How to find and delete similar and blurry photos on Android

Which built-in tools exist

Android has no single cleanup tool, so what you see depends on your phone. Three official options are documented: Files by Google, Google Photos and the Samsung Gallery app. Menu names change between versions, so treat the labels below as a guide.

None of these replaces your own judgment. They flag candidates, and you decide, as our guide on duplicates versus similar photos explains.

Files by Google: duplicates and suggested pictures

In Files by Google, open the menu and tap Clean. Google’s help describes a Duplicate files card: tap Select files, choose the copies to remove, then move them to Trash. The original copy carries an Original badge, and Google recommends keeping it.

A Delete suggested pictures card suggests pictures that are blurry, low resolution, or too dark or too bright. Google says the card appears once at least five images are flagged as low quality. Tap Select files, choose pictures (or All items), then move them to Trash.

Google’s pages say these go to Trash, but do not say how long they stay there, so do not assume 30 days.

Google Photos: Manage storage

For backed-up items, Google Photos has a storage management tool that suggests items you might delete, such as blurry photos, screenshots and large videos. On Android, tap your profile picture, then Photos settings, Backup, Manage storage, review the recommended categories, tap Select, choose items and tap Move to bin.

Google says items moved to the bin are permanently deleted after 30 days. Which categories appear can vary, and Google’s page names large photos and videos as an example, so you may not see a similar-photos option.

If your Google account is over its quota, a separate cleanup flow lets you swipe right to delete or left to keep. Choose Move to trash rather than Permanently delete unless you are sure.

Samsung Gallery: Clean out and grouping

Samsung’s support page says to open Gallery, tap Menu, then Clean out, then Delete duplicate pictures, and tap Delete duplicates to remove the copies and keep the originals. If you have no duplicates, the option may not appear.

On newer devices, Gallery can group similar-looking pictures under one thumbnail with a small number on it. Tap the thumbnail to see the group. To stop grouping, go to the Pictures tab, tap More options, then Ungroup similar images. Some models do not offer the icon. Grouping only organizes the view; it does not delete anything by itself.

Deleted items move to Trash first according to Samsung; emptying it deletes them permanently.

A safe routine

Automated suggestions are not always right: a blurry photo may be the only one of a person, and a near-duplicate may be the better shot. Look at each batch before confirming and keep a backup of anything important.

1. Back up your photos first, as described in our 3-2-1 guide.
2. Run one tool at a time and review the suggestions instead of selecting everything.
3. Prefer the options that move items to Trash or bin so you can undo a mistake.
4. Check the Trash only after a few days, and empty it when you are sure.

When you want to decide yourself

Suggestions cover obvious cases. The tricky ones are near-identical shots of a moment that matters.

GallerySort is a swipe-based sorting app for iOS and Android: swipe left to delete, swipe right to keep, and tap an album to file a photo. It is a manual way to go through a batch: swipe through a small collection, keep your favorite shot and delete the rest. It does not change how Google Photos, your phone’s trash or an SD card works, and it makes no promise about how much space a cleanup will free.