iOS 16.4 Expands Duplicate Image Detection to iCloud Shared Photo Library

In addition to new emojis, web push notifications, and a range of other features, the iOS 16.4 update expands support for detecting duplicate images to iCloud Shared Photo Library.

ios 16 duplicates
With iOS 16, Apple added a duplicate detection function for the Photos app. If you have duplicate images, the ‌Photos‌ app displays a "Duplicates" folder in the Utilities album section. From there, you can merge all of your duplicate images together.

At launch, the duplicate detection option did not work with ‌iCloud‌ Shared Photo Library, but that's changing with the iOS 16.4 update. According to Apple, after installing iOS 16.4, you will be able to detect duplicate photos and videos in ‌iCloud‌ Shared Photo Library, merging them to cut down on unnecessary extra images.

iOS 16.4 is set to be released to the public as soon as next week. The update also includes VoiceOver support for maps in the Weather app, a fix for an issue that could cause Ask to Buy requests to fail to appear on a parent's device, a bug with Matter-compatible thermostats, and additional Crash Detection optimizations for iPhone 14 models.

Related Roundups: iOS 16, iPadOS 16
Related Forum: iOS 16

Top Rated Comments

Cmd-Z Avatar
11 weeks ago
Cool, but maybe I'll wait a few point-releases before being brave enough to try ?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
munpip214 Avatar
11 weeks ago
Will this detect if the same picture exists in personal and shared or just separately?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
11 weeks ago
The list of duplicate images never seems to match between my iPhone and Mac with the same photo library. It makes me wonder if the feature really works well at all.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
axantas Avatar
11 weeks ago

Interesting. If there's a one copy of a photo in the shared library and another in the personal library, I wonder which it deletes?
It will delete your personal photo - as you are the only one, who is looking for it. You will never find the copy again.
...sorry, but this duplicate,triplicate, quadruplicate photo-thing is an absolute mess here at Apple.

Don't ever trust an automatic cleanup, as you will lose your pictures for sure. Assure an automatic backup somewhere else/local (I do it on Amazon as a second backup) and be sure, you will not lose your photos.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NMBob Avatar
11 weeks ago
"How can we get them to let us scan their pictures?"
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MaxSto Avatar
11 weeks ago
Finally!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)