Questions and answers

How to free up space on your iPhone, sort duplicates and similar photos, and what TripSweep does (and never does) with your photos.

How do I free up space on my iPhone without paying for more iCloud storage?

Start with what weighs the most: large videos, screenshots, burst leftovers and near-identical shots. TripSweep's Cleanup tab lists them by type with the space each category takes, and each trip shows how many gigabytes its similar photos use. Keep the best shot of each group and delete the rest. If iCloud Photos is on, the deletion syncs to all your devices and also frees space in iCloud once “Recently Deleted” is emptied.

How do I find and delete duplicate photos on my iPhone?

The Photos app has a Duplicates album for exact copies. TripSweep goes further: besides identical copies, it finds similar photos anywhere in your library — the five shots of the same sunset, bursts, near-identical selfies. In Cleanup, a “Keep 1 per group” button sorts a whole category in one tap, and your favorites are never suggested for deletion.

How do I delete similar photos and keep only the best one?

Open a group of similar photos in TripSweep: they appear side by side, never cropped, and a best shot is suggested based on sharpness, Apple's aesthetic score and faces. Keep it or pick another one, then delete the rest. The analysis runs on your iPhone with Apple's Vision framework.

How do I clean up old vacation photos?

TripSweep groups your photos and videos by trip using their location, or by event and month when they have no GPS. Sort trips by size to start with the heaviest, see the share of similar photos in each one, and sort trip by trip. Before deleting, you can export a whole trip to your Mac or to Files, or share it with the people who were there.

Does TripSweep send my photos to a server?

No. TripSweep works 100% offline: place recognition and similar-photo detection run on your iPhone, with no account and no third-party service. No photo, video or location ever leaves the device.

Is TripSweep free? Is there a subscription?

There is no subscription. Browsing, comparing and sorting are free, with 3 deletions a day from the viewer. Pro ($4.99, one time) removes the limit on the iPhone; Pro + Desktop ($24.99, one time) also removes it in PhotoCull on the Mac. TripSweep needs iOS 18 or later.

Can I get back a photo I deleted by mistake?

Yes. TripSweep always deletes through the Photos app's “Recently Deleted” album, never permanently. Photos stay there for 30 days and you can restore them at any time.

Can I sort my iPhone photos from my Mac or a Windows PC?

Yes, with PhotoCull, the free desktop companion for Mac and Windows. It compares photos on a big screen and sorts a folder on your computer with no limit. From a Mac, it can also delete photos on your iPhone: 6 a day for free, 15 with Pro, unlimited with Pro + Desktop.

What is the difference between duplicate photos and similar photos?

Duplicates are identical copies of the same file. Similar photos are different shots of the same scene: a burst, five attempts at the same sunset, two near-identical selfies. Duplicates are easy to spot; similar photos are where most of the wasted space hides, and TripSweep groups both so you can keep one and delete the rest.

How does TripSweep choose the best photo in a group?

It looks at sharpness, Apple's aesthetic score and faces, then suggests one shot per group. The suggestion is only a starting point: you can keep another photo, keep several, or skip the group. The analysis runs on your iPhone with Apple's Vision framework.

What does the Cleanup tab find?

Identical copies, similar photos, blurry photos, screenshots and large videos, each in its own category with the space it takes. You start with the category that frees the most space and sort it in a few taps.

Will TripSweep suggest deleting my favorite photos?

No. Photos you marked as favorites are never suggested for deletion, and nothing is deleted until you confirm.

Does TripSweep work on photos that have no GPS location?

Yes. Photos without a location are grouped by event and month instead of by trip, so screenshots, saved images and photos taken with location services off are sorted too.

Can I hide my home and workplace from my trips?

Yes. Add your home, work or any place you pass every day as an excluded place, so daily life doesn't show up as a trip and your real trips stand out. Pro makes custom places unlimited.

Can I back up or share a trip before deleting it?

Yes. You can export a whole trip to your Mac or to the Files app, or share it with the people who were there, then delete it from your iPhone once it is safe elsewhere.

Do I need an internet connection or an account?

No. TripSweep needs no account and works offline. Place names are recognised on your iPhone, and no photo, video or location is ever sent to a server.

Does deleting in TripSweep also delete my photos from iCloud?

If iCloud Photos is on, deleting a photo on your iPhone removes it from all your devices, because that is how iCloud Photos works. TripSweep deletes through “Recently Deleted”, so you have 30 days to change your mind, and iCloud space is freed once that album is emptied.

Can I review my iPhone photos on a big screen instead of the phone?

Yes. PhotoCull is the free desktop companion for Mac and Windows: it shows your iPhone's camera roll grouped by trip, compares similar photos side by side and lets you mark hundreds of photos in a few clicks. Learn more about PhotoCull.

Can I delete photos in bulk from my computer instead of tapping on the phone?

Yes, with PhotoCull on a Mac or Windows PC. You mark the photos on the big screen, and the deletion is applied on your iPhone by TripSweep through “Recently Deleted”. The free version allows 6 photos a day from the Mac (see the plans on the TripSweep page), Pro 15, and Pro + Desktop removes the limit.

Which iPhones and iOS versions does TripSweep support?

TripSweep needs iOS 18 or later. Similar-photo analysis uses Apple's Vision framework and is faster on recent iPhones, but works on every supported model.