👁️📢 Your eyes only: If you have sensitive pics like your driver’s license on your phone, set up a locked folder in Google Photos. Open the Google Photos app > Utilities > Set up Locked Folder. Follow the on-screen directions to finish up.
Drowning in duplicate photos? Here's how to declutter your digital memories
I remember my parents saying, “Kim, stop wasting the film.” Oh, yes, this was back when we’d put film in a camera, take up to 36 pictures, then wait for the roll to get developed to see if any of the shots were good. Those days are long gone, fortunately.
Now, the average American takes around 20 photos every single day. And I’ll bet many of those are duplicate (or triplicate) shots of the same thing. So, how do we tackle the deluge of doubles? I’ll walk you through the steps. This is a perfect weekend project.
Cleaning up your photo libraries
For Windows: There’s no built-in duplicate finder, so you’ll need to download a third-party app. I recommend Duplicate Cleaner.
- Scan your library: After installing Duplicate Cleaner, the app will review your files by size, content and similarity, catching those pesky near-duplicates.
- Review and delete: Once a scan is completed, the app will present you with a list of duplicates. Review these to make sure no photos are incorrectly marked, and delete any copies to free up storage.
For Apple: Lucky you! The Photos app on your iPhone, iPad, iMac or MacBook has a built-in “duplicate photos” tool. (Just make sure you’ve updated to the latest version.) This tool is so easy to use. Here’s how:
- Open your Photos app and select Albums.
- Scroll down and choose Duplicates. (I just looked at mine and had 2,933 duplicate photos and 49 videos!)
- Hit Select > Select all, then tap the Trash icon to delete them. You can also select Merge to combine your dupes into one great shot.
For Android: Don’t delete your duplicates manually; open the Files by Google app, then select Clean. If you don’t have the app, download it for free from the Google Play Store.
- Next, tap Confirm and free up > See junk files and select what you want to clear.
- When you’re ready, tap Clear > Clear. That’s all it takes to remove screenshots, memes, duplicates and other junk mixed in with your important photos.
For Google Photos: There’s no built-in duplicate-cleaning tool here, so it’s up to you.
- Log into Google Photos, and click Photos in the left panel.
- Select any photos you no longer need (or want), and click Delete.
If you have thousands of duplicates, though, this process could take forever. A third-party app like Duplicate Photos Fixer Pro is a quicker solution.
Worried someone is snooping on your iPhone? Here's how to record evidence
Safety Check for iPhone lets you quickly stop sharing your information or review and update sharing with people and apps. It’s among several safety features introduced with iOS 16, which you can read about here.
You’ll want evidence if you’ve experienced harmful or suspicious activity on your phone and must report it. Screenshots can help, but that might not always be enough. Here’s how to record what’s happening on your screen.
Quick pic tip: How to clean up your photo library, fast
While it’s fun to take more than five pics of every cute animal, life event or meal, your phone has a limit. For every beautiful shot, you’re probably saving a bunch of junk, too. Are you getting that “storage full” message? It’s a pain.
10 tips for using Windows’ built-in photography apps (no extra downloads required!)
Who says you need a paid service or heavy software to store and edit photos? Unless you’re a professional photographer who is trying to work on client images, there’s no need to pay for a photo editing service.
Instead of wasting money, turn to your trusty Windows computer. Many free programs come pre-installed with any new PC, including photo apps.
All eyes on you: Use Google Photos? See all the pics you took in a specific location. Open the Google Photos app. In the bottom bar, tap Search. Under the Places section, tap View All.
Take a screenshot on your iPad: For iPads with a Home button, press it and the sleep/wake button together. No “Home” button? Press the power on/off and volume up buttons at the same time. Find your screenshot in your Photos app gallery.
Google's new privacy shortcut you'll want to use
Development may have stalled for platforms across the web due to COVID-19, but Google continues to churn out new products and features in spite of the pandemic.
In the past few months, the tech giant has added multiple new features to existing apps like Google Meet and has even given you the ability to delete your search and YouTube history automatically. Tap or click here to see how to set it up.