Mac Photo Cleanup - Remove Duplicates with PhotoSweeper

Duplicate photos can take up a lot amount of space on your Mac, making it harder to find the pictures you actually want. Whether you've imported the same images multiple times or your library has become disorganized over the years, Photo Sweeper is an essential tool that can help.

At Pixologie, we’ve spent over a decade helping people organize and preserve their family photos, and removing duplicates is one of the most critical steps in that process. In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to use Photo Sweeper to clean up your Mac and reclaim valuable storage space.

Why Use Photo Sweeper?

Photo Sweeper is a powerful Mac app that helps identify and remove duplicate photos efficiently. Unlike Apple Photos’ built-in duplicate finder, Photo Sweeper offers advanced customization, letting you:

Compare photos based on pixels rather than just file names or metadata
Set custom rules for which photos to keep or delete
Work with folders outside of Apple Photos for better control
Process thousands of images quickly and effectively

At just $10, it’s a small investment that can save you hours of tedious manual sorting.

Prefer a video to the steps? Click here to watch a video tutorial on YouTube.

Step 1: Get Photo Sweeper

To get started, download Photo Sweeper from the Mac App Store. Be sure to purchase the full version to unlock all features.

Once installed, open the app, and you’ll be greeted with the Welcome to Photo Sweeper screen.

Step 2: Load Your Photos

Photo Sweeper works by scanning folders, including your Apple Photos Library. However, I recommend working with folders in Finder rather than scanning your entire Photos Library at once.

Click Scan Another Folder on the main screen.
Select the folders you want to compare. (For this example, I used two folders—one with clean photos and another with suspected duplicates.)
Click Scan, and Photo Sweeper will quickly load your images.

If you have large photo collections (10,000+ images), start with smaller batches to avoid feeling overwhelmed.

Step 3: Compare Photos and Identify Duplicates

After loading the photos, click Compare, and Photo Sweeper will ask how you’d like to match photos. We use the following settings to start with:

Match Type: Similar photos (compares pixels, not just file names)
Size: Any size
File Name: Any file name
Time Gap: Any time gap
Matching Level: Start with Exact and adjust as needed

Click Continue, and Photo Sweeper will process your photos, grouping similar images together.

** Please note - we've observed that PhotoSweeper doesn't always catch every single duplicate for whatever reason. Don't be surprised if you find this to be the case. It does however, catch the vast majority.

Step 4: Review and Auto Mark Duplicates

Once the comparison is complete, Photo Sweeper will display groups of duplicates. You can either:

Use Auto Mark: Let the program automatically select which photos to delete.
Manually Review: Compare images yourself to ensure the best version is kept. Double click the images you wish to have be deleted.

How to Adjust Auto Mark Settings:

By default, Auto Mark may select the wrong version for deletion. To customize it:

Click the Auto Mark icon and select Show Settings.
Adjust the File Size and Capture Date priority.
Use Auto Lock to protect specific folders from deletion.

For example, I always lock my primary photo folder so that only duplicates from the secondary folder get deleted.

Step 5: Delete and Free Up Space

Once you’re satisfied with the selections:

Click Trash Marked to move duplicates to the trash.
Empty your Mac’s Trash to permanently remove them.
If you are working to deduplicate your Photos Library, you will be prompted to open Photos. There you will find your duplicates in an album listed for deletion. Go into that album, select all and then delete.

If you have a large collection, repeat this process with additional folders until your library is cleaned up.

Additional Tips for Managing Duplicates

Adjust Matching Levels: Lower the matching threshold to find more duplicates, including near-identical images.
Work in Small Batches: Processing too many photos at once can be overwhelming.

Need Help Organizing Your Photos?

Cleaning up duplicates is just one step in creating a well-organized, easy-to-manage photo collection. If you're feeling overwhelmed by your photo mess, I’d love to help.

By keeping your photo collection organized, you’ll not only free up storage but also make it easier to enjoy and share your memories for years to come.