Free: How to Delete Duplicate Photos on iPhone (iOS 18/17)

Sometimes, we want to capture fleeting moments with iPhone, and we will take many photos, but similar photos can pile up quickly. In addition, if you ever synced photos between iPhone and PC or iPad, your iOS devices can contain a good number of duplicate pictures.

When you go to the “Photos” app it probably is cluttered with duplicate photos. However, it is easy to find an iPhone running out of space due to too many photos. So let’s learn how to delete duplicate photos on iPhone with iOS 18 or any other versions.

How to Remove Duplicate Photos on iPhone (iOS 18/17)

Generally, there are 2 common ways to delete duplicate or similar photos on the iPhone-iPhone shortcut and professional photo deduplicate tool-FoneTool. You can choose one according to your need.

Method 1.  Get Rid of Duplicates on iPhone/iPad with Siri Shortcut

The shortcut is a feature in iOS 12 and later iOS versions. It allows users to automate some tasks on their iPhone/iPad. So you can find a photo deduper shortcuts and erase them. Here are the steps.

✍Notes:
1. Please make sure your iCloud Photos is disabled for shortcut to work.
2. As we mentioned, the shortcut only delete duplicate photos that were downloaded multiple times. To delete similar photos of the same scene/people, please turn to method 2.

Step 1. Tap “Shortcut” app on your iPhone to run it.

Step 2. Choose “Library”.

Step 3. There would be a "Photo Deduper"/“Delete Duplicate Photos” option listed here, just simply tap it to run.

Step 4. The Shortcut may ask the permission to delete photos. Allow it and it will delete duplicate photos.

Method 2. Free to Delete Duplicate and Similar Photos on iPhone

Here, we would like to recommend FoneTool, which is one of the best apps to delete duplicate pictures on the iPhone easily. It is able to scan and detect duplicate photos or screenshots on your iPhone. Then you can delete them with one click.

And there is no need to worry about leaking data because FoneTool does not rely on the Internet! There are more key features of this tool.

▶ Easy-to-use software: This tool comes with a simple and intuitive interface allowing you to delete duplicate pictures with ease.
▶ Data transfer features: If there are some similar photos you don’t want to delete right now, this tool provides an option to transfer photos and videos from iPhone to PC.
▶ Deeply and accurately scan: FoneTool can deeply scan your iPhone and iPad, then list all the similar pictures. You can preview and choose to clear the unnecessary photos.
▶ Delete duplicate photos on PC: If you got duplicate photos on your camera, android phone, you can save them to PC firstly and erase duplicate pictures on the PC with FoneTool.
▶ Widely compatible with iDevice: It works perfectly with iOS, and iPadOS, which means you can delete duplicate photos on all iPhone/iPad models.

Now please click the download button, we would lead you through how to deduplicate iPhone in detail.

Steps to delete duplicate photos on iPhone/iPad with iOS 18/17

Connect your iPhone with a computer via USB cable. You may need to "Trust" on the iPhone if it is the first time to connect the iPhone to the computer. Then follow the steps below.

Step 1. Run FoneTool, and click "Toolbox" >  Select “Photos Duplicate” on the main interface.

★ Tip:

FoneTool can also help you wipe iPhone, if you need, you can go o iPhone Eraser to do it.

Step 2. When the program is launched, click “Scan iPhone".

Step 3. Now you can set a filter date range according to the time the photo was taken > Then click "Start Scanning".

Step 4. Then choose the photos you want to remove, and click "Delete".

★ Tip:

To avoid accidental deletion, you can click "Migrate to" to move duplicate photos from iPhone to computer and it will delete the selected photos automatically.

Method 3. Clear iPhone Duplicate Pictures via Duplicate Finder

Starting with iOS 17, your iPhone Photos app will have a Duplicates album. Its Duplicate Detection feature will automatically detect similar photos and videos in your photo library and gather them in one place. You can then merge the images using the Merge button or delete them.

✍Notes:
1. This feature is only available on devices that support iOS 17.
2. Its identification technology may not be as accurate as some third-party apps, and there may not be additional options to delete similar photos or blur photos.

Now, follow the below steps to learn how to remove duplicate photos on iPad/iPhone.

Step 1. On the device running iOS 17or later > Open Photos app.

Step 2. Tap the Album tab at the bottom > Scroll down to find Duplicates option under Utilities section.

Step 3. Tap the Duplicates option > Then you will see the duplicate photos on your iPhone.

Step 5. Tap the Merge button to delete the duplicate iPhone photos. To delete duplicate photos more quickly, you can tap the Select tab on the top right corner to Select All or choose multiple duplicates to delete.

Related Question on Deleting iOS 18 Photos Duplicates

After you learn how to delete duplicate photos on iPhone in iOS 18, you may also want to know some related questions.

What happens to my deleted duplicate photos?

Deleted duplicates are sent to the Recently Deleted folder in the Photos app, where they stay for 30 days. You can recover or permanently delete them from there.

Will deleting duplicate photos affect my iCloud storage?

Yes, deleting duplicates also reduces iCloud storage usage if your photos are synced. Changes on your iPhone will sync with iCloud, saving space across devices.

Can I delete multiple duplicate photos at once on iOS 18?

Yes, you can select multiple duplicates at once in the Duplicates album under Photos > Albums > Utilities. Tap Select in the top-right corner, choose the photos, and tap Merge to combine and delete duplicates.

Conclusion

This is how to delete duplicate photos on iPhone (iOS 18/17). If you download the same memes or pictures on an iPhone/iPad running with iOS 18/17, you can turn to the Siri shortcut to delete duplicate photos. 

Otherwise, FoneTool is more suitable for you. It is good at moving not only duplicate but similar photos on your device. Besides, if these photos are important, FoneTool also supports backing up photos to a computer/external disk to protect data.