I am using Monterey 12.0.1 and have around 15,000 photos some of which I believe are duplicated. Is there a recommended safe App that I can run to identify, sort and then delete the duplicate items.
Many thanks.
iMac 27″, macOS 12.0
You want an app that will identify the potential duplicates, put them in an album or mark them with a keyword for easy retrieval and deletion by you. You don't want one that does the deletion itself for obvious reasons.
I've run tests on the these two apps with the following results and found them to be safe to use:
PowerPhotos - $29.95
PowerPhotos is the iPhoto Library Manager version for Photos and is very powerful. Although more expensive I would recommend it as it has more capabilities than the others like the capability to merge Photos libraries or copy photos, both original and edited versions, along with their metadata between libraries.
PhotoSweeper - $9.99 - Demo version available.
PhotoSweeper compares bitmaps and/or histograms so it can detect duplicate images even if they have different file sizes, file names, image sizes and capture dates.
The PowerPhotos app is the better as it does so much more than just find duplicates. You can use it in demo mode without the duplicate finding and merging features.
You want an app that will identify the potential duplicates, put them in an album or mark them with a keyword for easy retrieval and deletion by you. You don't want one that does the deletion itself for obvious reasons.
I've run tests on the these two apps with the following results and found them to be safe to use:
PowerPhotos - $29.95
PowerPhotos is the iPhoto Library Manager version for Photos and is very powerful. Although more expensive I would recommend it as it has more capabilities than the others like the capability to merge Photos libraries or copy photos, both original and edited versions, along with their metadata between libraries.
PhotoSweeper - $9.99 - Demo version available.
PhotoSweeper compares bitmaps and/or histograms so it can detect duplicate images even if they have different file sizes, file names, image sizes and capture dates.
The PowerPhotos app is the better as it does so much more than just find duplicates. You can use it in demo mode without the duplicate finding and merging features.
The choice between Powerphotos and Photo Sweeper will depend on the kind of duplicates you need to find. Are the photos exactly identical files, or similar files - edited versions of the same photo? Downsized copies? Files converted to a different format? I am asking, because Photos is scanning for exact duplicates, when we are importing photos and warning us, so there should not be identical photos in the library. If the majority of the duplicates are just similar photos, with different filenames or dates, then Photo Sweeper would be the better choice, because it is comparing what a photo is showing, not the file attributes.
That subscription fee for Gemini 2 is rather expensive compared to Power Photos and Photo Sweeper.
How does Gemini remove the duplicates? Does it modify the Photos Library directly, or is it collecting the duplicates in an album in photos for you to review? The product page for Gemini is talking about a "Trash" , not "Recently Deleted". Modifying the library directly could be dangerous. I am asking, because the apps "Clean My Mac 2" and "Clean My Mac 3" by the same manufacturer "Mac Paw" damaged my test photo libraries, when I tested the trial versions of the apps. The damage could not be repaired, because the original image files had been removed and replaced by the edited versions, but with incorrect links. Apple is warning against duplicate detectors: Using third-party apps to remove duplicate photos might damage your Photos for macOS library - Apple Support
I would always first test a trial version of such an app on a test library, until I am satisfied, that the app does not modify the library in any way without going through the program interface of Photos, and the originals of the edited versions will not be replaced by the edited versions.
That’s great many thanks for your help.
Very helpful thank you.
Great many thanks for your help.
Thank you for your help.
I have used GEMINI 2 from MacPaw ($19.95 per year). This also allows you to find photos that are not duplicates but ´lookalike´. I have also found a way of getting it as part of a wider package by subscribing to SetApp at $9.99 per month which also offers a range of other utilities as part of the subscription and is well worth looking at.
Can anyone receommend an App to identify and delete duplicate photos on iMac
