Duplicates are the silent disk-space killer. Every backup, re-import and phone sync leaves copies behind, and it's common for 10–20% of a library to be redundant. The danger isn't finding duplicates — it's deleting the wrong ones. A safe cleanup workflow always reviews before deleting.
Copies hide in backup directories, import folders and Downloads. A scan that covers the whole library catches duplicates a folder-by-folder review misses.
An exact duplicate is the same image copied twice. A near-duplicate is two different shots of the same scene (a burst, a re-shoot). You can delete exact duplicates freely, but near-duplicates need review — one may be the sharper frame.
Never auto-delete. Look at matches side by side to confirm they're true duplicates. A good comparison view makes this fast — flip between frames and delete only what's clearly redundant.
Send unwanted files to the trash rather than deleting permanently. That way every decision is reversible, and you only lose data when you intentionally empty the trash.
Duplicates accumulate continuously. Run a cleanup scan every few months — it's a five-minute task that routinely reclaims gigabytes.
| Approach | Safety | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Manual folder review | High | Hours per folder |
| Blind auto-delete | Low (risky) | None |
| Review-then-delete workflow | High | Minutes per library |
Lap's duplicate finder detects both exact and near-duplicate photos, shows matches side by side for review, and batch-moves unwanted files to the trash — nothing is permanently deleted until you empty it.
No. Cleanup moves files to the trash, so every deletion is reversible until you empty the trash yourself.
Yes — Lap shows matches side by side so you can confirm they're redundant before removing them.
Both — Lap detects exact duplicates and near-duplicate (visually similar) images.
Lap