Capturing memories is wonderful — but over time, your photo library can become overloaded with duplicate and similar images that clutter your Mac instead of sparking joy. As the years go by, thousands of unnecessary photos quietly pile up, eating away at storage space. It may feel overwhelming, but don’t worry — there is a solution. In this guide, we’ll show you how to find and delete duplicate photos on your Mac quickly and easily.
How to remove duplicate photos on Mac
Searching for duplicate photos on your Mac can be both tedious and time-consuming — especially if you’re doing it manually. With duplicate and visually similar images becoming increasingly common, having the right tips and tools can make a big difference. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to organize your photo library, whether you prefer to sort manually or use an app to speed up the process.
1. Use a duplicate сleaner app
Manually finding and comparing duplicate photos can take hours — first you have to locate the duplicates, then decide which version to keep. Fortunately, CleanMyMac can handle most of the work for you.
CleanMyMac is a trusted, Apple-notarized Mac cleaning tool that includes a smart feature called My Clutter. With just a few clicks, it scans your entire system for duplicate and similar images, then helps you review and choose which ones to keep and which to delete. No need to dig through every folder — it simplifies the process and saves you valuable time.
Getting rid of duplicate photos is easy with CleanMyMac. Just follow these steps:
1. Download and launch CleanMyMac, and start your free trial.
2. In the sidebar, select My Clutter and run a quick scan. You can choose a specific folder or location to scan.
3. Once the scan is complete, click Review All Files.
4. Under the Duplicates section, CleanMyMac will group all duplicate photos it finds. Each group shows the number of identical images. Click on any group to preview the photos using the built-in viewer.
5. Select the copies you want to delete by checking the boxes next to each image, then move on to the next group.
6. When you’re done reviewing, click Remove to delete the selected duplicates.
Note: Duplicate screenshots are removed instantly. For regular photos, CleanMyMac moves them to the Recently Deletedalbum in your Photos app — be sure to empty that album to permanently free up space.
2. Remove duplicates from Photos app manually
While the Photos app can automatically detect duplicates during import, it doesn’t scan for duplicates already stored in your library. To remove those, you’ll need to take a more hands-on approach.
Chances are, most of your duplicate photos were taken around the same time or on the same day. Fortunately, the Photos app automatically organizes your images by date, making it a bit easier to spot duplicates as you scroll through your library.
If you’re still having trouble identifying duplicates, try using Smart Albums to refine your search. With Smart Albums, you can filter photos by filename, camera model, lens type, and more — helping you pinpoint potential duplicates more accurately.
Here’s how to create a Smart Album in the Photos app:
1. Open the Photos app on your Mac.
2. Go to the top menu and click File > New Smart Album.
3. In the pop-up window, give your Smart Album a name and set your desired filter criteria (e.g., filename, date, camera model).
4. Once the Smart Album is created, select the duplicate photos you want to remove.
5. Right-click (or Command + Click) on any selected photo and choose Delete.
6. When prompted, click Delete to confirm.
7. In the sidebar, navigate to Recently Deleted.
8. Click Delete All in the top-right corner to permanently remove the images and free up space.
Smart Albums are automatically saved in the Photos app’s sidebar, making it easy to return to your cleanup whenever you like — a handy feature if you’re dealing with a large number of duplicates.
Use a built-in duplicate finder
If your Mac is running macOS Ventura or later, the Photos app includes a built-in duplicate photo detector that can automatically identify and merge identical images. Here’s how to quickly merge all duplicate photos on your Mac in one go:
1. Open the Photos app on your Mac.
2. In the sidebar, click on Duplicates. macOS may take a few moments to scan your library and identify duplicate images.
3. Select the duplicates you want to merge. You can choose individual sets or press Command + A to select all at once.
4. Click Merge [x] Items, then confirm by clicking Merge [x] Items again.
5. The duplicate copies will be moved to the Recently Deleted album. To permanently remove them, follow the steps outlined earlier to empty that folder.
3. Find and remove duplicate photos in Finder
It’s completely normal for your Mac to accumulate duplicate files over time — especially photos. You might edit an image and save multiple versions, or unknowingly download the same photo from an email more than once. As a result, your duplicates aren’t always neatly stored in the Pictures folder. They can be scattered across your hard drive — from the Downloads folder to the Desktop and beyond.
Thankfully, Finder’s Smart Folders feature makes it easier to track down duplicate images across your Mac, no matter which folder they’re hiding in. Here’s how to set it up:
1. Open Finder and go to File > New Smart Folder.
2. Ensure “This Mac” is selected as the search location.
3. Click the “+” button in the top-right corner to add a search filter.
4. Set the first dropdown to Kind, and the second to Image.
5. Click the Name column to sort files alphabetically — duplicates often have identical or very similar names.
6. Select the duplicate photos you want to delete.
7. Right-click (or Command + Click) any selected image and choose Move to Trash.
One of the easiest ways to prevent duplicate photos is by importing your images directly into the Photos app. As mentioned earlier, it automatically detects and flags duplicates during import. However, if the duplicates are already in your library, you’ll need to use one of the methods discussed above to remove them.
Using Smart Folders in Finder is a great manual option because it allows you to search your entire Mac — not just what’s stored in the Photos app. You can locate and delete duplicates scattered across folders like Downloads, Desktop, and beyond. The downside? The more images you have, the more time-consuming this process becomes.
That’s where CleanMyMac stands out. It automates the entire process by scanning your Mac for duplicate and similar-looking photos. Instead of sorting through thousands of files manually, you just need to review and confirm the selections CleanMyMac has made — saving you hours of work.
How to get rid of similar photos on Mac
After removing exact duplicates from your Mac, it’s a good idea to review similar photos as well. CleanMyMac helps with this by distinguishing between true duplicates — identical copies of the same image — and similar photos, which may look alike but have slight differences, such as edits, filters, or variations in angle or framing.
For example, CleanMyMac can detect photos with slight variations — such as edited vs. unedited versions or images taken from slightly different angles — and categorize them as similar rather than exact duplicates.
Here’s a quick refresher on how to use the My Clutter tool — this time, to locate and review similar photos:
1. Open CleanMyMac.
2. Navigate to My Clutter, then click Scan, followed by Review All Files.
3. To view the similar photos CleanMyMac has identified, go to the Similar Images section — located just below Duplicates in the sidebar.
Review your similar photos just as you did with exact duplicates — select the ones you no longer need, then click Remove to delete them in bulk.
Cleaning up similar images can free up a surprising amount of disk space — often more than exact duplicates. Once they’re gone, it becomes much easier to organize your photo library and keep only the pictures you truly want to keep.
And there you have it — our complete guide to finding and removing duplicate and similar photos on your Mac. Don’t let unnecessary files take up valuable space meant for new memories. Whether you use CleanMyMac to streamline the process or follow the manual steps we’ve outlined, tackling digital clutter early can save you time, storage, and frustration down the road.