System Design: Image Sharing with Deduplication

System DesignOpenAILast reported August 2026Low Frequency
Reported
3× across candidate reports
First seen
November 2025
Last reported
August 2026
Reported outcome
mixed

Problem Overview

Design an image storage and sharing service with the following core operations: (1) upload an image, (2) download/view an image by ID, (3) delete an image. The key requirement is automatic deduplication: if two users upload byte-identical images, the system stores only a single copy in object storage. The interviewer…

  • 6 candidate-reported follow-ups — the exact probes interviewers asked, with the trigger for each
  • The rest of the problem statement — full requirements, constraints, and edge cases
  • Approach and trade-offs — what passing candidates did, and the mistakes that sink people
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Verified Source
Every question is reconstructed from multiple independent candidate reports. Verbatim follow-ups, not invented ones.
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Technical claims, formulas, and scale numbers are reviewed against primary sources.
Interviewer Follow-ups
The exact follow-ups reported by candidates, with the trigger that prompts each one — plus the mistakes that sink people.
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