How to Delete Duplicate Files on Android

Duplicates are the prominent reason for the full storage space issue on Android. Moreover, it also creates confusion and clutters our photo collections. Now, it certainly is not wise to manually search for duplicates since that can take up to several minutes or even hours (in case your device is filled with GBs of duplicate files). Furthermore, you might also end up deleting important files mistakenly. 

So, are there any safe and quick ways to delete duplicate files on an Android? Yes, there are.

Best Ways to Get Rid of Duplicate Files on Android

Solution No. 1 – Use An App to Remove Duplicate Files on Android

You can use an Android app like Duplicate Files Fixer. It is a safe and quick way to delete duplicate files on an Android device. To get rid of duplicate files from your Android smartphone- 

Step 1 – Install Duplicate Files Fixer from the Google Play Store.

Step 2 – Give necessary permissions. 

Step 3 – Once installed, you can either conduct a Full Duplicate Scan or scan your complete device for duplicate files. Or, you can search for duplicates associated with a particular file type. 

Step 4 – Click on the Scan Now option. The app will now search your Android device for duplicate files.

Step 5 – Once the scan is complete, Duplicate Files Fixer will identify duplicate files and arrange them in groups. 

You can find duplicates across all file formats – audio files, pictures, videos, and documents arranged category wise horizontally.  When you tap on each category, you will see that one duplicate file in each group is auto-marked. 

Step 6 – Before you delete a file, you can tap on it and preview it using a recommended app. 

Step 7 – Once you are sure of the files that you want to delete, you can remove the auto-marked files by tapping on the Delete Now option. 

In case, you want to change the selection, first uncheck the file in the group and select the other files. Do the same to the other files in other groups. To delete duplicates, again tap on Delete Now. 

Step 8 – You can further choose the files you want to keep or remove by tapping on the three dots at the top right corner and then choosing an option. 

Other Features Offered By Duplicate Files Fixer – 

• Multiple scan filters to help you choose files with the same content, same name, 0-byte file, and hidden files and folders. 
• Exclude certain files from the scan so that they are not deleted mistakenly. 
• Check how much space you have recovered after deleting duplicate files. 
• Multi-lingual support

Solution No. 2 – Use The Files App To Delete Duplicate Files On Android 

Files by Google is an app that comes preinstalled on various Android devices. If it’s not there on your smartphone, you can get it from the Google Play Store. 

Here’s how Files by Google can help you remove duplicates on your Android phone – 

Step 1 – If you are using the app for the first time, give the necessary permissions. 

Step 2 – Tap on the hamburger icon signified by three horizontal lines at the top left corner and tap on Clean. 

Step 3 – Under the Delete duplicates option, tap on Select files. 

Step 4 – On the next screen, you will get two options to delete duplicate files. You can either select all duplicate files by tapping on the radio button next to All duplicates. Or, you can individually select files.

Step 5 – Once you are sure of your selection, tap on Move files to Trash. This will delete all duplicate files.

Solution No. 3 – Eliminate Duplicate Files from Android Phone Using Your Computer 

If you have a computer, we have two ways for you to remove duplicate files from your computer. 

Method No. 1 – Simpler and Effective Way to Remove Android Duplicate Files On PC

Remember the Duplicate Files Fixer app we talked about a while ago? 

You can also download Duplicate Files Fixer on your computer, connect your Android device to your PC, and delete duplicate files. To do that – 

Step 1 – Download and run Duplicate Files Fixer. Make sure that you have plugged in your Android device to your computer.

Step 2 – Click on the dropdown next to the Scan Mode, select Mobile SmartScan. You will be asked to confirm your phone model. Select your phone model and click on OK.

Step 3 – Click on the Scan for Duplicates button that’s located at the bottom of the interface. 

Here, you can again choose to either mark duplicate files manually or auto-mark them based on a set hierarchy. 

Step 4 – Once the scan is complete, Duplicate Files Fixer will list all duplicate files in groups and sort them horizontally format-wise. Before removing any file, you can click on it and preview it on the right-hand side. 

Step 5 – You can also auto-mark duplicates in each group. To auto-mark files, click on Automark from the top. You will then see that some files are marked in each group. If you don’t wish to delete the marked files, you can uncheck the boxes and select the other files you want to delete. 

Step 6 – Once you have selected duplicates, click on Delete Marked from the bottom of the interface. 

Method No. 2 – Slightly Time Consuming and Less Effective

If you have a PC, you can find and remove duplicate files and folders on your Android device without any third-party app. However, we’d like to add that this method is slightly more time-consuming and unlike the other methods on the list, this method doesn’t let you auto-select duplicate files. 

Here’s What We Recommend – You can use this method as a preliminary scrutiny of duplicate files or, in unison with other methods that we have mentioned. 

Step 1 – Plug your Android smartphone into your PC using a USB cable.

Step 2 – Open your Android smartphone’s drive on This PC. 

Step 3 – After you open the drive, head to the search bar at the top right corner of the screen. Type the extension that you want to examine for duplicate files. For example, if you suspect that there might be several duplicate PDFs, type pdf in the search bar.

Get Rid of Duplicate Files from Your Android Device

When you have an Android smartphone with several duplicate files, you needn’t panic. Instead, you can try one of the methods discussed in this post. The best bet here is to use an app like Duplicate Files Fixer that helps find duplicate files across multiple file formats. Furthermore, it auto-marks duplicate files and you can simply click on the Delete Now button and get rid of duplicates fast. Do let us know if you found value in the post in the comments section below.