Duplicate Detective 2
Duplicate Detective 2 is a Mac utility for finding and removing exact duplicate files so you can recover storage space and organize folders.
What is Duplicate Detective 2?
Duplicate Detective 2 is a Mac file-cleanup utility that helps you locate exact duplicate files and choose which copies to remove. It is designed for people who want to free up disk space, reduce clutter, and clean large folders on internal drives, external drives, or network storage. The app scans selected folders, compares file contents to identify true duplicates, and presents the results in groups so you can review them before deleting anything. It also supports automatic selection of duplicate copies, filtering by file details such as type or size, minimum file-size limits, and exclusion rules for file extensions or folders you do not want scanned. In typical use, it fits workflows such as cleaning download folders, media collections, archives, and mixed document storage on macOS.
Key features
- Scan selected folders for exact duplicate files
- Review duplicate groups before removing copies
- Auto-select duplicate copies while keeping one original
- Filter and sort results by file details such as type, size, name, and date
- Set a minimum file size for scans
- Exclude specific file extensions or folders from scanning
Review app leftovers with diCleaner
Inspect caches, support files, containers, and login items before cleaning.
Safety overview
Status: Mostly safe
Duplicate Detective 2 is a legitimate disk-cleanup utility, but it can remove real user files, so the main risk is accidental deletion rather than malicious behavior. File access and, on newer versions of macOS, Full Disk Access requests are consistent with its purpose because it needs permission to scan folders and remove selected duplicates. Review the results carefully before deleting, especially if you disable moving items to the Trash or work with external drives, shared folders, or app libraries that may contain important data.
Recommendation: Keep Duplicate Detective 2 if you actively use it to clean duplicate files on your Mac. If you no longer use it, removing the app is usually fine and should only affect your ability to run future duplicate scans or keep its saved settings. Before using it for large cleanups, check that important folders are backed up and leave Trash-based deletion enabled if you want an easier recovery path.
Common paths
/Applications/Duplicate Detective.app
Cache paths
~/Library/Caches/com.fiplab.duplicatedetective2
Support paths
~/Library/Application Support/com.fiplab.duplicatedetective2
Preference paths
~/Library/Preferences/com.fiplab.duplicatedetective2.plist
Container paths
~/Library/Containers/com.fiplab.duplicatedetective2
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