App features at a glance
One-at-a-time review
Swipe through your photos and videos one by one. Keep what matters, queue the rest for deletion — nothing is deleted until you confirm.
Blur detection
Automatically identifies blurry or out-of-focus photos across your entire library so you can clean them up fast.
Duplicate finder
Groups photos and videos that appear to be duplicates based on resolution, type, and capture date — all on-device.
Screenshot cleaner
Quickly surfaces all screenshots in your library so you can remove the ones you no longer need.
Large video review
Shows your heaviest videos first so you can free up the most storage with the least effort.
Browse by date
Review photos month by month or year by year — great for tackling large libraries systematically.
Album management
Create albums, add photos to existing albums, and organise your library without leaving the app.
Safe deletion queue
Items are queued, reviewed one final time, then moved to Recently Deleted — never wiped immediately. You have 30 days to recover them.
Frequently asked questions
Does the app delete photos immediately?
No. The app uses a two-stage approach for your safety:
- When you tap Remove, the item is queued — not deleted.
- You review your entire deletion queue before anything is removed.
- Only after your final confirmation are items sent to iOS's "Recently Deleted" album.
Items in Recently Deleted are recoverable for 30 days via the iOS Photos app.
Why does the app need access to my entire photo library?
Full library access allows the app to detect duplicates, blurry photos, large videos, and screenshots across all your photos — which is where the app provides the most value.
You can also grant Limited Access to allow the app to review only photos you manually select. This works but restricts smart detection features to only the selected media.
Your photos never leave your device. All processing happens locally using Apple's Photos framework.
What is the free daily limit and how does it work?
Free users can review up to 100 photos or videos per day. The counter resets automatically at midnight each day based on your device's local time.
Upgrading to Photo Cleaner Pro (monthly, yearly, or lifetime) removes the daily limit entirely, giving you unlimited reviews.
How do I upgrade to Pro / remove the daily limit?
Tap the Upgrade button in the app. Three options are available:
- Monthly — billed monthly, cancel any time.
- Yearly — billed once per year, best value.
- Lifetime — one-time payment, unlimited access forever.
All purchases are processed securely by Apple. We never see your payment information.
How do I cancel my subscription?
Subscriptions are managed entirely by Apple. To cancel:
- Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
- Tap your name at the top → Subscriptions.
- Find Photo Library Cleaner and tap Cancel Subscription.
You will retain Pro access until the end of your current billing period. We are unable to process refunds directly — please contact Apple Support for billing disputes.
I purchased Pro but my access hasn't unlocked — what do I do?
Try the following steps:
- Open the app and go to Settings → Restore Purchases.
- Ensure you are signed in to the same Apple ID you used to purchase.
- Check your internet connection — StoreKit needs to verify your entitlement.
- Force-quit and reopen the app.
If the issue persists, please email us with your Apple ID (email only, never share your password) and the date of purchase.
How does blur detection work?
The app downloads a small thumbnail of each photo and runs a Laplacian sharpness algorithm — a standard computer vision technique that measures edge definition. Photos with low edge variance are flagged as potentially blurry.
This processing is done entirely on your device. No images are sent to any server. Results are suggestions — you always make the final call on what to delete.
How does duplicate detection work?
The app groups photos and videos that share the same media type, resolution (width × height), capture date, and for videos, duration. Groups with more than one item are surfaced as potential duplicates.
This is a fast, heuristic approach done entirely on-device. It works well for burst shots and copies, but may not catch duplicates that have been resized or re-exported.
Can I recover a photo I deleted?
Yes, for up to 30 days after deletion. Open the Photos app, tap Albums, scroll to Utilities, and select Recently Deleted. Tap the photo and choose Recover.
After 30 days, iOS permanently removes items from Recently Deleted. The app itself has no power to recover photos beyond what iOS provides.
Does the app work with iCloud Photos?
Yes. The app uses Apple's Photos framework, which seamlessly integrates with iCloud Photos. If a photo is stored in iCloud and not yet downloaded to your device, iOS will download it on demand when you open it for review.
Note: blurry photo scanning uses thumbnails and does not require full downloads, keeping data usage low.
Does the app collect any of my data?
No. The app collects zero personal data. All processing happens on your device. No photos, usage data, analytics, or identifiers are ever transmitted to us or any third party. See our full Privacy Policy for complete details.
The app is running slowly — what can I do?
Large photo libraries (tens of thousands of items) can take time to scan. A few tips:
- Close other apps to free up memory before scanning.
- Keep your device plugged in during large scans.
- Ensure your iOS is up to date for the best Photos framework performance.
- If blurry photo scanning is slow, it is downloading thumbnails from iCloud — connect to Wi-Fi for faster results.
If you experience crashes or unexpected slowness, please email us with your device model and iOS version.
What iOS version does the app require?
The app requires iOS 17 or later. It is optimised for iPhone and iPad and supports both light and dark mode automatically.
Get the most out of the app
Start with Smart Tools, not your full library
Run "Blurry Photos" and "Duplicates" first — these typically surface the easiest wins and free up the most space the fastest.
Use "Browse by Year" for old libraries
Tackling years one at a time makes a large library feel manageable. Start with the oldest year and work forward.
Enable auto-advance for faster reviewing
In Settings, turn on Auto-Advance — after you tap Keep or Remove, the next item loads automatically so you stay in flow.
Review your deletion queue carefully
Before confirming deletion, scroll through your queue one more time. The two-step system is there to protect you — use it.
Create albums while reviewing
Spot a photo you want to save to a specific album? Use the album button during review — no need to leave the session.