identify and manage photos with slight variations. Like the iOS Photos app, it automatically chooses the highest quality picture to keep and removes the rest. The tool is free to download and use.
Gemini Photos
Gemini Photos identifies duplicates and similar photos and automatically keeps the best option. It detects and manages screenshots, notes, and blurred images. It offers a free trial, a $2.99 a month subscription plan, and a $14.99 purchase.
Smart Cleaner
Aside from removing duplicate photos and videos, Smart Cleaner can manage duplicate contacts and old calendar events and test your internet speed. It offers a three-day free trial for new users, a weekly subscription plan of $4.99, and a lifetime membership of $29.99.
Why do you have duplicate pictures on your iPhone?
It’s one thing to delete duplicate photos. It’s another to prevent them from being generated in the first place. Let’s look at why you might have duplicate photos on your iPhone.
Multiple cloud services
You’ll likely have duplicate photos when using multiple cloud services like iCloud andGoogle Photosbecause your device syncs pictures to several locations. You can prevent this by using one service. If you must use multiple services, turn off automatic sync on the additional services.
How to download iCloud Photos
Downloading your photos from iCloud is straightforward and can be done with a few clicks
HDR is turned on
High Dynamic Range or HDR is a camera feature that produces sharp, high-contrast images by taking multiple shots and combining them into one. You can switch it on and off on older iPhones. When on, it creates two pictures: an HDR photo and the original photo. So you get two similar-looking pictures. Here’s how to turn off auto HDR:
Photo editing
Some third-party photo editing apps save edited pictures to your camera roll. While these are not exact duplicates, they’re similar and take up storage space. you’re able to either stick to editing pictures with the default Photos app or manually delete original copies after editing with third-party tools.
Manage duplicate photos for more storage
Deleting duplicate photos tidies up your gallery and frees local storage for new memories. Another way to free up your iPhone’s storage is toback up your iPhone’s data to the cloud.
