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It sounds like its not possible to delete a photo if it was imported into Photos. Really???

I have duplicate images stored in Photos. Some are from my phone, some are from imports from a drive. I want to delete duplicates to reduce used space and to avoid losing my mind while organizing pictures. This support page https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204022 says...


These photos won't delete when you remove photos from My Photo Stream:

  • Photos that you copied to the Photos tab or Camera Roll on your iOS device
  • Photos that you imported into the Photos app
  • Photos that you copied into a folder on your PC that aren't part of My Photo Stream


So, once I import an image into my Photos app, its there forever, regardless of my preferences? Even if its a duplicate?

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 10.13

Posted on Dec 27, 2020 7:10 PM

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Posted on Dec 27, 2020 11:19 PM

No, what that means is images you delete from your photo stream which also meet these conditions:


  • Photos that you copied to the Photos tab or Camera Roll on your iOS device
  • Photos that you imported into the Photos app
  • Photos that you copied into a folder on your PC that aren't part of My Photo Stream


will not be deleted from the libraries by the act of deleting from the photo stream. To delete these ones you'll need to find them in the Library and then drag them to the Photos trash.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 27, 2020 11:19 PM in response to 2g26egz

No, what that means is images you delete from your photo stream which also meet these conditions:


  • Photos that you copied to the Photos tab or Camera Roll on your iOS device
  • Photos that you imported into the Photos app
  • Photos that you copied into a folder on your PC that aren't part of My Photo Stream


will not be deleted from the libraries by the act of deleting from the photo stream. To delete these ones you'll need to find them in the Library and then drag them to the Photos trash.

Dec 27, 2020 11:48 PM in response to 2g26egz

Your Mac is importing automatically photos from my Photo Stream, that are not yet in your library. When you import a photo to your Mac or on your iOS device, it will automatically be added to my Photo Stream.

The problem is, that your Mac will import the same photo over and over again from My Photo Stream as long as the photo is still in My Photo Stream and not on your Mac. If you want it gone from your Mac's library, delete the photo first from My Photo Stream, then from your Mac.


But if your Mac is importing two copies of the same photo from My Photo Stream, they are not exact duplicates. Check the second version, if it has smaller dimensions. It might be a photo that you downloaded from My Photo Stream on an iPhone. The photos you download from My Photo Steam or shared albums are having smaller dimensions and are treated as different photos, not duplicates. be sure to keep the best version, when you are deleting apparent duplicates.


It sounds like its not possible to delete a photo if it was imported into Photos. Really???

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