How to Find and Delete Duplicates in Google Photos

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Duplicate photos and videos in Google Photos consume valuable storage space. Let’s take a look at why you have duplicates, then learn multiple ways to delete duplicates in Google Photos.

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Why You Have Duplicates in Google Photos

Google Photos has a feature designed to prevent duplicate photos being added, yet it remains a common issue. Several factors contribute to this problem.

Identical uploads: capturing multiple photos of the same subject and forgetting to delete similar photos is one of the major reasons for duplicates in Google Photos.
Device changes: switching to a new device without using the proper backup and sync settings often leads to re-uploading existing photos, thereby creating duplicates.
Photo editing: edited versions of a photo can result in duplicates if both the original and edited images are saved.
Back up and sync issues: problems with the back up and sync feature may cause photos to be uploaded multiple times. The system considers identical images with a slight change in metadata as different images, causing duplicates.
Different file formats: having the same photo in different file formats (e.g., JPEG and RAW) can lead to duplicates.

All the above-mentioned reasons lead to duplicates in Google Photos. To overcome duplicates in Google Photos, try these ways to find and delete them.

Files by Google

Files by Google is a file manager application on all Android phones. Open Files by tapping on the app icon.

Open the hamburger menu in the upper-left corner of the screen.

Select the Clean option. In many cases, this option is on by default.

Find the Delete duplicates tile, then tap on the Select files button. If you don’t see the Delete duplicates option, Files can’t find any duplicate content on your device.

Scroll through the content and select the copies of the images. Files marks all original files as Original. Leave those alone and only select the copies.

Tap on the Move X files to Trash option. Only select the files that you really want to move to the Trash. Deleted content will remain in the Trash for 30 days before it is deleted permanently. Within that 30-day window, you can recover the deleted duplicate photos from the Trash.

Manually in Web Browser

You can always manually delete duplicates in Google Photos via your web browser. It’s easier to search through the photos on a web browser.

Open Google Photos on your browser, and log in with your credentials. Locate the Photos option on the left panel of the screen. Tap on the Photos tab to open the list of all your photos.

Scroll through all the photos in your account. Locate the duplicate photo that you want to delete, hover over that duplicate photo’s thumbnail, and click the checkmark in the left-upper corner. Ensure that you don’t select the original and duplicate photos; otherwise, you’ll lose both copies.

Once you select the duplicate photos that you want to delete from your Google Photos account, tap on the delete icon in the upper-right corner of the screen to move the selected photos to the trash.

Stack Similar Photos Option

Google Photos has launched the Stack Similar Photos feature to organize the photo gallery. This feature groups similar photos in a stack, which will help you find the duplicates.

Open the Google Photos app on your mobile phone, and go to the Photos tab. It may be open by default. Click the three-dot icon in the top-right corner of the screen, then toggle on the Stack similar photos option.

Enabling this option will automatically group similar photos in a stack. Scroll through the photos in the Photos tab. The photo stacks are easily identified by the double-square icon and the number of photos in the stack in the top-right corner of the thumbnail. Tap on the photo stack icon.

Swipe through the similar photos like you would any other photo in your gallery.

Open the duplicate photo that you want to delete, and tap on the Delete button in the bottom-right corner of the screen. You will be given the option to delete all the photos in the stack or only the current photo. Select the Current photo only option.

Third-Party Tools

The methods mentioned above to find and delete duplicates in Google Photos are effective and easy to execute. However, if they don’t work for you, there are many third-party tools.

The Cisdem Duplicate Finder tool is one such useful third-party tool to delete duplicates in Google Photos. You can easily download and install this tool on your Windows and Mac.

To find and delete duplicates in Google Photos through Cisdem, you need to back up Google your Photos to a computer. Back up the Google Photos content in one folder, and rename the folder Google Photo Backup. If the content is in zip format, extract it.

Open the Cisdem software on your PC, and drag the Google Photo Backup folder into the software. Once you drag the folder, click the Scan button.

After the scan finishes, the Similar Image tab will show you duplicate and similar photos from the folder. In each group of photos, manually select the photo you want to delete, then tap on the Delete button in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

Tip: read our review of Mylio Photos to learn all about this third-party tool for organizing photos.

Quick Tips to Avoid Duplicates in Google Photos

Review your uploads carefully: examine each photo before uploading to Google Photos, and find all the identical images before uploading.
Disable the “Back Up & Sync” setting: if the Back Up & Sync feature is on, it may sync photos multiple times. When you edit a photo, this feature automatically uploads the edited photo, creating a duplicate.
Employ third-party apps: consider using tools designed to identify and remove duplicate photos.
Create albums for specific events: having individual albums for specific events makes it easier to find duplicates.

If you don’t want to deal with deleting duplicates in Google Photos, check out the best Google Photos alternatives.

Image credit: Unsplash. All screenshots by Yash Patel.

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Yash Patel –
Contributor

Yash has over six years of experience working in the tech industry. After working for over 3 years as a Software Engineer, he shifted his focus to empowering readers through informative and engaging content on his tech blog – DiGiTAL BiRYANi. He loves to explore new tech gadgets and platforms. When he is not writing, you’ll find him exploring food. He is known as Digital Chef Yash among his readers because of his love for Technology and Food.