How to Delete Duplicate Photos on Android

Copies pile up on an Android phone: the same picture saved from several chats, a folder copied twice, a photo downloaded again. Two free tools find duplicate files for you: Files by Google on Android 8.0 and up, and My Files on Samsung Galaxy.

On an iPhone? Read how to delete duplicate photos on iPhone.

Step 1: Delete duplicate files with Files by Google

1. Open Files by Google → Menu → Clean.
2. On the Duplicate files card, tap Select files.
3. Keep the one marked Original, select the copies, tap Move to Trash.

Free on Google Play for Android 8.0 and up. Its Trash keeps files 30 days.

Step 2 on Samsung Galaxy: use My Files

1. Open My Files → Analyze storage → Duplicate files.
2. Tick the copies, leave one file of each set unticked, tap Delete.

What Google Photos does with duplicates

Google Photos has no duplicate finder. To delete only the copy on your phone and keep the backup, open it and tap More → Delete from device.

Another way: compare copies side by side in Picmori

Nothing is deleted until you confirm. Then Android deletes them for good, with no trash, so back up first. Groups come free; the Duplicates mode with only groups is Premium.

Step 3: Empty the trash

• Files by Google: Menu → Trash, select, Delete.
• Samsung: My Files → Recycle bin → More → Empty.

Next: the whole Android gallery.

Questions about duplicate photos on Android

Does Google Photos find duplicate photos?

We found no duplicate finder in the Google Photos help center. What Google does explain is that when your phone holds several copies of the same photo, the Google Photos app shows only one of them, and deleting that photo in Google Photos asks whether to remove all local copies from your device. For copies stored on the phone, use the Duplicate files card in Files by Google, or My Files on a Samsung Galaxy.

Will deleting a duplicate on my phone delete it from Google Photos?

It can. If your phone's gallery app is connected to Google Photos, photos you delete in the gallery app might also be deleted from Google Photos, even if they were backed up. Samsung Gallery synced with your Google Account removes a deleted photo from both apps and from your cloud storage. And a photo you delete inside the Google Photos app is deleted from your phone too, and from every device with backup turned on.

How do I find duplicate photos on a Samsung phone?

Open My Files, tap Analyze storage, then Duplicate files. Select the copies you want to remove and tap Delete. Leave one file of each set unselected: Samsung warns that if you select them all, the original is deleted too.

Can I get deleted duplicates back?

From Files by Google, usually yes: files moved to its Trash stay there for 30 days, and you restore them from Menu, then Trash. Photos deleted in Google Photos also stay in its Trash for 30 days. Samsung's guide says that deleting in My Files permanently deletes the selected files, and photos Picmori deletes on Android are removed permanently too, so back up before you start.

Why does my Samsung Gallery show the same photo twice?

Usually because the picture is stored twice. Gallery's albums follow the folders on your phone, so a photo saved again from a chat app, a download or a copied folder appears as a second file, often in a second album. My Files finds these copies under Analyze storage, then Duplicate files.

How do I stop WhatsApp and Telegram from filling my Android gallery with copies?

In WhatsApp, open Settings, then Chats, and turn off Media visibility, so newly downloaded media no longer shows in your phone's gallery. In Telegram, turn off Save to Gallery for private chats, groups and channels: it sits under Settings, then Data and Storage, or under Chat Settings in older versions. Only new media is affected.