Overview
Storage Trimmer helps you find and remove duplicate and similar photos and videos from your Apple Photos library. On Mac, the app also supports scanning folders outside of Photos. All processing happens entirely on your device. The app does not collect, transmit, or share any of your data.
What the App Accesses
Storage Trimmer requests read and write access to your selected library or folders in order to:
- Scan photos and videos to identify duplicates and similar content
- Display thumbnails and previews within the app
- Delete assets you choose to remove
The following metadata is read during scanning:
- File size, resolution, and creation/modification date
- Whether a photo is marked as a Favourite, was edited, or was selected from a burst sequence
- Media type (photo or video) and video duration
The following is never accessed:
- Location or GPS data embedded in photos or videos
- Face or person recognition data
- iCloud or sharing status
No one other than yourself will ever be able to access your content. Storage Trimmer has no way of seeing or retrieving any of your data. It all lives locally on your computer.
Local File Scanning (Mac only)
On Mac, Storage Trimmer can also scan folders on your Mac's file system to find photos and videos stored outside of Photos — for example, in your Downloads folder, on an external drive, or anywhere else on your computer. This feature is not available on iPhone or iPad.
When you use this feature, the app accesses only the folders you explicitly select. For each file found, the app reads:
- File name, size, and creation/modification date
- Image or video content, solely to generate a perceptual fingerprint for duplicate detection
The following is never accessed during local file scanning:
- Location or GPS data embedded in photos or videos
- Any folders or files outside those you select
All processing is performed entirely on your device. No file paths, content, or fingerprints are transmitted anywhere. Scan results are held in memory only and discarded when you quit the app or start a new scan.
On-Device Processing
All duplicate detection is performed locally using Apple's Vision framework and perceptual hashing. Thumbnail images and feature vectors generated during analysis are processed entirely on your device and are never uploaded or transmitted anywhere.
What Is Stored Locally
To improve performance across sessions, the app stores two small cache files in your Mac's Application Support folder:
- Asset size cache — file sizes for scanned assets, used to avoid repeated lookups
- Perceptual hash cache — 64-bit image and video fingerprints used to speed up duplicate detection
Both files reference assets by identifier only — Photos library assets by their Photos library ID, and locally scanned files by their file path. They contain no image data, no personal information, and can be safely deleted at any time.
The app also stores your library's total photo count and size in macOS system preferences (UserDefaults) as a display cache.
Scan results and your in-app selections are held in memory only and are not saved when you quit the app.
Deletion
When you choose to delete photos or videos from your Apple Photos library, the app uses Apple's standard Photos API (PHAssetChangeRequest) to remove them. Deleted assets are handled by macOS Photos in the same way as if you had deleted them directly in the Photos app. When you delete files found through local folder scanning, they are moved to the macOS Trash using the standard system API.
Limitation of Liability
Storage Trimmer is provided "as is" and "as available", without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. While the app is designed to help you identify duplicate and similar content, you are solely responsible for reviewing and confirming any selections before deletion.
Duplicate detection is performed using algorithmic analysis (Apple's Vision framework and perceptual hashing) and may produce false positives — identifying files as duplicates when they are not — or false negatives. You are solely responsible for reviewing every item before confirming deletion. Do not rely on the app's suggestions without your own verification.
Photos and videos deleted from your Apple Photos library are removed using Apple's standard deletion API. Depending on your macOS version and Photos settings, deleted items may be recoverable from the Recently Deleted album within Photos for a limited period. Files deleted from local folders are moved to the macOS Trash and may be recoverable from there until the Trash is emptied. However, once permanently removed, deleted content cannot be recovered by Storage Trimmer or its developer.
The developer of Storage Trimmer accepts no liability for any loss of photos, videos, or other data resulting from use of the app. It is your responsibility to maintain appropriate backups of any content you wish to preserve before using the app's deletion features. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the developer's total liability for any claim arising from use of Storage Trimmer shall not exceed the amount you paid to acquire the app. Use of Storage Trimmer constitutes your acceptance of these terms.
The app's functionality depends on Apple's operating system frameworks (Photos, Vision, AVFoundation). The developer is not liable for changes in app behaviour resulting from macOS or Apple Photos updates.
"Lifetime access" refers to a one-time purchase that grants the right to use the version of Storage Trimmer available at the time of purchase, and any subsequent updates released during the app's active distribution. It does not constitute a guarantee that the app will be maintained, updated, or remain available indefinitely. A lifetime purchase does not entitle the purchaser to a refund in the event the app is discontinued; refund eligibility is governed solely by Apple's App Store refund policy.
The developer reserves the right to discontinue Storage Trimmer at any time, with or without notice. Because the app operates entirely on your device with no network dependency, any version you have already downloaded will continue to function on your device after discontinuation. However, the developer makes no guarantee that the app will remain compatible with future versions of macOS or Apple Photos, and is not liable for any loss of functionality resulting from operating system updates after the app is discontinued.
Network Access
Storage Trimmer makes no network requests of any kind. There is no account system, no cloud sync, no analytics, and no crash reporting. The app functions entirely offline.
Third-Party SDKs
The app uses only Apple's first-party frameworks (Photos, Vision, AVFoundation, SwiftUI, etc.). No third-party libraries, SDKs, or services are included.
Children's Privacy
The app does not collect any personal information from anyone, including children.
Changes to This Policy
If the app's data practices change in a future version, this policy will be updated and the "last updated" date revised.
Contact
If you have questions about this privacy policy, contact: storagetrimmer@gmail.com