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Re: Search for a picture

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On 04/10/2025 12:35, Martin S Taylor wrote:
> Is there a program (or ‘app’, if you will) which will search my Mac for a duplicate of a given picture, when the file name (and resolution) don’t necessarily match?
> 
> There are loads of programs which scan a given folder or folders for duplicates, but I can’t find a way to look for a duplicate of one specific photo.


Yes — there *are* a number of tools that can do something close to what 
the Usenet poster wants: use a *reference image* and scan folders (or 
the whole disk) for visually similar/duplicate pictures even if the file 
name, metadata, or resolution differ. Below are several options + some 
caveats and suggestions. If you like, I can also suggest a 
shell/CLI/script-based method.

---

### 🛠 Apps for Mac that can search for visually similar images (not 
just same name/size)

Here are some apps that do what you want (or close to it), along with 
how well they seem to support “find duplicates of a given photo”:

1. **dupeGuru**

    * Has a “Picture Edition” / “fuzzy” matching mode that looks for 
similar images even if names differ. ([TechPP][1])
    * You can limit the search to a folder and compare to a sample 
reference image (depending on how you set it up). It’s less 
user-friendly than some paid tools but is decent.
    * Open-source, works on Mac, Windows, Linux.

2. **Gemini 2** (by MacPaw)

    * Capable of finding duplicates and “similar” images. ([MacPaw][2])
    * The “fuzzy” or “smart” similarity detection helps when 
resolution/format/name differ. But from what I saw, you may need to scan 
the whole folder and then manually look for matches.

3. **PhotoSweeper X**

    * Designed especially for photos, it supports matching even if files 
have been edited, resized, or otherwise changed. ([TechPP][1])
    * You can point it to a folder and then compare with another folder 
or a reference image. Useful UI for review.

4. **Cisdem Duplicate Finder** (or “similar images” tools)

    * Has advanced algorithms for similarity and lets you set 
thresholds. ([Cisdem][3])
    * Good if you want fine control over how “loose” or “strict” the 
match should be.

5. **PicArrange**

    * Less well-known, but supports visual sorting and “similarity 
search” features. ([arXiv][4])
    * One Reddit user said:

      > “PicArrange helps to find images on your Mac … you can also view 
visually sorted images from several directories at the same time, making 
it easy to find duplicate images. … visually sorted images … and a 
similarity search” ([Reddit][5])

---

### ⚠️ Caveats & practical notes

* None of these tools are *perfect* — “similar” detection can give 
**false positives** (images that look alike but are different) or 
**misses** (if the transformation is too big).
* How “different” the duplicate is (cropped, rotated, color-adjusted, 
low resolution, edited) matters a lot. The more it’s changed, the less 
reliable automatic detection is.
* Performance: scanning large photo collections can be slow, especially 
if many images are involved.
* Some tools are paid, or have limitations in “free” versions.

---

### 👍 What I'd recommend for your case

If I were you, wanting to *search for a duplicate of one specific 
picture* (even if resolution, name, etc. differ), I would try:

1. **dupeGuru** — set it to “picture” / “fuzzy” mode, point it at the 
folders where you expect the duplicate, and use your target image as 
reference.
2. **PhotoSweeper** — for a more polished interface and possibly better 
visual comparison tools.
3. **PicArrange** — if you want a more exploratory / visual approach, 
especially when you don’t know which folder the duplicate is in.

If you like, I can test several up-to-date apps (free & paid) and send 
you a shortlist of **best ones for your exact need**, with 
recommendations and screenshots. Do you want that?

[1]: 
https://techpp.com/2024/08/25/search-delete-duplicate-files-photos-mac/?utm_source=chatgpt.com 
"5 Best Ways to Search and Delete Duplicate Files and Photos on Mac - 
TechPP"
[2]: 
https://macpaw.com/how-to/find-similar-photos-mac?utm_source=chatgpt.com 
"How to find similar photos on Mac"
[3]: 
https://www.cisdem.com/resource/how-to-find-and-delete-similar-images-on-mac.html%23best?utm_source=chatgpt.com 
"How to Find Similar Images in Folder Easily: Mac & Windows"
[4]: https://arxiv.org/abs/2111.13363?utm_source=chatgpt.com "PicArrange 
-- Visually Sort, Search, and Explore Private Images on a Mac Computer"
[5]: 
https://www.reddit.com/r/macapps/comments/j1gaaq?utm_source=chatgpt.com 
"Find your images faster"

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Search for a picture Martin S Taylor <hogwash@mRaErMtOiVnEstaylor.TcHoImS> - 2025-10-04 12:35 +0100
  Re: Search for a picture "David B." <BD@hotmail.co.uk> - 2025-10-04 15:03 +0100
  Re: Search for a picture Another John <lalaw44@hotmail.com> - 2025-10-04 19:02 +0000
    Re: Search for a picture Alan B <alanrichardbarker@gmail.com.invalid> - 2025-10-04 19:28 +0000
  Re: Search for a picture D.M. Procida <daniele-at-vurt-dot-org@invalid.com> - 2025-10-04 20:54 +0000
    Re: Search for a picture Martin S Taylor <hogwash@mRaErMtOiVnEstaylor.TcHoImS> - 2025-10-05 09:05 +0100
  Re: Search for a picture nospam@de-ster.demon.nl (J. J. Lodder) - 2025-10-05 16:15 +0200
    Re: Search for a picture Another John <lalaw44@hotmail.com> - 2025-10-07 19:17 +0000
      Re: Search for a picture nospam@de-ster.demon.nl (J. J. Lodder) - 2025-10-08 21:52 +0200
        Re: Search for a picture Another John <lalaw44@hotmail.com> - 2025-10-13 15:02 +0000
          Re: Search for a picture nospam@de-ster.demon.nl (J. J. Lodder) - 2025-10-13 20:17 +0200
  Re: Search for a picture Jaimie Vandenbergh <jaimie@usually.sessile.org> - 2025-10-16 20:12 +0000
    Re: Search for a picture Martin S Taylor <hogwash@mRaErMtOiVnEstaylor.TcHoImS> - 2025-10-19 08:53 +0100
    Re: Search for a picture Martin S Taylor <hogwash@mRaErMtOiVnEstaylor.TcHoImS> - 2025-11-06 09:56 +0000
      Re: Search for a picture Graham J <nobody@nowhere.co.uk> - 2025-11-06 10:54 +0000
        Re: Search for a picture Martin S Taylor <hogwash@mRaErMtOiVnEstaylor.TcHoImS> - 2025-11-06 18:02 +0000
          Re: Search for a picture Graham J <nobody@nowhere.co.uk> - 2025-11-06 21:12 +0000
            Re: Search for a picture nospam@de-ster.demon.nl (J. J. Lodder) - 2025-11-07 13:07 +0100
            Re: Search for a picture Martin S Taylor <hogwash@mRaErMtOiVnEstaylor.TcHoImS> - 2025-11-07 18:04 +0000
              Re: Search for a picture nospam@de-ster.demon.nl (J. J. Lodder) - 2025-11-07 20:26 +0100
              Re: Search for a picture Graham J <nobody@nowhere.co.uk> - 2025-11-07 20:37 +0000
                Re: Search for a picture nospam@de-ster.demon.nl (J. J. Lodder) - 2025-11-07 22:33 +0100
              Re: Search for a picture Mark <captain.black@gmail.com> - 2025-11-07 22:09 +0000
                Re: Search for a picture Martin S Taylor <hogwash@mRaErMtOiVnEstaylor.TcHoImS> - 2025-11-08 13:29 +0000
                Re: Search for a picture Mark <captain.black@gmail.com> - 2025-11-08 19:27 +0000
          Re: Search for a picture TimH <thnews@poboxmolar.com.invalid> - 2025-11-06 22:57 +0000

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