3 Ways to Remove Duplicate Files from Google Drive

 

Google Drive is one of the best cloud storage platforms. Microsoft OneDrive offers 5 Gigs and Dropbox offers 2 Gigs of FREE space. This space can be quickly filled if you store duplicate files unknowingly. You can quickly find and remove duplicate files with the manual process or automate the task with one of the best Google Drive duplicate finders.

Reasons behind Duplicate Files:

There are several reasons why duplicate files may exist on a computer or in a cloud storage service like Google Drive. Here are some common reasons!

Accidental Duplication: Users may accidentally create duplicate files when copying or moving files, or by saving multiple copies of a file without realizing it.

Data Migration: When moving data from one device to another, users may create duplicates of files without realizing it.

Backup and Restore: Users may create duplicate files when creating backups of their data, or when restoring data from a backup.

File Syncing: When syncing files across multiple devices or cloud storage services, duplicate files may be created if the sync settings are not configured correctly.

File Sharing: When sharing files with others, users may create duplicate copies of files to ensure that everyone has a copy.

Software Bugs: Some software applications may create duplicate files due to bugs or errors in the code.

Duplicate files can cover lot of spaces and slow down your computer or cloud storage service.  Therefore, it's important to regularly check for and delete duplicate files to keep your storage space optimized and organized.

Methods to Delete Duplicate Files from Google Drive:

Here are some easy ways to remove duplicate files from Google Drive. You can try the manual methods or use one of the best Google Drive duplicate finders.

Method 1. Use the "Find duplicates" Feature

Google Drive has a built-in feature that can help you find duplicate files. To use it, open Google Drive in a web browser, click on the search bar at the top of the page, and select "Find duplicates" from the dropdown menu. Google Drive will then search for and display a list of all the duplicate files in your Drive. You can quickly preview the files and delete the duplicates that you don't need.

Method 2. Use a Third-party Tool

You may find tons of third-party tools available that claim to find and remove duplicate files from Google Drive. We have compared, tested, and reviewed some of the best-chosen ones. Some promising options include Duplicate Files Fixer Pro, Duplicate Cleaner for Google Drive, Drive Sweeper, and Duplicate File Finder. These tools can help you quickly and easily find and remove duplicate files, saving you time and effort.

Method 3. Manually Search for Duplicates

If you prefer to do things manually, you can search for duplicate files in your Drive by sorting your files by name or date modified and manually comparing them. This can be a time-consuming process, but it can be effective if you only have a small number of files to search through.

No matter which method you choose, it's important to carefully review the files before deleting them to ensure that you don't accidentally delete the files that you need. It's also a good idea to make a backup of your files before deleting duplicates, just in case you accidentally delete something important.

Delete Duplicate Files Manually:

To remove duplicate files from your Google Drive, you can follow these steps:

Step 1. Open your Google Drive account in a web browser and log in.

Step 2. Click on the search bar at the top of the page and type in "duplicate:" followed by the file type or name that you want to search for duplicates of. For example, "duplicate:pdf" will show you all duplicate PDF files in your Drive.

Step 3. Press Enter to start the search. Google Drive will show you a list of all the files that match your search criteria.

Step 4. Review the list of duplicate files and select the ones you want to delete.

Step 5. Once you've selected all the files you want to delete, click on the "Trash" icon in the toolbar to move them to the trash folder.

Step 6. To permanently delete the files from your Drive, click on the "Trash" folder in the left sidebar and select the files you want to delete permanently.

Step 7. Click on the "Delete Forever" button to permanently delete the selected files from your Drive.

“Please Note: Be careful when deleting files from your Drive, as deleting a file will remove it permanently and you will not be able to recover it.”

Final Words:

This article on how to find duplicates in Google Drive has the best tips and tricks to find and delete duplicate files from Google Drive manually. You can also use the best Google Drive duplicate finder to find and remove duplicate files quickly. This is an automated process to declutter your files and keep just the unique files quickly.