Remove/Merge duplicates in Photos for Mac

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Level 1

11 points

Remove/Merge duplicates in Photos for Mac

Hi everyone,

i am using MacOS Sierra 10.12.5 on my new iMac 27,5" 2017 machine. "Photos" is my only application where i have a library with about 105k pictures. All pictures are also in the iCloud and i am not using the "optimize-local-storage" option, which gives me a 350GB library.

Everything works like a charm with the current version, but during some former import processes i happend to create some duplicates in my library.

Is there any way of removing or merging duplicated photos?

Thanks very much,

svphexi

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017), macOS Sierra (10.12.5)

Posted on Jun 24, 2017 8:23 AM

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Answer 1

léonie

Level 10

200,759 points

Jun 24, 2017 8:32 AM in response to svphexi

Photos has no tool to detect photos, once they have been imported to the library. It relies on detecting duplicates on import.

If you want to search your library for duplicates use a third-party tool, like Power Photos, Photo Sweeper, or Duplicate Annihilator. These three apps are known to be safe, because they just collect duplicates in an album for you to remove using Photos's Interface. Other duplicate cleaners may manipulate the library directly and damage the library beyond repair (Using third-party apps to remove duplicate photos might damage your Photos for macOS library - Apple Support)

What kind of duplicates do you have? if you imported duplicates in different edited versions or different pixel size, Photo Sweeper will be your best option, because it can compare the content of a photo based on bitmaps or histograms, not only the file attributes.

If the photos are exact duplicates, Power Photos is very good, because it is a nice companion for Photos anyway.

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Answer 2

svphexi Author

Level 1

11 points

Jun 24, 2017 8:44 AM in response to léonie

Hi Léonie,

thank you very much for your comprehensive answer. I have duplicates caused by import in different legacy versions of Photos (older iPhoto versions basically - those didn't check on duplicates during import so properly like the current version of Photos does). So i'll give "Photo Sweeper" a try first!

Thanks very much & i'll update this thread as soon as i have first results.

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