Apple Explains Why Duplicates Album in Photos Not Showing for Some Users

Apple today explained why iPhone users who recently updated to iOS 16 may not see the new Duplicates album in its stock Photos app, and what they can do about it.

photos duplicates
New to iOS 16, the Photos app will automatically detect any duplicate photos and videos in users' libraries and collate them together in a Duplicates album for inspection, giving users the option to merge duplicate sets and delete redundant media.

However, many users have been in touch to say the Duplicates album has not been showing up for them after updating their iPhone software, leading them to wonder if they are doing something wrong.

In a new support document, Apple has clarified that for the Duplicates album to appear, your iPhone has to first index the photo library and find duplicates, but that this detection process requires your iPhone to be locked and connected to power.

"Depending on what tasks are running in the background and the size of your photo library, the process could happen quickly or take up to a few days to complete," adds Apple.

Bear in mind that if you don't have any duplicates in your library, then the Duplicates album won't show up under the "Utilities" section of the Photos app until such a time when you do.

Related Forum: iOS 16

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says These 7 U.S. States Plan to Offer iPhone Driver's Licenses

Monday February 9, 2026 6:24 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future. To set up the...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

New MacBook Pros Could Now Arrive in March

Sunday February 8, 2026 6:02 am PST by
New MacBook Pro models with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips could arrive as soon as Monday, March 2, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In today's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that the release of new MacBook Pro models is tied to the release of macOS Tahoe 26.3. The launch is said to be slated for as early as the week of March 2. He added that the M4 Pro and M4 Max models on sale today...

Top Rated Comments

BootsWalking Avatar
44 months ago
Why not show the duplicates folder with a message indicating it won't be indexed until plugged in? Would've saved a lot of Apple support inquires.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MadDog31 Avatar
44 months ago
Had to wait for this myself back when I updated.

Worked well, though I do wish they had an option or folder for photos that are very similar but aren't 1:1 duplicates -- like the times I take a back-to-school pic of my kids and snap off 15 hoping to get one good shot and then I forget to delete 14 others!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vtuberalpha Avatar
44 months ago
The stupid indexing and background processes myth bogging down the battery is no more, thanks Apple for disspelling that nonsense.

Included a screenshot of my own to prove it even more.



Attachment Image
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
orbital~debris Avatar
44 months ago

It picked up a RAW and JPEG as being duplicates. It doesn’t give you any clue as to which it prefers to save on a ‘merge’.
From Apple's iPhone User Guide:

"Merging combines the highest quality version and all of the relevant data across the duplicates, and keeps that one in your library. The remaining duplicates are moved to the Recently Deleted album."

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/iphone/iph1978d9c23/ios
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JosephAW Avatar
44 months ago
It should still show the word "duplicates" with a zero or pending grayed out. o_O
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lynxwildcat Avatar
44 months ago
I am really intrigued whether this new 'duplicates' feature is a remnant or precursor of CSAM scanning. The fact this capability picks up images that are not 100% perfect duplicates (minor differences) and needs to catalogue your entire library.

I dunno, this seems related to CSAM, it's created some sort of hash that it's comparing between images. Turning on CSAM later based on the work done for duplicates would seem easier.

I haven't seen any news or analysis digging into why duplicates came this year (after CSAM was shelved) and why we haven't had duplicates as a feature well before now. This seems like a precursor or remnant.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)