CleanMy®Phone: Storage Cleaner Review

Read a lot of good things about CleanMy®Phone: Storage Cleaner but not sure if it actually delivers when it comes to cleaning an iPhone? There’s plenty of user feedback on its App Store page, but if you want more than just a few words of praise, our CleanMy®Phone: Storage Cleaner review has got you covered. We’ve tested it from top to bottom, its features, performance, scan speed, and overall punch. Here’s what we have to say.

Overview

CleanMy®Phone: Storage Cleaner, developed by MacPaw, a developer well known for its macOS optimization tools like CleanMyMac, holds a 4.6-star rating with 20.9K reviews on the App Store. We wouldn’t call this the largest number of reviews, but 20.8K is still a sizable amount, especially considering this AI cleaner is a relatively new app.

Another interesting thing—MacPaw previously had an app called Gemini Photos, but its App Store page now redirects to CleanMy®Phone. While we can’t say for sure, it’s possible that this app is based on Gemini’s technology or an evolution of it.

Features and Functionality

In terms of features, CleanMy®Phone is quite modest. It has the basic tools you’d expect from any modern cleaner, but we were hoping for more. It offers a few smart cleanup features, but nothing that makes it stand out in a crowded market.

Let’s count what it has:

• Duplicate and Similar Photo Finder – Detects identical and similar photos, which allows users to delete extras while keeping the best shot.
• Blurred Image and Screenshot Cleanup – Identifies and removes unnecessary blurry photos and screenshots taking up space.
• AI Categories for Organization – Groups photos into categories like location, time, or event to simplify management.
• Sensitive File Protection – Lets users label specific photos as sensitive to prevent accidental deletion.
• Internet Speed Test – A bonus feature that lets users check Wi-Fi and mobile data speeds.

Verdict. As you can see, pretty basic. No video compression, no Live Photo compression, and the Internet Speed Test feels tacked on—we don’t even take it into account when judging cleaning features.

We do like that it allows you to pause and resume scans, but let’s be honest—that’s not really a must-have for this kind of app. The core cleaning tools work, but there’s nothing here that elevates CleanMy®Phone above other cleaners. Overall, it’s not great, not terrible.

We’re giving features and functionality a 3 out of 5.

Interface

Now, here’s where this app truly shines. Design is always subjective, but in our humble opinion, this app has one of the best interfaces out there. Everything works smoothly, with gorgeous effects, and it’s clear that the developers put a lot of effort into making the UI feel premium. As a company focused on macOS and iOS applications, MacPaw clearly understands what Apple users expect in terms of design and user experience.

The animations, transitions, and general layout are visually stunning, navigation feels effortless. The app lacks small thumbnails in the similar photo list, but instead of feeling like a limitation, this was elegantly solved with neat little circles.

What we loved:

• Informative previews – The app displays photo metadata and small thumbnails at the bottom, giving users a better overview.
• Drag-and-drop functionality – You can drag thumbnails to switch the main preview, just like in Apple Photos.
• Smooth, responsive gestures – Standard swipe gestures for minimizing screens or navigating back work just as they should.

Verdict. CleanMy®Phone absolutely nails the interface. It’s smooth, visually impressive, and a joy to use. While functionality could be slightly improved, this app looks and feels better than most competitors. While we keep in mind that not everyone might be a fan of flashy animations or a heavily stylized UI, we believe the attention to detail in design sets it apart.

For the interface, we say it’s an all-star—5 out of 5.

Cleanup Results

A great design is one thing, but at the end of the day, a cleaner app needs to actually clean. So, how well does CleanMy®Phone perform when it comes to freeing up storage space?

To put it to the test, we ran a full scan on an iPhone with a cluttered photo library filled with duplicates, similar images, blurry shots, and screenshots.

Let’s start with the good. Automatic cleanup is available, which is already a plus. You can tap one button, and the app takes care of the mess without needing manual input. It also doesn’t just throw a progress bar at you—instead, CleanMy®Phone visually breaks down the process, it shows exactly what it’s working on. This makes it feel more interactive and transparent.

The photo grouping is decent, and in many cases, the AI correctly identifies duplicates and similar shots. The app sorts images into clear categories, which makes manual review easier if you want to double-check before deleting anything.

Now, let’s talk about the bad. One major issue is that storage cleanup potential is unclear. The app doesn’t tell you exactly how much space you can recover in one place—instead, you have to manually check different sections, which feels disjointed and confusing.

We also noticed that some photo groups were inaccurate. Sometimes, the AI placed different people or poses into the same “similar” category, which makes bulk deletion less reliable. This means you’ll need to manually review selections instead of trusting it blindly. This takes away from the convenience of automatic cleanup—if you have to manually check its work, it can quickly become a hassle.

Another issue is that not everything can be removed automatically. While the one-tap cleanup works for certain types of files, some clutter still requires manual deletion.

Verdict. CleanMy®Phone cleans well, but not perfectly. It successfully identifies and categorizes unnecessary files, but the lack of a clear total for recoverable storage and occasional AI misgroupings hold it back. The automated cleanup is nice, but if you’re expecting a completely hands-free experience, you might be disappointed.

For cleanup results, we’re giving it a 2 out of 5. If the developer made sure that users always know exactly how many gigabytes can be freed up, like some of its competitors do, it would rate higher. The main job of a cleaner is to free space, and when you’re not sure how much space you’re saving, it defeats the purpose.

Scan Speed

One area where CleanMy®Phone truly impresses is speed. The entire scan finished in just 1 minute and 5 seconds, it is one of the fastest iPhone cleaners we’ve ever tested.

But it’s not just about objective speed—it’s also about how the app makes the process feel faster. The real-time visual feedback, with bubbles appearing to show what’s already been found and what’s being analyzed, creates a sense of constant progress. Instead of just staring at a loading bar, you can see the app actively working, which makes the scan feel even quicker and more engaging.

Verdict. What more is there to say? It’s lightning fast. 5 out of 5.

Pricing and Free Version

Let’s get straight to it—CleanMy®Phone is not cheap. The app follows a subscription-based pricing model, with several options:

• $9.99 per month
• $49.99 per year
• $99.99 for a lifetime license

That’s on the expensive side for a storage cleaner, and at this price, we’d expect top-tier functionality across the board. For $99.99, we’d expect extras like video compression or a more advanced AI for automatic cleanup. Instead, the app relies too much on manual selection, so the price feel steep for what you get.

Is the free version any good? Not really. If you’re hoping for a fully functional free cleaner, this isn’t it. The free version is extremely limited—you can only delete screenshots and a few specific photo types. The only other free feature worth mentioning is the Internet Speed Test, which feels tacked on and doesn’t add much value.

Verdict. The price is simply too high for what’s offered. The free version barely does anything, and while the paid version is beautifully designed, and makes the whole process so enjoyable that you start thinking, “Well, maybe it’s actually worth paying for.” But then you snap out of it, take a good hard look at how little functionality there actually is, and realize—yeah, they’re definitely charging way too much for this.

We’re giving pricing and value a 3 out of 5.

Final Score

It’s time for the final score. Let’s first take a look at all the previous scores in each category.

CleanMy®Phone looks premium, feels premium, but doesn’t clean like a premium app. While the interface is one of the best in the market, the actual cleaning functionality is just okay, and the pricing feels way too steep for what you get.

Would we recommend it? Well, it’s not a bad app by any means. If you value well-designed products, this is one of the best-looking storage cleaners out there. However, its shortcomings and very steep price are major drawbacks. We wouldn’t recommend it to absolutely everyone—there are other apps that do the same job for less cost, even if they don’t look as good.