Gemini 2 For Mac REVIEW — A Smart Solution For Cleaning Up Your Mac — MacSources

Effortlessly remove duplicates and free up space with this intuitive tool

After 13 years of writing reviews and capturing images of the things I’m reviewing, I’ve amassed a lot of duplicate images and videos on my system. The problem I have is tracking them all down. They are here and there and everywhere. As much as I try to keep up with duplicate files, there always seem to be more. Gemini 2 is a a smart duplicate file finder for macOS, designed to help you reclaim precious disk space and keep your Mac clutter-free. Created by MacPaw, Gemini 2 scans your entire system-or specific folders-for duplicate files and similar-looking photos, then makes it easy to review and remove them with just a few clicks.

With a sleek, intuitive interface and intelligent algorithms, Gemini 2 not only detects exact duplicates, but also finds files that are nearly identical, helping you eliminate unnecessary copies while preserving what matters. It learns from your actions to suggest smart, safe cleanups tailored to your preferences.

Main Features

Free up gigabytes of storage space:

• Find duplicate files of any kind: pics, music, docs, you name it
• Identify duplicate folders, too
• Delete duplicates on external drives and network volumes
• Monitor your Mac or separate folders for new duplicates and delete them right away

Organize your photos and music:

• Find duplicate photos in your Photos library
• Detect pictures that are similar, but not identical
• Spot iTunes and Music library duplicates
• Find similar music in iTunes and Music library (files that differ only by format or bit rate)

Save time picking out duplicate files:

• Trust Gemini to autoselect the copies and keep the originals intact
• See how similar files differ with the help of handy icons
• Add your own Smart Selection rules, like deleting the duplicates that are older

Never lose an important file by mistake:

• If you removed the wrong duplicate, put it back in a click
• Exclude certain files and folders from scan
• Move duplicates to a separate folder or onto a USB drive
• Replace copies with hardlinks to save space without deleting the files

Pricing and Availability

Gemini 2 is available from the Mac App Store or directly from the developer at macpaw.com. There are a couple of different pricing structures though. Through the Mac App Store, users can purchase yearly access for $19.99 but through the developer version, they can sign up for monthly, yearly, or lifetime access. The pricing breakdown is listed below.

Privacy Policy

According to the Mac App Store, the app may collect Data Not Linked to the User such as Usage Data or Diagnostics. For the full privacy policy, click here.

Setup & Installation

As noted above, the app can be downloaded one of two ways — Mac App Store or from the developer. Either option affords the user an easy installation process. I downloaded the app from the developer’s site and all I had to do for start up was to drag the application to my application folder and then allow the permissions that were requested upon startup.

One of the first things I always do with a new piece of software is ensure it’s up to date. After installation, I checked the ‘about’ information on the app and discovered that my installation was on version 2.9.11. I verified that was the most up-to-date version both in the App Store and from the developer’s website. The App Store lists the last update as 1 year ago (at the time of publishing) and macpaw.com lists the last update as October 9, 2023. I looked a few of MacPaw’s other apps in the App Store and several of them have received recent updates.

So, I reached out to MacPaw’s support (via website chat) to see if there were future plans for an update to the app. While it’s possible that this type of app doesn’t need constant patch fixes, it is still good to see that the app is being looked after for security reasons. Anything that hasn’t received an update in 6–8 months is usually concerning to me, which is why I wanted to find out if MacPaw planned on maintaining Gemini 2.

I was told the following.

… we are not going to abandon the Gemini 2, and are as of now planning to continue issuing bug fixes and compatibility updates for Gemini 2 if required.

Gemini 2 is an application that has been on the market for so long that all known issues in it have been resolved.

I asked if there was any reason why it’s been so long since there has been any update and received this response.

As of now, there haven’t been because this application does not have any security related features, such as malware removal.

Finally, I asked if there has been any need for security updates to the app. The support rep responded with -

I was surprised at the very quick response I received from support since it was later in the evening when I reached out. MacPaw actually creates a resource center of sorts for each app and all the information you need including FAQs and User Manual are included there.

User Experience

When you start up Gemini 2 you will get a screen that says it’s ready to scan. The app automatically identifies the main hard drive/location for your files and has a ‘scan for duplicates’ button ready to click. When you click this button, several notifications will pop up requesting permission to different folders and actions on your computer including your iCloud drive, Desktop folder, Downloads folder, and Documents folder.

Once you allow all the necessary permissions, Gemini 2 will process all the files in the locations you granted permissions to and scan for duplicate files. When the scan is complete, a notification will pop-up letting you know the amount of files on your system. When my scan was completed, Gemini let me know that there were 38.19 GB of duplicates. The next step of the process is to Review Results or use the Smart Cleanup tool. Since many of my duplicates were photos and videos, I decided to review the results because I didn’t want to accidentally remove an irreplaceable image.

The review process allows you to look through each file individually. Gemini will mark the files it has selected for removal, but you can uncheck everything and select files one-by-one. I selected a few files that I knew were part of my Photos library and sent them to the trash. Gemini does the action of sending the file to the trash, but if it’s a file inside of Photos, the user will still need to remove them from the “Recently Deleted” album in the Utilities area.

I found Gemini to be an efficient easy method for removing duplicate files and feel that it cleans up my documents and images effortlessly. MacPaw designed a very nice app with Gemini 2 and it serves a very useful purpose.

Conclusion

Gemini 2 is a powerful and user-friendly duplicate file finder designed for macOS users looking to reclaim disk space and maintain an organized system. It offers seamless scanning for duplicates, advanced smart cleanups, and an easy-to-navigate interface. While the app has not received a recent update, its stability and intelligent file management make it a valuable tool for anyone struggling with duplicate files. MacPaw continues to maintain Gemini 2 with bug fixes and compatibility updates, ensuring its usefulness in the long term.

For more information, visit macpaw.com

Originally published at https://macsources.com on April 9, 2025.