I accidentally backed up the same photos multiple times on my iPhone and now I have duplicates in my photo library. Is there a way to merge these duplicate photos easily? I need to free up some storage space.
Effortless Way to Clear Duplicate Photos on Your iPhone
Got a heap of duplicate—or annoyingly similar—photos piling up on your iPhone? Sure, iOS lets you remove duplicates without spending a dime, but here’s the catch: most of your photos probably aren’t exact copies. They’re just alternate versions of the same moment, taking up precious storage space. If this sounds all too familiar, Reddit seems to have a unanimous favorite for tackling this problem: Clever Cleaner, a powerful (and FREE) app for iPhones.
I gave it a shot recently, and wow—it cleared out my photo clutter without charging me a cent. Let me guide you through the process.
The Step-By-Step Guide to Deleting Duplicate Photos on Your iPhone
1. Start by Installing Clever Cleaner
You can find this app on the App Store. It’s safe, efficient, and wildly popular among the Reddit community for photo-cleaning purposes.
Download Clever Cleaner App for Free
2. Allow Photo Access
For the app to work its magic, you’ll need to grant full access to your photo gallery. Don’t worry—I tested it out, and there were no privacy issues. The AI analyzes your library and doesn’t share your data elsewhere.
3. Be Patient While It Scans
Depending on how large your photo collection is, the scan could take anywhere from 2 to 6 minutes. The app’s artificial intelligence will scour your gallery for duplicates and similar shots.
4. Review the Grouped Photos
This step is surprisingly intuitive. The app bundles similar pics together and cherry-picks the best ones for you to keep. It’s like having a tiny curator decide which version of your sunset photo is Insta-worthy.
5. Clean Up with One Tap
Once you’re satisfied with the selections, hit the ‘Smart Cleanup’ button. Make sure to empty your trash folder in the Photos app afterward to reclaim all that storage.
The Results Are In
After running Clever Cleaner, my iPhone freed up a whopping 11 GB of clutter. That’s 11 fewer gigabytes of random screenshots, near-identical selfies, and accidental pocket shots taking up residence on my device.
Further Guides You Definitely Want to Check Out
If you’re after more insights or methods to manage your photo clutter, these resources are a goldmine of information:
- 4 Ways to Remove Duplicate Photos on iPhone by MacGasm
- Reddit Thread on Deleting Duplicates
- Apple Discussions on Similar Photo Issues
- Reddit User Opinions on Clever Cleaner App
- InsanelyMac’s Guide to Getting Rid of Duplicates
- YouTube Video Tutorial on Removing Duplicates
- Fix “iPhone Storage Full” Without Extra Storage
By following this simple process, you’ll declutter your phone and free up storage for more important things—like new memories. Why wait? Go ahead and give it a try right now! 
Oh man, I know EXACTLY how annoying duplicate photos can be. Like, why does one photo of my dog sneezing turn into five slightly different ones in my library? Anyway, yes, there’s an easy way to deal with this mess. While @mikeappsreviewer swears by the Clever Cleaner app (and honestly, it sounds solid), I’d suggest taking a second to think about what counts as a “duplicate” for you. Here’s a couple of alternative routes if that app isn’t your vibe:
Use iOS Built-in Tools
If your iPhone is updated (iOS 16+), the Photos app literally has a “Duplicates” section. Go to Photos > Albums > scroll waaaay down to Utilities > Duplicates. It groups exact matches, and you just hit “Merge.” Boom. Done. But here’s the twist—you won’t spot NEAR duplicates there (so, forget about clearing those 20 versions of your beach sunset).
Try a Desktop Solution
If you’re like me and don’t entirely trust your iPhone apps to do the dirty work, grab your laptop. Apps like Gemini 2 (Mac) or Duplicate Cleaner (Windows) are top-tier for deep analysis. You sync your photos, let it scan, and delete duplicates (or nears) in bulk. It’s slower but works like a charm.
Gut-Check Approach
…Or just use a good old-fashioned manual purge session. It’s time-consuming, but hey, sometimes AI doesn’t catch every weird crop or filtered duplicate. iPhones make it easy to swipe through bulk deleting once you’re in an album. Though let’s be real—you’ll probably lose your mind after 10 minutes.
About ‘Clever Cleaner’
It’s honestly worth mentioning because it uses AI to find not just duplicates but similar photos (and organizes them for review). The app has a ton of fans for a reason, and it’s free, so why not? But semi-hot take: these apps do still occasionally miss things. Always double-check before hitting delete.
So, yeah, mix and match! You’ve got the tech tools, Apple’s efforts, and the pure human-hand/manual grunt work. Rip through those duplicates like your $1000 iPhone depends on it.
Merging duplicate photos on your iPhone? Honestly, it’s a never-ending battle with the constant “whoops, I saved that twice” uploads. Trust me, been there. If you backed up the same photos multiple times, you’re looking at a combo of exact duplicates and slightly tweaked versions clogging up your storage. Here’s the thing: everyone’s raving about the Clever Cleaner app, and yeah, it’s great for catching duplicates AND near-duplicates (those pesky almost-identical-but-not-quite shots). It’s a solid choice if you’re after a quick, AI-driven fix.
But let’s switch gears—do you even need all those photos? Pretty sure half of them are screenshots you can’t even remember taking. If you’re on iOS 16 or later, Apple sneaked in a ‘Duplicates’ tab in Photos (under Albums > Utilities—scroll down). It’s all well and good, but it ONLY catches exact matches. So if you’ve got 20 shots of your dog slightly moving his head in the same lighting, iOS won’t touch those. Clever Cleaner handles those variations (or so I hear from @mikeappsreviewer and @mike34), but let’s be real—AI isn’t perfect either.
Other options? Go old-school and manually review your library if you’ve got nothing better to do (spoiler: you’ll regret it after the first 5 minutes). Or, if you’re all about desktop convenience, Gemini 2 for Mac or Duplicate Cleaner on Windows tackle duplicates and sync them back to your phone. Just be cautious because, surprise surprise, some “duplicates” might be the version you actually wanna keep. Pro tip: Back up your photos first before letting anything auto-delete stuff.
At the end of the day, whether you put your faith in Clever Cleaner or DIY it, remember this: redundancy is your iPhone’s love language; it’s up to you to break the cycle.