Duplicate and near-identical photos are some of the biggest hidden space-wasters on an iPhone: ten burst shots of the same moment, the same photo saved twice, screenshots taken more than once. Here’s how to delete duplicate photos on your iPhone (also called erasing, removing or merging them), starting with the free built-in method and ending with the similar shots iOS misses.
The quick answer
Open Photos > Albums > Utilities > Duplicates, tap Select, then Select All, then Merge. That clears exact copies for free. But the album ignores similar photos, which are the burst shots and near-duplicates that eat the most space. For those, swipe through and keep the best one, which a cleaner like Odoa does entirely on your device.
Which method fits which kind of duplicate?
| Type of duplicate | Built-in Duplicates album | Swipe-based cleaner |
|---|---|---|
| Same photo saved twice | Yes, merges in bulk | Yes |
| Photo imported or downloaded again | Usually | Yes |
| Burst shots of one moment | No | Yes, keep the best one |
| Similar angles of the same scene | No | Yes |
| Duplicate screenshots | If identical | Yes, filter by screenshots |
| Duplicate videos | Sometimes | Yes, sort by size |
Start at the top row, then handle the rest by hand.
Step 1: Delete duplicate photos with the built-in Duplicates album
Apple builds this album automatically on recent iOS versions:
- Open Photos > Albums.
- Scroll down to Utilities.
- Tap Duplicates.
- Tap Merge on each set, or tap Select, then Select All, then Merge.
Merging keeps the highest-quality version and combines the details of the rest, such as favorites, captions and keywords. The other copies go to Recently Deleted. If you don’t see the album, it may still be scanning, or you have no exact duplicates.
What this gives you: exact copies cleared in a few taps, with nothing leaving your phone. What this does not give you: any help with similar shots. Ten photos of the same sunset are not “duplicates” to iOS.
If you use a Mac with the same Apple ID, Photos there has a Duplicates album too. Merging on either device syncs through iCloud Photos.
Step 2: Get rid of the near-duplicates iOS misses
The Duplicates album only finds exact copies. It ignores the far more common problem: bursts and near-identical shots. Nine of those ten sunset photos are clutter.
For these, the fastest approach is to swipe through your library and keep the best shot of each moment: right to keep the winner, left to delete the rest. That’s what a swipe-based cleaner is for. See the full method in how to clean up your iPhone camera roll, or how to delete burst photos if a burst is your main culprit.
This is especially common right after a trip. How to clean up photos from a trip covers a location-first approach to the same problem.
Step 3: Check videos, screenshots and “same” photos
Delete same-looking items by category:
- Videos: sort by size and delete repeated recordings. See how to delete duplicate videos on iPhone.
- Screenshots: open Photos > Albums > Utilities > Screenshots and clear repeats. See how to delete screenshots on iPhone.
- Blurry shots: how to delete blurry photos.
Step 4: Empty Recently Deleted
Whether you merge duplicates or swipe away near-duplicates, the photos go to Photos > Albums > Utilities > Recently Deleted for up to 30 days. Clear that album to reclaim the storage immediately. If iCloud Photos is on, the deletion syncs to all your devices, so back up first if you have any doubt.
Why on-device matters for duplicate cleanup
Some cleaners use cloud AI to detect duplicates, which means sending your photos off-device. You don’t have to. Odoa keeps everything on your iPhone: nothing is uploaded, which also makes it one of the safest kinds of photo cleaner to run on your library. If you’re comparing options, see the best photo cleaner apps for iPhone and the Odoa vs Swipewipe breakdown.
The bottom line
Start with the built-in Duplicates album for exact copies, then swipe through your library to clear the near-duplicate bursts iOS misses. Empty Recently Deleted, and you’ll free up real space, often more than you’d expect from photos you didn’t know were there.