If you’re a selfie-addict or a digital photographer who takes a lot of photographs, chances are that you will end up with a large chunk of identical versions of the photos. It is not uncommon to shoot the same photo from different angles, varying gestures, poses and expressions – all in an attempt to get the best photographic experience.

Exact Match & Similar Match

Duplicate photos are of two kinds:

• Exact Match: As the name says, these photographs are completely identical in nature with no differences of any kind. There are no variations in terms of color, pixels, and anything else.
• Similar Match: These are partial duplicates. They are typically found using the fuzzy matching algorithm. These duplicate photos might include variations in terms of background photo, background color, color tones, and so on.

PictureEcho – The Fast & Secured Fuzzy Matching Duplicate Photo Cleaning Software

PictureEcho is a great tool to find duplicate photos even if there are slight differences. When you search for duplicate photos using PictureEcho, your photos are grouped together based on similarity of the content. You would be able to see the original photo alongside its’ identical versions that may have a little bit variations.

PictureEcho allows users to automatically batch select duplicates. For example: you’ll have an option to choose whether to retain the oldest or newest versions, images with higher or lower resolution, images by the parent folder, etc.

1. 1. Download and install PictureEcho.
   2. Run the program after successful installation.
   3. Click on the Add Path button on the left, and choose directories that you want to search for duplicates. You can add multiple directories.
   4. Choose the Similar Match criteria, and go ahead and click Start Search.
   5. The search shall take place. Wait for a while.
   6. After the results are gathered, review your files. Make sure that the Show Preview box on the right is checked-up. You will be able to see the image preview without having to actually open a file.
   7. Click on Select Duplicates button, and choose one of the following selection criteria:

• Retain Newest/ Oldest Files In Each Group: PictureEcho will help you automatically select files based on the date-time stamp of your files. You can mark all newest or oldest files in each duplicate pair.
• Retain High Resolution/ Lower Resolution Images In Each Group: You can batch select duplicates with high or low resolution. Deleting identical copies with lower resolution would help you focus more on the quality.
• Retain Smaller/ Bigger Images In Each Group: You can free-up optimum amount of storage space by deleting larger versions of your original photos. Deleting bigger files would help you free-up a larger amount of space.
• Select By Image Location: You can batch select files by their parent directory. For example: Duplicate photos located on your Desktop.