How do I prevent duplicate photos buildup on Mac backup drives?

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Level 1

9 points

How do I prevent duplicate photos buildup on Mac backup drives?

While it’s actually a common problem, most Apple employees haven’t had the experience, or at least haven’t known they had the experience of a buildup of redundant backup images.

I’m looking for a way around this problem, something that has been part of the Mac for at least 15 years.

do I need what kind of iPhone do I need in order to fix the problem. And also do current McIntosh computers have a solution for this duplicate picture problem

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 11.7

Posted on Apr 14, 2025 7:36 PM

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Answer 1

Apr 15, 2025 7:53 AM in response to Boson93111

Summary: Seeks advice on preventing duplicate photo buildup on mac backup drives.

Photos app has de-duplication support in recent versions, and which would be the easiest approach, as it implements a choice of which is the preferred copy, and avoids dealing with the inevitably-fun mixture of file deduplication and data encryption.

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Answer 2

Yer_Man

Level 10

165,912 points

Apr 14, 2025 11:40 PM in response to Boson93111

There is no such problem. All you need is to use a back up application that does incremental back ups rather than one that archives. So if this is an issue for you look to your workflow.

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Answer 3

Boson93111 Author

Level 1

9 points

Apr 14, 2025 7:38 PM in response to Boson93111

After such a long time, it’s time to get Apple to fix its problem with a buildup of identical, photographs, and videos. It’s been a known problem for a very, very very…

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Answer 4

muguy

Level 10

91,172 points

Apr 14, 2025 9:07 PM in response to Boson93111

Not sure I understand your issue. Are you using a Time Machine backup? If so, photos are not duplicating.

are you doing something else?

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How do I prevent duplicate photos buildup on Mac backup drives?

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