---
id: duplicates.are-duplicates-compared-across-different-sources
url: https://storagestudio.us/faq/duplicates/are-duplicates-compared-across-different-sources
category: "Duplicate files"
subcategory: "Where it looks and what it skips"
question: "Are files compared across my Mac, iCloud Drive and cloud accounts?"
alt_questions:
  - "Does it find the same file on my Mac and in Google Drive?"
  - "Can it find duplicates between two cloud accounts?"
  - "Cross-account duplicate detection"
  - "Will it compare my Mac with my Dropbox?"
  - "Why isn't a file on my Mac matched with its cloud copy?"
  - "Find duplicates across different clouds"
short_answer: "No. This Mac, iCloud Drive and each cloud account are checked separately, and copies are only grouped within the same place. The same file in two places is often a deliberate backup, so it's never treated as waste."
tags: ["duplicates", "cloud", "sources"]
related: ["https://storagestudio.us/faq/duplicates/can-storage-studio-find-duplicates-in-my-cloud-accounts", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/duplicates/does-it-check-my-external-drive-for-duplicates"]
applies_to: "all"
last_reviewed: 2026-10-01
---

# Are files compared across my Mac, iCloud Drive and cloud accounts?

No — each source is checked on its own. **This Mac**, **iCloud Drive** and every cloud account produce their own list of duplicate sets, and a file is only grouped with copies in the same place.

That's intentional. The same file in two different places — your Mac and a cloud account, or two different cloud accounts — is very often a deliberate second copy, such as a backup. Treating it as waste would risk removing the very copy you were relying on.

Within a single source, though, every copy is found, whichever folder it sits in.