Remove Duplicate Photos in macOS 13 Photos App

macOS 13 Ventura makes it easy to find and remove duplicate photos automatically using a built-in feature in the Photos app. The system automatically scans your photo library in the background, groups identical and similar images together in a dedicated "Duplicates" album, and allows you to merge them individually or all at once to free up storage space.

How to Automatically Find and Merge Duplicates

1. Open the Photos App: Launch the Photos app on your Mac running macOS 13 Ventura.
2. Access the Duplicates Album: In the sidebar on the left side of the window, click on Duplicates under the Library section. If you do not see this album, your Mac is either still indexing your library or has not detected any duplicates.
3. Merge Individual Duplicates: Next to any set of duplicate images, click the Merge [X] Items button located in the upper-right corner of the group.
4. Merge All Duplicates at Once:
   • Press Command + A on your keyboard to select all duplicate sets displayed in the album.
   • Click the Merge [X] Items button in the top-right corner of the Photos window.
   • Confirm the action when prompted.

How the Merge Process Works

When you merge duplicates, the Photos app automatically retains the highest-quality version of the image—along with all relevant metadata such as keywords, captions, favorites, and location data. The lower-quality or redundant versions are automatically moved to the Recently Deleted album, where they will remain for 30 days before being permanently erased, allowing you to recover them if necessary.