I noticed my iPhone is filled with duplicate photos, and it’s making it hard to find the ones I need. It’s also taking up unnecessary storage space. Can anyone guide me on how to quickly identify and delete these duplicates?
Simplifying Your iPhone Photo Library Without Spending a Dime
So, you’ve probably felt the pain of scrolling endlessly through your photo gallery, only to find it cluttered with duplicate or near-identical pictures. Trust me, you’re not alone. While iOS offers a straightforward way to delete duplicate photos (and that’s pretty neat), odds are most of your gallery is loaded with similar pics—think multiple shots of the same subject, slight perspective differences, or even burst mode overkill. And let’s face it, tackling those manually is borderline torture.
Enter Clever Cleaner—a completely free app for iPhones that comes highly recommended by Reddit users. Yes, free. I tried it out, and it honestly made a massive difference, zero dollar cost, zero sketchy vibes.
Quick Guide: Get Ahead of Those Pesky Duplicate Photos
Here’s a foolproof way to declutter your photo library using this app:
Step-by-Step Breakdown:
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Download the Clever Cleaner App
Head over to the App Store and install the app for free. You can grab it via this link:
Clever Cleaner App for iPhone -
Give It Permission to Access Your Photos
Don’t panic—this access is necessary so the app’s AI can conduct a thorough scan of your gallery. I granted permission myself, and everything ran smoothly. -
Let the AI Do Its Thing
Depending on how packed your photo gallery is, the app will need 2 to 6 minutes for a full analysis. It’s surprisingly fast considering how deep it digs into your library. -
Review the Results
The app doesn’t just erase duplicates blindly. It organizes similar photos into groups, choosing the best quality image while highlighting others for removal. Super considerate, right? -
Tap on ‘Smart Cleanup’
Once you’re satisfied with the review (spoiler: its sorting is typically spot-on), hit the “Smart Cleanup” button. Finally, head over to your Photos app, empty your trash folder, and voila—you’re all set.
Before You Know It, Bye-bye Junk Photos 
Honestly, my personal gain? A whopping 11 GB of space freed up in a snap. Yes, eleven. Imagine backing up your phone without the storage warnings or downloading more apps stress-free. Plus, all that extra space is a chef’s kiss for better performance.
Extra Resources Worth Exploring
Feeling inquisitive? Here are some related guides and community discussions that delve deeper into cleaning that cluttered gallery:
- 4 Methods on MacGasm: How to Remove Duplicate Photos
- Reddit’s Take: More Ways to Delete Duplicate Photos on iPhone
- Apple Discussion Thread: Duplicates & Similar Photos
- Clever Cleaner App Discussion on Reddit
- Getting Rid of Duplicates: Insanelymac.com Guide
- Video Walkthrough: Removing Duplicate Photos (YouTube)
- Fixing Storage Issues Without Buying More Space
There you have it—your comprehensive guide to reclaiming storage, one duplicate photo at a time. Go ahead and give this method a shot—you’ll be snapping away guilt-free in no time!
1 Like
Honestly, iPhones and their ‘duplicates’ situation can be such a nightmare. And yes, @mikeappsreviewer already dropped a solid tip about using the Clever Cleaner app, but let me throw in my two cents here instead of just echoing them.
If downloading another app isn’t your vibe, Apple’s Photos app (if you’re on iOS 16 or later) actually has a built-in ‘Duplicates’ feature under Albums > Utilities. It works decently for straight-up identical pictures but doesn’t tackle ‘almost duplicates’ like burst photo sequences or slightly different angles. Still, it’s better than trying to scroll blindly through thousands of pics. Downside? It’s manual; you’ll still need to review and merge stuff yourself.
And okay, call me old-school, but Google Photos is lowkey underrated for cross-device photo management (plus, that AI-powered photo-sorting isn’t half bad for finding duplicates, though it’s not automatic). Yes, it requires uploading everything to Google’s servers, but honestly, if you’re deleting duplicates, do you really care about cloud privacy for those blurry cat pics and screenshots of memes?
Oh, but here’s a spicy take: instead of relying on an app to guess what to delete, why not just Marie Kondo your entire library? Like, actually sit for an hour or two—pretend you’re a photographer culling their shots. Painful? Yes. Effective? Also yes. But hey, if wasting hours is NOT your aesthetic, the Clever Cleaner app seems like it slaps, according to all the hype—it’s on my list to try next.
Bro, I feel you! Duplicate photos are like the cockroaches of your gallery—annoying and hard to get rid of. Okay, @mikeappsreviewer has thrown out the Clever Cleaner app suggestion, and yeah, it’s decent, especially since it’s free. And @jeff pointed out Apple’s ‘Duplicates’ feature if you’re on iOS 16+. Cool. But hear me out: these solutions might not entirely cover your issue if you’re dealing with LOADS of ‘similar’ shots (burst modes, slightly different angles) instead of straight-up dupes.
Honestly, I’m gonna say it—manual clean-up can be a weirdly satisfying (yet painful) process if you’re willing to go hardcore. Here’s my take:
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Address the Root Cause First: Stop taking 500 shots of your coffee 'cause you can’t decide on the right angle. Seriously. Burst mode is the enemy. Disable it if you’re not a sports photographer.
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Use the iOS ‘Favorites’ System: Start favoriting the BEST photos right after you snap them. This way, next time you sit down to clean up, you already know what’s worth keeping.
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Sort by Date or Album: Go into the Photos app and sort by date. Focus on specific events or times to clean up instead of attacking your 10,000 pics all at once.
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Third-Party Tools: Yes, Clever Cleaner is legit if you’re like “nah, I don’t have time for ‘Favorites.’” But if you’re feeling distrustful about random apps snooping your stuff (paranoia is healthy sometimes), you could check out desktop apps like Gemini (if you also use macOS). More control, IMO.
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Cloud Photo Services?: Google Photos or Amazon Photos (if you’re already paying for Prime) also work for spotting duplicates. Upload, let their AI sort similar shots, and delete the extra ones. Yeah, more uploading, but it can work.
And let’s address the elephant in the room. Deleting duplicates won’t magically save your soul if you’re just gonna refill your storage with memes and tweet screenshots. You gotta maintain that clean vibe! It’s a process, not just a one-time fix.
Okay, rant over. Try one or all of these, but for real, stop photographing the same sunset seventeen times. Quality > quantity.