Deleting duplicate photos on your iPhone can free up valuable storage space and declutter your photo library. This guide provides a step-by-step walkthrough on how to identify and remove duplicate photos using the built-in features on iOS 16 and later.
iPhone showing multiple photos selected in the Photos app
Using the Duplicates Album
Apple introduced the Duplicates Album in iOS 16, making it easier than ever to manage duplicate photos. This feature automatically scans your photo library and groups identical or very similar photos together.
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Open the Photos app: Launch the Photos application on your iPhone.
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Navigate to the Duplicates Album: Scroll down to the Utilities section and tap on “Duplicates.”
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Review and Merge: The Duplicates Album displays sets of duplicate photos. Review each set to ensure they are truly duplicates.
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Merge Duplicates: Tap “Merge” to combine the duplicates. Your iPhone intelligently selects the photo with the highest quality and retains all relevant data, like captions and location information.
iPhone showing Delete Photo option
- Confirm Merge: A prompt will appear asking you to confirm the merge. Tap “Merge X Items,” where X represents the number of duplicates being merged.
Understanding the Merge Process
When you merge duplicate photos, the lower-quality duplicates are moved to the Recently Deleted album. They remain there for 30 days before being permanently deleted. This allows you to recover them if you accidentally merge the wrong photos.
What if I Don’t Have the Duplicates Album?
If you’re running an older version of iOS (prior to iOS 16), you won’t have access to the Duplicates Album. In this case, you’ll need to manually identify and delete duplicate photos, which can be a time-consuming process. Consider updating your iPhone to the latest iOS version to take advantage of this helpful feature. You can also explore third-party apps designed to find and remove duplicate photos.
Recovering Mistakenly Merged Photos
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Open the Recently Deleted Album: In the Photos app, scroll down to Utilities and tap on “Recently Deleted.”
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Select Photos to Recover: Choose the photos you want to recover.
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Recover Photos: Tap “Recover” to restore the selected photos to your photo library.
Preventing Future Duplicates
While the Duplicates Album is a powerful tool, proactively managing your photo library can help minimize future duplicates. Be mindful when importing photos from multiple sources and regularly review your library to identify and remove potential duplicates.
By following these steps, you can effectively delete duplicate photos on your iPhone, freeing up storage and keeping your photo library organized.
