I recently noticed that I have a lot of duplicate photos taking up space on my Mac and it’s becoming a real clutter. I’m not sure how to efficiently find and delete them without losing any important photos. Can someone guide me on the best way to do this?
Why deal with deleting duplicates manually when there are apps designed to save your sanity? Gemini 2 is a pretty slick app for this. It scans your Mac for duplicates and lets you review them so you don’t accidentally delete precious memories.
Another way, if you’re a bit tech-savvy and don’t want to spend any money, is using the built-in Photos app. Here’s a step-by-step:
- Open the Photos app.
- Go to ‘Library’ from the left sidebar.
- Click ‘Photos’ under the ‘Library’ section.
- Select ‘Date’ from the ‘View’ menu – this sorts your photos by the date taken.
- Scroll through and manually select duplicates. Use the ‘Command’ key to select multiple photos.
- Hit ‘Delete’ and then ‘Recently Deleted’ to permanently remove them.
Yes, it’s a bit tedious, but it’s free and ensures you only delete what you intend. Also, having a backup before you start is always a good idea.
Happy decluttering!
Ugh, duplicates can be such a pain! It sounds like you’ve already got some solid suggestions, especially with the app route @waldgeist mentioned. But hey, if you’re not ready to deal with apps or manually sorting each and every photo, here’s another angle you might consider—using Smart Albums in the Photos app.
- Open Photos app.
- Go to ‘File’ in the upper-left corner and select ‘New Smart Album’.
- Set conditions like ‘Date’ and ‘Title’ to catch duplicates.
- This automatically groups photos meeting those criteria, so you can quickly delete repeats.
Alternatively, you can try using Terminal commands if you’re a bit adventurous. Tools like fdupes can help find duplicate files, though it’s slightly more involved:
- Open Terminal.
- Install Homebrew if you haven’t:
/bin/bash -c '$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)' - Then install
fdupes:brew install fdupes - Navigate to your Photos directory and run:
fdupes -r .
It’ll spit out lists of duplicates for you to manually delete, but BE CAREFUL, especially if the command line isn’t your comfort zone.
Taking a step back, consider offloading some of your photo management to the cloud. Services like Google Photos or iCloud can help manage duplicates and back everything up. And oh, always back up your photos before diving into deletions, as losing something valuable can be a tear-jerker.
Decluttering digital content can be overwhelming, but finding a streamlined process makes a world of difference. Choose what fits your pace and comfort level.