PruneoHow to delete duplicate photos on iPhone
Since iOS 16, the Photos app finds duplicate photos on its own. Open Photos, find Duplicates under Utilities and tap Merge: your iPhone keeps one copy and moves the rest to Recently Deleted. Similar photos and bursts don't count as duplicates, so you have to review those by hand.
You saved the same photo twice from WhatsApp, imported it again from your computer, or downloaded it from an email you’d already opened. Copies build up without you noticing. The good news: your iPhone already has a way to find them.
What counts as a duplicate
For the Photos app, a duplicate is the same image saved more than once. It can be an exact copy, or the same photo at a different resolution or in a different format.
Similar photos are not duplicates: two shots taken one after the other, a burst, or three almost identical selfies. Those are different photos, even if they look the same, and Photos won’t merge them.
With the Photos app: the Duplicates album
You need iOS 16 or later. These are the same steps Apple gives in Merge duplicate photos and videos on iPhone.
- Open Photos. In iOS 26 or later, tap Collections.
- Scroll to Utilities and tap Duplicates. (If it’s not there, your iPhone didn’t find any duplicates or is still analyzing your library.)
- Go through each group. Tap a photo to see it full size.
- Tap Merge on a group, or tap Select to pick several groups and merge them together.
- Confirm with Merge [number] Items.
When you merge, your iPhone keeps a single photo and moves the other copies to Recently Deleted.
Actually free up the space
While the copies sit in Recently Deleted, they still use space. If you need it now (Apple’s steps):
- In Photos, open Recently Deleted (under Utilities), tap View Album and unlock it.
- Make sure there’s nothing you want to keep.
- Tap Select, choose the items you want to remove, then tap Delete in the menu at the bottom.
Similar photos and bursts: by hand
The Photos app has no tool for near-identical photos. Here’s what you can do:
- Bursts: under Media Types, open Bursts, open one, tap Select and mark the shots you want to keep. iOS asks whether to keep only your favorites.
- Selfies and back-to-back shots: browse your library by date, open a day, tap Select and drag your finger across the photos to mark several at once.
- Screenshots: under Media Types, open Screenshots. There are usually lots of them, and you rarely need them after a while.
How to keep them from piling up again
- In WhatsApp, if you don’t want every photo you receive saved to your library, turn off the option to save to Photos in its chat settings.
- Before importing photos from a computer or a camera, check that you haven’t imported them already.
- Check Duplicates every now and then: your iPhone keeps it up to date.
Summary
- Open Photos > Utilities > Duplicates (in iOS 26 or later, from Collections).
- Tap Merge on each group, or select several.
- Review bursts, back-to-back shots and screenshots by hand.
- Empty Recently Deleted if you need the space right away.
If your iPhone is still full, read iPhone storage full: what takes up space and how to free it up.
FAQ
Why don't I see Duplicates in the Photos app?
The album only shows up if your iPhone found duplicates, and it needs iOS 16 or later. With a large library, your iPhone may take a while to finish analyzing it.
Does Merge delete photos permanently?
No. The extra copies go to Recently Deleted and can be recovered for 30 days. After that, or if you empty the album, they're gone for good.
If I use iCloud Photos, are they deleted on my other devices too?
Yes. With iCloud Photos, anything you delete or merge on your iPhone is also deleted on your other devices signed in to the same account.