I noticed that I have a lot of duplicate photos on my iPhone, and it’s taking up a huge amount of storage space. I need advice on the easiest way to find and delete these duplicates efficiently. Is there a built-in feature for this or an app you would recommend?
Tired of All That Clutter? Here’s How to Delete Duplicate Photos on Your iPhone—For Free!
You know that moment when you’re scrolling through your photo gallery and realize you’ve got tons of duplicate or nearly identical pictures? It’s like flipping through identical Polaroids of your morning coffee from fifty different angles. Cleaning all that up can be a nightmare! While iOS has got your back with a built-in tool for removing duplicates, it probably won’t handle the similar ones cluttering up your storage (looking at you, 25 pictures of your dog in slightly different poses). Luckily, there’s a better, faster, and totally free way to handle this.
Enter: The Clever Cleaner App
After stumbling across this gem on Reddit, I decided to give it a go. And let me tell you—game changer! Not only did this app save me hours of manual effort, but it freed up over 11 GB of storage in just a few taps. Here’s a quick guide to show you how easy it is to become the master of your photo gallery.
Step-By-Step Guide to Greatly Declutter Your iPhone Photos
1. First Things First—Install the App
You’ll want to download the Clever Cleaner App directly from the App Store. No gimmicks, no upfront costs. It’s completely free. Just click here to grab it:
Free Clever Cleaner App
2. Let the App Access Your Photos
You’ll need to grant full access to your camera roll so the app’s AI can flex its muscle and work out which snaps need to go. Don’t worry—many users (including me) have used this without any issues.
3. Wait for It… Let the App Work Its Magic
Depending on the size of your gallery, the scanning process will take around 2 to 6 minutes. Go grab some coffee or doomscroll while the app sorts through your visual chaos.
4. Review the Results
This is the cool part. The app doesn’t just find exact duplicates—it also groups together similar-looking photos. Then, it picks the best one for you while marking the others for deletion. It’s like having a super-efficient version of yourself, only way faster.
5. Tap ‘Smart Cleanup’ and Empty the Trash
Once you’ve reviewed the results (you can tweak the selections if needed), a single tap on ‘Smart Cleanup’ will clean the clutter in seconds. Just don’t forget to empty your trash folder in the Photos app to actually reclaim the storage space.
The Results? Chef’s Kiss
That’s literally all it takes to say goodbye to unnecessary visual junk. I managed to clear 11 GB of duplicate and similar photos without even breaking a sweat. The joy of seeing that much storage space freed up—yes, please! 
Bonus: Extra Resources You Might Find Useful
Looking for other ways to clean up storage or just curious about what others are saying? Here are some awesome resources to dive deeper:
Four Methods to Remove Duplicate Photos on iPhone – MacGasm
How to Delete iPhone Duplicate Photos – Reddit Community Discussion
Apple Support Talks About Handling Duplicates
Clever Cleaner App Discussion on Reddit
How to Get Rid of Duplicates – InsanelyMac Community
YouTube Guide on Removing Duplicate Photos
Fix ‘iPhone Storage Full’ Without Buying More Space
Breaking up with digital clutter has never been so easy. Now you can finally take guilt-free photos of tomorrow’s coffee knowing you’ve got the space for it—happy deleting!
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Honestly, the easiest way to clear up duplicate photos without breaking a sweat is to rely on the built-in Duplicates feature in Apple’s Photos app—if you’ve updated to iOS 16 or later. Yeah, I know @mikeappsreviewer hyped up that Clever Cleaner app (which actually does sound handy, not gonna lie), but sometimes keeping it simple works just as well.
Using Apple’s Built-In Duplicates Tool:
- Open the Photos app.
- Tap on Albums at the bottom of the screen.
- Scroll down to Utilities and find Duplicates (if it doesn’t show up, you might need to index your photos first or wait a bit after a big iOS update).
- Apple will automatically group duplicate photos and let you merge them manually or all at once. Bonus: It keeps the best quality one!
This does the job for exact duplicates. If we’re talking ‘similar photos’ like 87 shots of your avocado toast from every possible angle, that’s where you’ll need third-party apps—not avoidable, unfortunately. In that case, Clever Cleaner’s AI photo processing could save time, especially if your gallery is a disaster zone.
That said, if downloading another app feels like a hassle or you don’t fully trust them with your photo library (hey, valid concern), you might just grind through this manually. Tedious, yes, but your phone stays app-clutter-free—ironic since this is about photo clutter, huh?
My two cents: use Apple’s feature for quick fixes and supplement it with something like Clever Cleaner if you’re serious about reclaiming space from duplicates and near-replicas. Anything else feels like overkill.
Oh man, duplicate photos are the bane of every iPhone user’s existence. It’s like playing a game of ‘Spot the Difference’ but with zero fun and all storage anxiety. Anyway, since @mikeappsreviewer and @caminantenocturno already shared solid options, let me throw in my take.
First, the built-in Duplicates tool on iOS 16 or later is great… but only for exact copies. It won’t do anything about the fifty slightly different selfies you accidentally took while trying to get the “perfect natural smile.” Apple’s method is fine if you’re not too nitpicky, but it’s not the ultimate solution for everyone.
Now, third-party apps like Clever Cleaner can take this to the next level. I know @mikeappsreviewer hyped it a lot, but honestly, it is worth a shot if you’re drowning in photo chaos. It not only catches duplicates but also handles near-duplicates, which saves hours of manual labor. That being said, I totally get it if you’re wary about giving another app access to your photos—it’s kinda like letting a stranger reorganize your closet. Risky.
Here’s an alternative DIY method if you’re not about that app life (warning: it’s painful):
- Launch the Photos app.
- Open a specific album (like Favorites or Recents) and swipe between pics to spot duplicates or similar ones.
- Manually delete the extras. Yep, I know. It’s as tedious as peeling grapes.
One last note—Apple’s Photos app can auto-index duplicates after an update or over time, but sometimes you’ve gotta force your phone into action by scrolling through the library or leaving it plugged in overnight. It’s weirdly passive-aggressive, but it works sometimes.
So overall: if you’re cool with downloads, Clever Cleaner is honestly the MVP here for speed and efficiency. If not, grab some popcorn and settle in for a long session of DIY cleanup. Either way, congrats in advance on reclaiming your storage and sanity—because wow, duplicates really are the worst.