How to find and remove duplicate files on Mac
Downloading the same attachment twice, AirDropping photos you already had, “copy” and “(1)” files. Duplicates add up quietly.
Open Duplicates in Tidzy. It groups exact copies by their contents, not their names, and picks the copy to keep for you: the one in the better folder, at the highest resolution, or the oldest with the cleanest name. Trash the rest in one go, and undo from History if needed.
Clear duplicates in one pass
- Open Duplicates
Tidzy has already compared your files in the background. Each group shows every copy, where it lives and how much space the extras use.
- Check the suggested keeper
The copy marked Keep is chosen by simple rules: prefer Pictures or Documents over Downloads, then the highest resolution, then the oldest, then the cleanest name (no “copy” or “(1)”). You can change the order in Settings.
- Trash the extras
Remove all extras at once, or group by group. They go to the Trash, and History can restore them.
How Tidzy knows two files are the same
Names lie, so Tidzy compares contents. It first matches files of the same size, then compares a small part of each, and only then hashes the whole file. That keeps it quick even with thousands of photos and videos.
Look-alike photos
Burst shots and near-identical photos aren’t exact copies, so Tidzy shows them separately as look-alikes and lets you choose which to keep.
Doing it without Tidzy
The Photos app has a Duplicates album under Utilities for photos inside your library. For files in Finder there’s no built-in duplicate finder; the closest is sorting a folder by size and comparing names by hand.
Try it on your own files
From $4.99, one time, for 1, 2 or 3 Macs. Everything runs on your Mac, and every action can be undone.