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Remove duplicate images
How Merges detects pixel-identical product images during a merge and collapses them to one, which plans include it, and how to run it by hand.
When you merge products that share artwork — the same hero shot repeated across colorways, a logo on every source product — you end up with the same image many times over. Remove duplicate images, under Settings → Activate AI tools, collapses those copies into one during the merge. It markets as pixel-identical images, detected and deduped.
Four identical images from four source products collapsed into one, kept on all four variants
What it does
As the merged product’s variants are built, Merges compares the candidate images and groups the ones that are visually identical. Each set of duplicates is collapsed to a single image, and that image stays linked to every variant that used it — so nothing loses its picture, you just stop carrying four copies of the same one. Variant-specific images that genuinely differ are left alone and assigned to the correct variant.
The match is perceptual, not a filename or byte comparison: images are downscaled and compared by their color makeup, so the same photo still matches even if the files differ slightly. Because it is a visual judgement, glance over the media grid before you save.
Running it manually
The toggle controls whether dedup runs automatically on every merge. With it off, Merges doesn’t remove anything on its own — but you can still trigger the same pass by hand from the Delete duplicates button in the merge editor’s media section. The setting is the automation switch, not the only way in.
Plans
Remove duplicate images is a Pro and Unlimited feature — it is not available on Basic or Trial. For prices, see merges.io/pricing.
It uses the image access Merges already has from installation; no extra permission is requested.
Related
- Settings — every Merges control in one place.
- AI-generated titles and descriptions — the other AI tools that run during a merge.
- Advanced usage and limitations — Shopify’s 250-image-per-product limit and other ceilings.
- Data handled by Merges — how images and other fields transfer.