By Achilles Hill | Last Updated
Duplicate photos and videos not only clutter your gallery but also consume valuable iPhone storage. If you’re running out of space or want to keep your photo library organized, finding and deleting duplicates is essential. In this guide, we'll show you how to efficiently detect and remove duplicate photos and videos on your iPhone.
Duplicates can accumulate for several reasons, such as importing photos multiple times, using burst mode, or syncing issues. Here’s why you should remove them:
The Photos app can find duplicate photos and videos in your photo library in the Duplicates album. You can merge duplicate photos and videos on iPhone in iOS 16 or later to save space and clean up your library.
Step 1: Move to Photos app, click "Albums" and then click "Duplicates" under "Utilities". Then you can see a list of the duplicate photos and videos found on your iPhone.
Step 2: Click Merge to merge duplicate items, and then click Merge [Number] Items. You can also click Select and then click Select All to merge these duplicate photos and videos in one click.
Note: The merge combines the highest quality version with all relevant data from the duplicate item and keeps it in your library. The remaining duplicate items are moved to the "Recently Deleted" album.
If your iPhone does not support the latest version of iOS 16, there is no merge feature. Then you can manually search and delete duplicate photos & videos in the Photos app. This method is time-consuming and prone to errors.
Step 1: Open the Photos app, browse and select the items you want to delete one by one, click the "Trash can" icon, and then click Delete [Number] Items.
Step 2: Deleted items are stored in the Recently Deleted folder, you can click "Albums" and then click "Recently Deleted" under "Utilities". Click Select, then click Delete All, and in the pop-up options click Delete [Number] Items.
If users enable iCloud Photo Library, all photos and videos are stored in the iCloud and only a small percentage are stored on the device itself. So you can view your photos and videos from any browser on your computer and select what you want to delete via icloud.com. This will take some time and patience to complete.
Step 1: Open iCloud.com in your browser and sign in your Apple ID and passcode. Then tap Photos icon.
Step 2: In the Photos’ library, you can see all the photos and videos that have been stored in iCloud. Browse and find duplicate photos or videos, select them, and click the "trash can" icon in the upper right corner.
Step 3: Click Delete in the pop-up prompt box. You should note that these items will be removed from iCloud Photos on all your devices.
Tip: If you accidentally delete a photo you want, you can go to Recently Deleted on the left menu to recover it.
If your iPhone is running an older iOS version or you need advanced features, third-party apps can help. You can choose one, such as Gemini Photos, to scan and remove the duplicate photos and videos on your iPhone.
Step 1: Download and install the software on your computer.
Step 2: Run the app and allow it to access your Photos library.
Step 3: Let the app scan for duplicates.
Step 4: Review and delete the duplicates with a single tap.
If you have back up iPhone photos & videos on the Windows computer, and there are many duplicate photos and videos, how can you manage the duplicates on your computer quickly and safely? iSunshare DupFiles Geniuscan help search and remove duplicate files fast and accurately. It can also locate the duplicate files to check details on your computer directly.
Note: This software can only deal with the photos and videos which are backed up on the computer, not those in your iPhone.
Step 1: Launch the software, click the Add button at the bottom right corner, select the folder from your computer that contains your iPhone duplicate photos & videos, and click Next.
Step 2: You can set the scan options, check only the Video and Picture options, and then click the Start scanning button.
Step 3: You can right-click the files and choose the Open file location option to check the files.
Step 4: Then you just need to check the box in front of the File Name, click the Delete button, and click Yes in the pop-up window to confirm the deletion of these duplicate videos and pictures.
1. Can I delete duplicate photos on iPhone?
Yes, of course. If your iPhone is in iOS 16 or later, you can easily find the duplicate photos and videos on the Duplicates album in your Photos app. You can go to check and combine duplicates or delete the extra copies.
2. How to get rid of duplicate photos on my iPad?
The Duplicate feature also works on iPad running iPadOS 16 or later. You can automatically get the duplicates and delete them in the Duplicate album. Or you can try other mentioned methods in this article to delete the duplicates on your iPad.
3. Is it possible to recover the deleted photos?
Yes. The deleted photos will be stored in the Recently Deleted album for 30 days. You can recover them from there. But if you have emptied the Recently Deleted album, it is difficult to recover the data unless you try the third-party software.
Whether you use the built-in Photos app or third-party tools, finding and deleting duplicate photos and videos is crucial for keeping your iPhone organized and saving storage. Follow the tips in this guide to maintain a clean and efficient photo library.
