Duplicate files · Removing and restoring duplicates
Where do removed duplicate files go?
Short answer: Copies removed from your Mac or iCloud Drive go to the Recycle Vault, resting on your external drive and recoverable for about 6 months — or to your Mac's Trash if no drive is set up. Cloud copies go to the provider's own trash where it has one.
Extra copies removed from your Mac or iCloud Drive go to Storage Studio's Recycle Vault — its own recoverable trash. When your external drive is connected, the removed files rest on the drive, so the space genuinely leaves your Mac, and they stay recoverable for about 6 months before clearing automatically.
If you haven't set up an external drive, the extra copies go to your Mac's regular Trash instead. If a drive is set up but not connected right now, Storage Studio holds them safely on your Mac and moves them across when you reconnect it.
Copies removed from a cloud account don't come to your Mac at all — they go to that service's own trash where it has one. More on the vault: Recycle Vault.