Support

What is Sameish?

An app that finds duplicate and look-alike photos, videos, and files on your iPhone or iPad, so you can clear the copies you do not need. Everything runs on the device.

The scan found nothing. Is it broken?

Probably not. Identical copies are rarer than people expect — iOS does not usually create them on its own, and a tidy library can genuinely contain none. If the scan also found no look-alikes, your library simply has no near-identical shots at the current matching setting.

Two screenshots of the same screen were not grouped

They are not identical files — the clock, battery, or signal in the status bar differs — so byte matching will never group them. That is what the look-alike pass is for. If they are still not grouped, try a looser setting under Settings → Matching.

What do Strict, Balanced, and Loose do?

They change how alike two photos must be before Sameish groups them, and each setting makes a different mistake. Strict misses some real matches rather than risk grouping photos that are not the same. Loose finds more, including groups worth checking carefully. Balanced is the recommended middle, and it never affects identical copies — those are always matched the same way.

Why can I see look-alike groups but not delete them?

Finding is free, and so is deleting the identical copies. Clearing the look-alike groups is part of Premium. Nothing is hidden or blurred first — you can see exactly what was found, and how much space it would free, before deciding whether it is worth paying for.

How much is Premium?

$9.99 a year, or $29.99 once with no renewal. There is no free trial that turns into a subscription, and no weekly plan.

I paid for Premium but it is not unlocked

Use Restore Purchases in Settings, and make sure you are signed in with the same Apple Account used for the original purchase. Purchases are tied to your Apple Account, not to the device.

How do I cancel the yearly plan?

In your Apple Account settings, not in the app — Apple handles all subscriptions. Open Settings on your device, tap your name, then Subscriptions. A one-off purchase never renews and has nothing to cancel.

How do I request a refund?

Refunds are handled entirely by Apple. Visit reportaproblem.apple.com and sign in with your Apple Account. The developer cannot issue refunds directly.

I deleted photos but my storage did not change

Deleted photos and videos go to Recently Deleted in the Photos app and stay there for 30 days before the space is actually freed. To reclaim it immediately, open Photos → Albums → Recently Deleted and empty it.

Can deleted files be recovered?

Photos and videos, yes — for 30 days, from Recently Deleted in the Photos app. Files from a folder you granted, no. iOS gives apps no Trash for those, so removal is immediate and permanent. Sameish says so before you confirm.

Some items were "not compared"

Those live only in iCloud and are not on the device. Sameish will not download them — that would use your data and your battery without asking — so it reports them as skipped instead. To include them, open the Photos app and download the originals first.

Does Sameish upload my photos?

No. There is no server, no account, and no analytics. Photos are read on the device to compare them and never leave it. See the privacy policy.

Why does it ask for full photo library access?

To compare photos against each other it has to be able to see them, and to remove the copies you choose it needs delete permission. Limited access works too — it will only ever scan the photos you selected, and the app says so on screen.

Still stuck?

Email mashqur.himel@gmail.com. Response within 48 hours.