How to Merge and Deduplicate Photos Between Your Phone and NAS
(Without Uploading Everything to the Cloud)
TL;DR: This guide shows how to merge and deduplicate photos across your phone and NAS (WebDAV), plus self-hosted libraries like Immich/PhotoPrism—without uploading everything to a cloud service. You’ll connect sources in place, review duplicates, and clean up safely on the original storage.
If you store photos both on your phone and on a NAS, you’ve probably run into this problem:
- The same photos exist on your phone, your NAS, and backups
- Files were copied multiple times over the years
- Storage keeps growing, but you’re not sure what’s safe to delete
- Most photo apps assume one cloud library, not multiple sources
What you actually need:
Merge photos from your phone and NAS, find duplicates, and clean them up—without moving or re-uploading your files.
This guide shows a practical, privacy-first workflow to do exactly that using Stream, a photo management app that connects directly to:
- Local photos on your phone
- NAS via WebDAV
- Self-hosted photo systems like Immich and PhotoPrism
No cloud migration. Your photos stay where they are.
Who This Is For
This workflow is especially useful if you:
- Periodically copy photos from your phone to a NAS (or a NAS-backed WebDAV server)
- Use WebDAV, Immich, or PhotoPrism for long-term storage
- Have duplicate photos across multiple locations
- Want Google Photos–style browsing without giving up control
- Care about privacy and long-term data ownership
Workflow Overview
- Connect sources: add Local Photos + NAS (WebDAV) + (optional) Immich/PhotoPrism.
- Unify and review: browse everything in one timeline/library view, then review grouped duplicates.
- Clean up safely: delete or archive duplicates on the original storage after manual confirmation.
Step 1: Install Stream on Your Device
Stream is available on iOS / macOS / tvOS and is designed to work directly with local and remote photo storage.
It connects to where your photos already live (phone storage, NAS via WebDAV, and supported self-hosted libraries).
Get Stream: stream-ai.app
For setup and troubleshooting, see the Stream help guide.
Step 2: Add Local and Remote Media Sources
Once Stream is installed, the next step is to connect your photo sources.
You can add multiple media sources at the same time, including:
- Local Photos (your phone’s photo library)
- WebDAV (NAS, routers with USB drives, self-hosted servers)
- Immich
- PhotoPrism
This is the key step that allows Stream to build a unified photo view across devices and servers.
Why This Matters
Instead of copying files between systems, Stream builds a unified view by working with your files in place:
- Reads photos in place
- Avoids re-encoding and re-uploading
- Preserves original files and metadata
Step 3: Review, Confirm, and Clean Up Duplicate Photos
After your media sources are connected, Stream analyzes your libraries and identifies potential duplicates.
Duplicates may exist because:
- The same photo was backed up multiple times
- Files were renamed but content stayed the same
- Phone backups and NAS archives overlap
Stream groups these photos together so you can visually review and confirm them before taking action.
Safe by Design
Nothing is deleted automatically.
You always:
- See where each copy is stored
- Decide which copy to keep
- Confirm every action manually
Once duplicates are confirmed, you can clean them up directly from Stream.
Depending on the media source, Stream will:
- Delete duplicates
- Or archive them instead (if configured on Immich or PhotoPrism)
The Result
- One unified photo library
- Fewer wasted gigabytes on your NAS
- Originals and metadata preserved
- No forced cloud migration
FAQ (Common Questions)
Do I need to upload my photo library to a cloud?
No. Stream connects to local storage, NAS (via WebDAV), and supported self-hosted libraries, and works with your files in place.
Will deleting duplicates remove files on my NAS?
If the media source supports delete, Stream performs the action on the original storage after you manually confirm it. Always review the shown storage location before confirming.
Can I use Immich/PhotoPrism and still keep local copies on my phone?
Yes. You can connect multiple sources and browse them together, then clean up duplicates across locations without forcing a single “cloud library.”
Final Thoughts
Merging and deduplicating photos across phones and NAS doesn’t require a massive cloud upload or a full self-hosted server rebuild.
With the right tools, you can:
- Keep your existing storage
- Clean up duplicates safely
- Browse everything in one place
Stream is built around this idea:
your photos stay where they are — you just get better control over them.
If your photo library has grown across devices and servers over the years, this workflow can help you take it back under control.