Cleaner ProHow to Find & Delete Similar Photos on iPhone
Exact duplicates are easy to spot — but the real storage drain is the dozens of similar photos you never notice. Here’s how to find and clear them.
Similar photos vs exact duplicates
An exact duplicate is the same file saved twice. A similar photo is a slightly different version of the same moment — three tries at a group selfie, a burst of your dog mid-jump, or the same view with tiny framing changes. The built-in Photos app doesn’t group these, so they pile up invisibly.
Why similar photos add up so fast
Burst mode alone can capture ten shots in a second. Add Live Photos, retakes, and screenshots, and a single event can leave you with dozens of near-identical images. Over a year that’s easily several gigabytes of redundant photos.
How to find and delete similar photos
Because iOS won’t surface similar shots, an AI photo cleaner is the practical way to handle them. With Cleaner Pro:
- Run an AI scan of your library.
- Photos are grouped into sets of similar shots, with the sharpest one suggested as the keeper.
- Keep the best, delete the rest in bulk, and reclaim the space.
Tip: Review each group quickly rather than agonising over every shot — the time saved is the whole point.
Keep your library clean going forward
- Turn off burst-by-default if you rarely need it.
- Delete obvious retakes right after you shoot.
- Run a similar-photo scan every few weeks.
Clean your phone in seconds
Cleaner Pro's AI finds duplicate & similar photos, compresses videos, and frees up storage automatically. Free to try.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a similar photo?
Near-identical shots of the same scene — burst photos, retakes, and small framing changes — that aren’t exact file duplicates but waste just as much space.
Can the iPhone Photos app find similar photos?
No. The built-in Duplicates album only finds exact duplicates. Similar photos need an AI cleaner to group and remove them.
Will I lose the good shots?
No — the sharpest photo in each group is suggested as the keeper, and you confirm before anything is deleted.