How to delete duplicate photos on iPhone (safely)

Duplicate photos happen for lots of reasons: sharing the same image multiple times, saving edits, downloading copies from apps, or repeated screenshots. Deleting duplicates is one of the fastest ways to free up storage — but you want to do it safely. This guide shows a review-first approach using CleanPro.

Quick definition: duplicates vs similar photos

• Duplicate photos are identical copies.
• Similar photos are “almost the same” (bursts/retakes). See Similar Photos.

Step 1: Scan for duplicate photos

Open Duplicate Photos and start a scan. CleanPro groups duplicates together so you can review them as sets (instead of hunting through your entire camera roll).

Step 2: Sort by size to get bigger wins

If your goal is storage, sort duplicate groups by largest first. Removing a few big duplicates can free more space than deleting hundreds of tiny images.

Step 3: Keep the best photo in each group

For each duplicate group, keep one photo (usually the highest quality or the one with the metadata you care about) and mark the rest for deletion. CleanPro is designed so you stay in control.

Step 4: Confirm deletion (with iOS safety net)

Confirm deletion once you’re happy. On iOS, deleted photos go to Photos → Recently Deleted first, which means you can restore them if you change your mind.

Next steps (optional)

• Clean near-duplicates: delete similar photos (bursts/retakes).
• Clear old captures: delete screenshots.
• Handle big storage wins: find large videos or compress videos.

If you want a full end-to-end plan, start with: How to free up iPhone storage (step-by-step).