How to clean up your iPhone photo library
Work from the safest and biggest categories to the most personal: exact duplicates → large videos → screenshots → similar shots and bursts → blurry photos. Built-in Photos covers duplicates, screenshots and bursts; an app like Puri adds similar-shot groups, blurry and closed-eye detection and size sorting. Review everything before you delete.
A cleanup order that works
| Step | Why this order | Built-in route |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Exact duplicates | No judgement needed — copies are identical | Photos → Utilities → Duplicates → Merge |
| 2. Large videos & screen recordings | Most space per item | Photos → Media Types → Videos / Screen Recordings |
| 3. Screenshots | Usually temporary, often hundreds | Photos → Media Types → Screenshots |
| 4. Similar shots & bursts | Keep the best frame of each moment | Bursts: open → Select → keep favourites |
| 5. Blurry and closed-eye photos | Personal calls — do these last | No built-in filter |
Make it quicker with Puri
Puri shows all of these as categories after one scan. In groups of similar photos it suggests a keeper and shows why (for example the larger or sharper file); you can pick a different one. Blurry, closed-eye and best-shot suggestions come from an on-device check of each photo — they are suggestions, so skim before deleting. How Puri works.
Keep it tidy afterwards
- Delete screenshots once you have used them — or check the Screenshots list monthly.
- When you shoot a burst or several takes, pick the keeper the same day.
- Turn on High Efficiency in Settings → Camera → Formats to keep new photos and videos smaller.
- Re-run a duplicate check after importing from another phone, a camera or a messenger.
Frequently asked questions
What is the fastest way to clean up iPhone photos?
Merge exact duplicates first, then delete or compress large videos. Those two steps usually free the most space for the least effort.
Can I undo a photo cleanup?
For about 30 days, yes: deleted photos wait in Photos → Utilities → Recently Deleted, where you can recover them.
Does Puri organise photos into albums?
No. Puri is for finding what to remove or shrink; it doesn’t create or rearrange albums.
Sources: Apple Support: Delete or hide photos and videos on iPhone