Cloud storage is an innovation that allows you to store your documents or files online. You can access your cloud data from any location by simply entering the login credentials. Your data is seamlessly synchronized to cross-platform devices like Windows, Mac, smartphones, tablets etc.
The duplication of data is a scenario that can cost you a lot of money and storage space if you don’t act fast. Managing the data efficiently is a must-have if you want to make the most of your cloud storage space, as well as optimize your cloud computing.
We’ve compiled our top 5 cloud duplicate cleaning solutions. Here it goes then.
Auslogics Duplicate File Finder
Auslogics Duplicate File Finder is an excellent utility that makes looking up duplicate records including pictures, archives, recordings and music a very simple task. This super-light tool makes use of smart algorithms to carry out the scan and come up with perfect results. It offers two file comparing methods: Scan files by their name, and scan file by their content.
Auslogics Duplicate File Finder has an interface that is simple and easy to use. If you want to scan the cloud for duplicates, ensure that all your cloud data is already synced to your local computer. Now simply add the local folder to Auslogics File Finder and launch the scan.
These are the default locations:
- OneDrive: C:\Users\%username%\OneDrive
- Google Drive: C:\Users\%username%\Google Drive
After the scan is completed Auslogics shows a comprehensive list of all the duplicates. Now you can choose the newest or oldest files in each category and clean them up.
Cloud Duplicate Finder
Cloud Duplicate Finder is a browser-based online duplicate finder that requires no download whatsoever. You can scan select cloud accounts and delete duplicates without having to sync any data to your computer. The drives currently supported by Cloud Duplicate Finder are OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3 and Box.
CDF allows users to execute an All Files scan, or customize the scan by selecting only select file type(s) via the Custom Files option. This option comes handy when you are only interested in looking up duplicate photos, duplicate music etc. This method gives you more control over the scan by allowing you to choose which file type you prefer to search for, and which ones to ignore.
You have to register for an account at CDF and activate it. Now you will link your cloud account with CDF via the official API (which ensures your data security and privacy), at all times.
The scan is over in a giffy, and you can either select the duplicates manually or select a pattern from the Select Duplicates menu.
The final step requires you to choose between deleting the duplicates you just selected or opting to move them to a folder (available in certain cloud drives only) located at the root of the cloud drive. Moving the duplicates might come in handy if you think they will be prove useful in the future.
Fast Duplicate File Finder
Fast Duplicate File Finder is a freeware utility that delivers excellent results to help users delete duplicate files. It can easily scan the hard drive as well as the removable drive, and clean up duplicates with speed and accuracy.
FDFF allows drag-and-drop of folders and a variety of scan types such as 100% equal files, identical files, similar file names, and the same file size.
It doesn’t contain a cloud scan feature, so users will have to first sync their cloud data to their computer and then scan the local cloud folder to get rid of duplicate data.
It also provides neat functionality to create a ‘project’. Users can even opt to remove duplicates on their own timetable with ease.
Duplicate Sweeper
Another duplicate finder software for both Windows and Mac is Duplicate Sweeper. It allows users to easily scan duplicate files via the right pane where users can easily select the scan target locations.
To add these directories to the scan list, you can use the checkboxes. It does not provide cloud scan facility as of now, so users have to sync the data to their computer and then scan the relevant folder to remove cloud duplicates.
If any duplicates are detected, Duplicate Sweeper will organize the files according to their size so you can determine and compare which files occupy more space. Alternatively, you can sort files by their name. To view identical files in the same category, you can click a search result. You can even view results for a particular file type by selecting a specific one. While choosing newer and older files, the program offers two automated sorting patterns.
NirSoft SearchMyFiles
SearchMyFiles is another great alternative to look for duplicate files. It contains a simple interface and brings up very reliable scan results. You can compare files for their date-time of creation, size, type, and many other parameters. This tool works on all versions of Windows starting from Windows 2000 onwards.
You can easily customize the scan by modifying the scan for certain file types, files that are above/ beyond a certain file size limit, exclude certain search paths, alter the depth of the folder etc. It is a very lightweight program that does not require any kind of installation. You can easily carry it in a USB stick or an External Hard Disk.
SearchMyFiles only provides limited cloud scan ability. The user can select the checkbox for Scan NTFS symbolic links/junction points to scan their OneDrive cloud data.
