Does Photos on Mac find duplicates?

Yes. Since macOS Ventura, Photos shows exact duplicates in Utilities → Duplicates and lets you merge them. It doesn't group nearly identical shots, bursts or screenshots.

Why didn't deleting photos free up space on my Mac?

Deleted photos stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days. The space comes back when you empty that album. With iCloud Photos and Optimize Mac Storage, the Mac may also keep only small versions.

Can I delete the Photos Library file to save space?

No. The library holds all your photos and edits; delete photos from inside Photos, or move the whole library to an external drive with Photos closed.

How to find and delete duplicate photos on Mac

In short

Photos has a built-in Duplicates album (Photos → Utilities → Duplicates) that merges exact copies. It doesn't catch nearly identical shots, bursts, old screenshots or big videos, and it doesn't look outside the library. Delete from Photos, never from Finder, and remember the space only comes back after Recently Deleted is emptied.

Step 1: Photos' own Duplicates album

Since macOS Ventura, Photos finds exact duplicates by itself. In the sidebar, open Utilities → Duplicates. For each group, Merge keeps the best version and combines the metadata (albums, keywords, captions) into it. If you don't see the album, Photos hasn't finished analyzing your library yet: leave the Mac on and plugged in for a while.

What Photos doesn't find

Nearly identical shots: five photos of the same moment, a second apart. They aren't duplicates, so Photos leaves them all.
Bursts you never reviewed: each one keeps every frame.
Old screenshots: they pile up by the hundreds and rarely matter after a few weeks.
Big videos: a minute of 4K video takes hundreds of megabytes, far more than any photo.
Photos outside the library: copies in Downloads, Desktop, Documents or an old export folder.

Delete safely

Always delete from Photos, never by opening the library file in Finder: that can damage the whole library.
Deleted photos go to Recently Deleted for 30 days. The space comes back when they leave it (or when you empty it).
With iCloud Photos, deleting on the Mac deletes on every device. If you only need room on the Mac, turn on Optimize Mac Storage in Photos → Settings → iCloud instead: full versions stay in iCloud.

Duplicates in your folders

To find copies outside Photos, sort Downloads and Desktop by size, or search in Finder (⌘F) with Kind is Image and File Size is greater than a few megabytes. Comparing by eye works for a handful; for hundreds you need a tool that compares the content, not just the name.

How DiskSpace AI does it

The Photos button reviews your library in tabs: exact duplicates, similar shots (Apple's Vision compares them on your Mac and suggests the best one to keep), screenshots, big videos and bursts. Nothing is selected for you, and deleted photos stay 30 days in Recently Deleted. It also finds duplicate photos and videos in your folders.

DiskSpace AI does this for you

It analyzes your Mac in minutes, tells you what each folder is and only selects what recreates itself. Your files are kept 7 days in case you change your mind. Free during the beta.

Download the Beta