Find and remove similar images

When you take multiple shots of the same scene, similar photos can pile up and take up more space than you'd expect. My Clutter in CleanMyMac helps you find and remove the ones you don't need — whether they're nearly identical shots or photos of the same subject from different angles.

CleanMyMac only shows similar images larger than 100 KB in the scan results. Also, it doesn't select files for removal automatically in My Clutter, so you stay in control of what gets deleted.

1. In CleanMyMac, click My Clutter in the sidebar.

2. From the drop-down list, choose a location to scan, then click Scan to begin.

   

   After scanning, CleanMyMac shows you the scan summary.

3. In the scan summary:

   • To quickly review and remove the largest similar images found, click Review in the Similar Images tile.

   • To view and manage all similar images, click Review All Files, then select the Similar Images category.

   

   Tip

   To scan again, click Start Over on the upper left, confirm, then click Scan.

   CleanMyMac opens the My Clutter Manager.

4. Review and select images, then click Remove to delete them.

   Pictures in your Photos app are moved to the Recently Deleted album, while all other images are deleted permanently, bypassing the Trash.

   Tip

   CleanMyMac only removes items in the currently viewed category. For example, if you select items in the Duplicates category, then select files in the Downloads category and click Remove there, CleanMyMac will only delete files in the Downloads category.

   

5. Review the results summary.

   • To explore the details, click View Log.

   • To continue reviewing other categories, click Review More Items to return to the My Clutter Manager.

   • To return to the My Clutter scan results, click Done.

   

In the review, CleanMyMac organizes similar images in groups. Each group shows a thumbnail, the number and total size of images in the group, and the number of images selected for removal. Right-click a group to:

• Apply smart selection — CleanMyMac will automatically select similar images for removal.

• Deselect all files in the group (if some have been selected).

• Add all files in the group to the ignore list — CleanMyMac will skip these files in future scans.

You can search for files or sort them by size, name, or date in ascending or descending order. You can also select images within a group in bulk — choose Smartly, Oldest, Newest, Smallest, or Largest from the Select menu, or deselect all.

Clicking a group reveals a list of similar images. For each image, CleanMyMac shows a thumbnail, preview, filename, location, and metadata. Images suggested for keeping are marked with a green dot on their thumbnails.

Right-click a file preview to:

• Select it for removal
• Reveal it in Finder
• Get file info
• Add it to the ignore list
• Preview it in Quick Look