How to find and delete duplicate photos on iPhone

Quick answer

Your iPhone can find duplicate photos on its own: on iOS 26 or later, open Photos > Collections > More > Duplicates and tap “Merge” on each set. The system keeps the highest-quality version and combines the data, and moves the rest to Recently Deleted. But it only catches “nearly identical” photos. Burst shots and several takes of the same scene are up to you. You can use Swipee’s photo compare to put photos taken close together in time side by side and pick the best one yourself.

Method 1: Merge with the built-in Duplicates album

The location depends on your iOS version:

iOS version	Where to find Duplicates
iOS 26 or later	Photos > Collections > More > Duplicates
iOS 18	Photos home screen, scroll down > More > Duplicates
iOS 16, 17	Photos > Albums > Utilities > Duplicates

Steps:

1. Open Duplicates. Each set of duplicate photos is grouped together.
2. After confirming they’re the same photo, tap “Merge” on that set, then tap “Merge [number] Items”.

What does merging keep? According to Apple, merging combines the highest-quality version with all the relevant data from that set and keeps it in your library, and the rest move to Recently Deleted. So you don’t have to worry about being left with the lower-quality copy.

Can’t find Duplicates? According to Apple, if no duplicate photos or videos are detected in your library, this item doesn’t appear. If you just imported a lot of photos, the system may still be organizing them in the background, so check again later. Also make sure you’re on iOS 16 or later and look in the right place from the table above.

What’s the difference between duplicate photos and similar photos?

	Duplicate photos	Similar photos
Examples	The same photo saved twice, or the same photo in different resolutions or formats	A burst, five shots of the same scene, group photos with slightly different expressions
Does built-in Duplicates catch them?	Yes	Usually not
What to do	Merge them directly	Compare them and pick the best one

Apple describes duplicates as exact copies (the metadata may differ), plus photos that look the same but differ slightly in resolution or file format. In other words, photos that are visibly different usually aren’t counted as duplicates.

In practice, similar photos are often what take up the most space: eight shots of one dish, or ten group shots just to get one where nobody blinked.

Method 2: Pick from a burst with the built-in Select

If you shot in Burst mode: open the burst, tap “Select…”, tick the corner of each photo you want to keep, and tap “Done” to save the chosen ones as individual photos and delete the rest. To find all your bursts, go to Collections > Media Types > Bursts.

But multiple photos you took by tapping the shutter repeatedly don’t count as a “burst”, so this trick doesn’t apply to them.

Pick the best of your similar photos with Swipee

For true duplicates, the built-in Duplicates album is the most reliable option. Swipee helps with the other part: it puts photos taken close together in time next to each other so you can compare them and decide:

• Photo compare: Check photos taken close together in time side by side, look through them one by one, then choose to keep or mark for deletion. Groups are based on capture time, so they are not guaranteed to be duplicates.
• Quick scan (Beta): Checks on your device for old screenshots, similar images and other photos you may not need. It gives up to 20 suggestions at a time, none selected by default, and never deletes automatically. It can miss some or flag some wrongly.
• Combined with swipe-based sorting: swipe left to mark for deletion, swipe right to keep, and you can undo.
• Finally, review the items marked for deletion, undo them one by one or keep them all. The actual deletion still needs confirmation from Apple’s Photos system.

Suggested order: first merge exactly identical photos with the built-in Duplicates, then use Swipee to compare similar photos taken close together in time, and finally sort through whatever is left. For the full workflow, see “How to quickly sort and delete too many photos on iPhone”.

A heads-up: after merging or deleting, photos stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days and still take up space. Once you’re sure you don’t need them, go to Collections > More > Recently Deleted and delete them manually to free up space. This is permanent, so back up important photos first. If iCloud Photos is on, merges and deletions also sync to your other devices.