Is it possible to automate merge of duplicate photos

Haudeda wrote: … Yes, there are software tools like Gemini 2 that can help you automatically merge duplicate photos on your iMac to save you time and effort.

No. No. NO. I wouldn't, and I don't think most experienced Photos users would. "Cleaner" apps and Duplicate Finders are notorious for corrupting Photos Libraries. The thing is, in Photos, pictures aren't really files-- they are generated from files and information in a database. So messing around in the Library like these "Cleaner" apps do can really disrupt the database's operation. Their disruptions are subtle, and it may take a while to see the effects. When someone asks about crazy stuff going on in their Photos, one of the first things we ask is, "Have you been using any Cleaner apps?"

As for duplicates in Photos, if we want more precise duplicate detection, as léonie agrees, almost all of us use the trusted 3rd party app PowerPhotos ($35.) I've used this (or its predecessor) for over 20 years. PowerPhotos uses Photos' own routines, so the database is safe. It does much more than handle duplicates. I use it every day, and the developers are very careful with my Photos.

If you're very cautious, you can use something like Gemini II to work with pictures and files outside of Photos, but I wouldn't let it near my Photos Database.

I second Richard's recommendation of PowerPhotos, if you want to merge duplicates in a Photo Library. Here is a link to the the documentation comparing the duplicate detection in Photos to the duplicate detection in PowerPhotos:https://www.fatcatsoftware.com/powerphotos/VersionedDocs/v7/photos_duplicate_detection.html

Here are links to downloads for the different system versions: https://www.fatcatsoftware.com/powerphotos_downloads/

On your Ventura Mac you will be restricted to the older versions of PowerPhotos, however. If you are using an optimized iCloud Photos Library, you have to ensure that the originals have been downloaded from iCloud when merging or exporting libraries, only PowerPhotos 3 (macOS Sonoma or later) can merge or import optimized iCloud Photos Libraries without skipping optimized versions. But it is still more versatile than Photos. The Photos.app cannot import directly from an iCloud Photos Library at all.

If you want to have more options in Duplicate selection, you may want to try  the trusted 3rd party app PowerPhotos ($35) In addition to being great for handling multiple Libraries (for which I use it every day,) PowerPhotos has a powerful Duplicate finder for working within Photos. I also use the list view for Photos pictures which I can sort by different attributes.

Yes, there are software tools like Gemini 2 that can help you automatically merge duplicate photos on your iMac to save you time and effort.

The problem with any automated solution is that you have to trust that it will make the decisions you would want it to make, or you have to decide that you are willing to live with whatever decisions it make that don't match what you would have done by hand. Users here have pointed out numerous instances of "duplicate" photos detected that are either not true duplicates or were intentionally created for a purpose but still nominated for deletion.

Even when the photos detected as duplicates are close enough in the images, they may differ in other aspects like resolution or file size. Depending on Photos app version, it may do a better or worse job of deciding which to keep. (I don't recall how well Ventura's Photos did.)

Slogging through at least a part of the list of detected apparent duplicates will give you a feeling for how much you believe Photos is only detecting true duplicates or nominating the "best" (in your eyes by whichever attributes you value) of several nearly equivalent versions. Only then can you decide if you are willing to hold your nose and let it run amok with the rest.

Yesterday I made a trial run with Gemini, using the trial version. After the Trial run nearly all my photos in the library have been listed as duplicates. plus all backup copies I am keeping on iCloud Drive. Gemini seems to be regarding edited versions of photos as duplicates and is offering to keep either the edited version or the original.

I did not let Gemini go through with actually removing a single photo, but uninstalled it instantly.

Gemini 2 is a light weight version of Clean My Mac X, developed by the same team MacPaw.

The user guide (Gemini 2 User GuideMacPawhttps://dl.macpaw.com › manuals › Gemini2User...) does not explain, how duplicates are removed from the Photos Library. The full version, CleanMyMac used to replace the originals by the edited version by modifying the library directly, and occasionally created broken or incorrect links in the library, causing data loss. Before I could trust Gemini I would need a better documentation how Gemini is working with the Photos Library. An app that is not using the program interface of Photos but removing directly the items from the library package would be risky to use.

Thanks for the added experience info, Richard. Yes, for files in folders and duplicates between different volumes Gemini seems to be quite useful.

On APFS volumes duplicate files may not need much extra storage, because the system will usually create duplicate files as clones.

léonie wrote: … Yesterday I made a trial run with Gemini, using the trial version.

It's great to have actual experience and data! Thanks!

A few years ago I was trying to make sense of hundreds of backups. I would have 10 or 20 copies of the same picture from different places, often with different sizes, crops, or resolutions. I used Gemini II, and it was very helpful-- I liked the information that it gave for comparison, and I liked that I could restrict it to one folder, or I could have it compare two folders of pictures. And, better, this was before "in app purchases" and monthly/yearly subscriptions. But I only used it to work with pictures outside of the Photos app. I'm not sure I would pay for it again.

RhetRx wrote: … I’m on Ventura, on a 2017 iMac. Is there a way to automate the process of merging pairs or trios of duplicate photos, so I don’t have to slog through ~5k of them?

You can select any portion of them using standard shift-clicking or command-clicking.

Select items on your Mac screen - Apple Support (TJ)

Quoting:

--Select multiple items: Press and hold the Command key, then click the items (they don’t need to be next to each other).

--Select multiple items that are adjacent: Click the first item, then press the Shift key and click the last item. All items in between are included in the selection.

This is really asking for trouble, though. The duplicates may not be exact. Here's an example:

These look really similar, but I don't want to merge them-- I want to keep both. If you select all the "duplicates" without looking at them, you may lose some precious pictures.

I have three folders of old images, over half of which are duplicates, and I finally plan to get rid of duplicates and preserve the best quality version, preferably the original. I do plan to do the final step manually and visually.

Photos has "Already imported" alert when importing such duplicates. That can be overrun by selecting the duplicates, or via "Keep Folder Organization" if the duplicates are in different subfolders (then albums are created from folders).

I first tried to overrun that "Already imported" (to a new dummy library) and use Photos' built-in duplicate feature but with 3000 such images but Photos did not even start the process during one day so I gave up (*).

Being curious I did a quick test just what triggers the "Already imported" alert and it seems to be (tested with a .jpg -- movies might behave differently):

Different filename.

Or:

More than about 2 days difference in the EXIF date AND in the file creation date.

(*) 3rd party utilities might be faster for that. For example GraphicConverter > Browser > Find files and Smart Folder > Find Duplicate Files...