{"id":"duplicates.why-are-some-identical-files-shown-as-freeing-no-space","url":"/faq/duplicates/why-are-some-identical-files-shown-as-freeing-no-space","category":{"id":"duplicates","title":"Duplicate files"},"subcategory":{"id":"choosing-what-to-keep","title":"Choosing which copy to keep"},"question":"Why are some identical files listed as freeing no space?","alt_questions":["Identical, but freeing these reclaims no space","What are clones in the Duplicates window?","Why can't I remove these duplicates?","Duplicates that share storage on disk","Hard links shown as duplicates","These copies share storage, so removing them wouldn't free space"],"short_answer":"Some identical files share the same storage on disk — APFS clones made by duplicating in Finder, or hard links — so removing one frees nothing. Storage Studio shows them in a separate \"reclaims no space\" section and never removes them.","answer_markdown":"Some files look like separate copies but actually share the same storage on your disk. On Macs with the APFS file system, duplicating a file in Finder often creates a **clone** that takes no extra space until one copy is changed; **hard links** are two names for the very same file.\n\nRemoving one of those wouldn't give you any space back, so Storage Studio lists them in a separate section — *\"Identical, but freeing these reclaims no space\"* — and never removes them. If you try, you'll see *\"These copies share storage, so removing them wouldn't free space.\"*\n\nThis is also why a set's \"to free\" figure can be smaller than the files' sizes suggest.","answer_html":"

Some files look like separate copies but actually share the same storage on your disk. On Macs with the APFS file system, duplicating a file in Finder often creates a clone that takes no extra space until one copy is changed; hard links are two names for the very same file.

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Removing one of those wouldn't give you any space back, so Storage Studio lists them in a separate section — "Identical, but freeing these reclaims no space" — and never removes them. If you try, you'll see "These copies share storage, so removing them wouldn't free space."

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This is also why a set's "to free" figure can be smaller than the files' sizes suggest.

","answer_text":"Some files look like separate copies but actually share the same storage on your disk. On Macs with the APFS file system, duplicating a file in Finder often creates a clone that takes no extra space until one copy is changed; hard links are two names for the very same file.\n\nRemoving one of those wouldn't give you any space back, so Storage Studio lists them in a separate section — \"Identical, but freeing these reclaims no space\" — and never removes them. If you try, you'll see \"These copies share storage, so removing them wouldn't free space.\"\n\nThis is also why a set's \"to free\" figure can be smaller than the files' sizes suggest.","tags":["duplicates","apfs","clones"],"related":[{"id":"duplicates.how-are-duplicate-sets-sorted","question":"How are duplicate sets sorted in the list?","url":"/faq/duplicates/how-are-duplicate-sets-sorted"},{"id":"duplicates.what-do-the-numbers-in-the-duplicates-status-line-mean","question":"What do the numbers in the Duplicates status line mean?","url":"/faq/duplicates/what-do-the-numbers-in-the-duplicates-status-line-mean"}],"applies_to":"all","last_reviewed":"2026-10-01","title":"Why are some identical files listed as freeing no space? — Storage Studio FAQ","description":"Some identical files share the same storage on disk — APFS clones made by duplicating in Finder, or hard links — so removing one frees nothing. Storage Studio shows them in a separate \"reclaims no space\" section and never removes them.","crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"FAQ","path":"/faq/"},{"name":"Duplicate files","path":"/faq/duplicates/"},{"name":"Why are some identical files listed as freeing no space?","path":"/faq/duplicates/why-are-some-identical-files-shown-as-freeing-no-space"}],"jsonld":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/duplicates/why-are-some-identical-files-shown-as-freeing-no-space","inLanguage":"en","dateModified":"2026-10-01","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Why are some identical files listed as freeing no space?","alternateName":["Identical, but freeing these reclaims no space","What are clones in the Duplicates window?","Why can't I remove these duplicates?","Duplicates that share storage on disk","Hard links shown as duplicates","These copies share storage, so removing them wouldn't free space"],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Some files look like separate copies but actually share the same storage on your disk. On Macs with the APFS file system, duplicating a file in Finder often creates a clone that takes no extra space until one copy is changed; hard links are two names for the very same file.\n\nRemoving one of those wouldn't give you any space back, so Storage Studio lists them in a separate section — \"Identical, but freeing these reclaims no space\" — and never removes them. If you try, you'll see \"These copies share storage, so removing them wouldn't free space.\"\n\nThis is also why a set's \"to free\" figure can be smaller than the files' sizes suggest.","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/duplicates/why-are-some-identical-files-shown-as-freeing-no-space"}}]},"fragment":"
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Duplicate files · Choosing which copy to keep

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Why are some identical files listed as freeing no space?

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Short answer: Some identical files share the same storage on disk — APFS clones made by duplicating in Finder, or hard links — so removing one frees nothing. Storage Studio shows them in a separate "reclaims no space" section and never removes them.

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Some files look like separate copies but actually share the same storage on your disk. On Macs with the APFS file system, duplicating a file in Finder often creates a clone that takes no extra space until one copy is changed; hard links are two names for the very same file.

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Removing one of those wouldn't give you any space back, so Storage Studio lists them in a separate section — "Identical, but freeing these reclaims no space" — and never removes them. If you try, you'll see "These copies share storage, so removing them wouldn't free space."

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This is also why a set's "to free" figure can be smaller than the files' sizes suggest.

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Last reviewed

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