Anyone know how to find duplicate photos in Google Photos?

Delete Duplicate Photos
1

After years of using Google Photos, I’ve accumulated a lot of pictures, and I’ve noticed some duplicates. It’s making it hard to manage my collection and find specific photos. I need help on how to easily find and delete these duplicates without having to go through everything manually. Any tips or tools that can help?

2

I FEEL you. That never-ending spiral of photo duplicates is the stuff of nightmares. I used to spend what felt like an eternity becauze I’m one of those who CANNOT have duplicates. So here’s what I figured out:

  1. Manual Solution: Go to photos.google.com, click on the ‘Search bar’, and scroll through your photos. Yes, I know it sounds tedious — it is. But if you manage a few thousand photos it’s somewhat manageable. Not the best idea if you’re in the tens of thousands range tho.

  2. Google’s Kind-of-Sorting Feature: Google Photos does have some kind of “suggested duplicates” process going on, but it’s pretty meh. You’ll find sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s like that flaky friend who promises to help you move but then vanishes when the day comes.

  3. Third-Party Apps: External apps can save you here. Apps like Duplicate Photo Cleaner, Remo Duplicate Photos Remover or Cleaner for Google Photos can help. They integrate with Google Photos and can search for duplicate files. Just be careful, some might need access permissions that could make you uneasy.

  4. Download + Local Solution: Download your entire library (yes, hit that ‘Export’ button in Google Takeout) and use a desktop application like Duplicate Cleaner or visipics. This is more effective and you can ensure thoroughness. Once done, you can then re-upload the cleaned library back to Google Photos.

  5. Storage Insights Tool: Google recently released a storage insights tool for Photos to help manage their cloud space better. They highlight things like large files, blurry photos, and screenshots but it’s still not the Sherlock Holmes of duplicates. Worth a try, though.

Until Google Photos decides to step up and provide a more robust solution, this is what we’re left with. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will your pristine photo library be. Patience and persistence, my friend.

Also, keep an eye out for Google Photo’s future updates. Let’s hope they add proper duplicate management and scanning; otherwise, we’re stuck in this endless loop. Hang in there!

3

Hey, I totally get the struggle of dealing with duplicates in Google Photos. It’s a major pain. While @cacadordeestrelas shared some solid strategies, I thought I’d throw in a couple of other tips that might help.

Ever thought of using the ‘Utility Tool’ trick? Hear me out. Google Photos has this hidden gem called ‘Manage Your Library’ under the Utilities tab. It doesn’t directly target duplicates but helps you flag and clear out groups of similar photos, which can reduce clutter indirectly.

Another sneaky tip? Sorting by face groups. Believe it or not, by sorting through people’s faces (yes, that slightly creepy facial recognition tech), you can spot duplicates easier because the same person often pops up in similar shots. Tap on a face under the ‘Search’ tab and start your hunt!

Ever heard of scripts and automation? If you’re a bit tech-savvy or know someone who is, Google Apps Script can be leveraged to write scripts that automate the process – identifying and perhaps even removing duplicates based on metadata. Think of it as DIY magic.

One radical idea: Switch services. I know it sounds nuts, but services like Amazon Photos do a pretty decent job of rooting out duplicates, and the preliminary switch might be a good reason to cleanse your gallery in the process.

At times, just embracing the chaos and focusing on keeping future uploads cleaner can be a zen way to cope. A preventive measure: Regularly curate your albums and sets. Less future clutter means less of these headaches down the road.

Not to mention, you might consider hybrid storage solutions. Using external hard drives or other cloud services like Dropbox can help offload chunks of your photo library, granting you a smaller subset to manage actively within Google Photos.

Remember though, perfection is often the enemy of good. Striving for a perfectly clean photo library might drive you mad; accepting a bit of clutter could be the sanest way forward. Happy photo cleaning!