PicLoomCleanMyPhone alternative: tidy photos your own way
If you found this page by searching for Gemini Photos, you are in the right place: MacPaw's photo cleaner was called Gemini Photos for years before it became CleanMyPhone. Same developer, same idea, new name. And if you are reading this because the subscription renewal notice just landed in your inbox, you are asking the question this guide answers honestly: who should stay with CleanMyPhone, and who should switch?
The short version: CleanMyPhone is the faster tool. It scans your library with AI, groups the clutter, and clears it in bulk. PicLoom is the slower tool on purpose. It shows you one photo at a time, lets you decide, and turns the keepers into a journal. Neither is wrong. They are built for different relationships with your photos.
What CleanMyPhone gets right
It is worth being specific, because the parts that work are the parts any alternative has to match. All facts below come from the app's current App Store listing; check the listing for the latest details.
- Bulk AI cleanup. It scans the whole library for blurred photos, old screenshots, large videos and duplicates, then helps you clear them in batches. If your goal is maximum gigabytes freed per minute, this is the strongest approach on the store.
- Duplicate and similar detection. It finds exact duplicates and near-identical shots so you can keep the best one. A library full of burst shots shrinks fast.
- Video tools. Compress videos with minimal quality loss, and convert Live Photos to stills, both aimed at reclaiming space quickly.
- AI organization. It groups photos into categories like Travel, People, Pets, Food and Screenshots, which makes a messy library easier to browse.
- On-device privacy. The listing says the app works fully on-device, and you can mark photos as Sensitive so they are never included in cleanups.
- A serious track record. From MacPaw, 4.6 stars from about 22,800 ratings, iOS 17 or later. This is a maintained product, not a weekend project.
If that list is exactly what you want, the honest advice is simple: keep using it. The rest of this guide is for everyone else.
Where CleanMyPhone stops fitting
None of these are flaws. They are differences in intent that show up after a few weeks of use.
You would rather pay once
CleanMyPhone is free to download, and its listing describes a 1-year subscription with a 3-day free trial that renews automatically. The App Store shows the current plans and prices. If you are searching for an alternative precisely to get off the subscription treadmill, compare the models directly: PicLoom's reviewing is free for 50 decisions a day, and Pro is a one-time purchase of US$9.99, with your region's price on the App Store. One purchase, no renewal date to remember.
You want to decide, not delegate
AI cleanup is fast because the app decides. That is the point, and it is also the trade-off. Some photos are technically duplicates but emotionally different: the slightly blurry one where everyone is laughing is the one you want. If you have ever rescued a photo from a batch delete and thought "I almost lost that," you are the person this section is for. A slower review where you make every call costs minutes and saves the occasional memory.
Cleanup is only half the job
CleanMyPhone's job ends when the clutter is gone. But a decluttered library still needs a second half: the kept photos become nothing on their own. If you want the survivors to become something, a calendar you revisit, a journal page, a map of where you have been, that is a different app category, and it is the one PicLoom was built for.
What any good CleanMyPhone alternative should keep
A replacement is only useful if it keeps what made the original work. Before switching, check for these five things.
- Duplicate handling. If duplicates were your main problem, the alternative needs its own answer, not just a swipe deck.
- A review step before deletion. One more look at everything set aside, then the system confirmation. Bulk or slow, the last look matters.
- Undo. A wrong decision has to be cheap to reverse.
- Screenshot and blurry triage. These two categories are most of the clutter in most libraries. Any alternative should have a fast lane for them.
- A price model you can live with. Whatever it is, know it before you sort ten thousand photos into it.
How PicLoom compares
PicLoom is a photo decluttering app for iPhone built around the review rhythm: right to keep, left to set aside, undo, and a queue you review before anything is deleted. It also keeps the memory side of the library, in the same app.
| What matters | CleanMyPhone | PicLoom |
|---|---|---|
| Cleanup style | AI scan and bulk clear | One-by-one review: right keep, left set aside |
| Duplicates | Finds duplicates and similar shots | Duplicates page groups identical and similar shots, suggests one to keep; favorites are never preselected |
| Screenshots and blurry | Bulk categories in the AI scan | Their own piles, sorted by date or size |
| Deletion flow | Your choice per batch; Recently Deleted still applies | Set aside, review the queue, then iOS system confirmation |
| Video tools | Compress videos, Live Photos to stills | No compression; videos are reviewed like photos |
| After the cleanup | Library is smaller | Kept photos become calendar days, journal pages, Footprints and widgets |
| Journal | No | Handwritten pages with templates, papers, auto pages and time capsule |
| Price | Free download; 1-year subscription with 3-day trial per listing | Free daily allowance (50 decisions a day); Pro one-time purchase US$9.99 |
| Account and cloud | On-device per listing | No account; on-device by default, cloud with your consent |
| Requirements | iOS 17 or later per listing | iOS 17 or later |
Two differences matter most in daily use. First, the price model: a yearly subscription that renews against a one-time purchase that does not. Second, who decides: CleanMyPhone's AI proposes and you approve in bulk; PicLoom shows you each photo and you decide. The first is faster. The second is the point, if the point is looking at your photos.
The trade-off runs the other way too. If your library's main problem is gigabytes, CleanMyPhone's video compression and bulk categories will free more space per minute than any review rhythm. PicLoom deliberately has no compression and no auto-delete: every deletion passes through your own review and Apple's confirmation. Come to PicLoom for the keep-or-let-go decisions first; maximum space reclaimed per minute is not the job it optimizes for.
How to switch without losing anything
This part is easier than it sounds, because both apps read the same library. There is nothing to import.
Step 1: finish your current cleanup first
If CleanMyPhone still has batches waiting, finish them or leave them. Photos you already deleted live in Photos, not in the app.
Step 2: install PicLoom and grant access
You can allow access to all photos, or only selected ones. Reviewing works either way.
Step 3: start with one month, not the whole library
Pick a recent month, or use Time Stroll for an older one. Set aside what you do not need; keep what you do. Nothing is deleted yet.
Step 4: check the Duplicates page
If duplicates were the reason you used CleanMyPhone, open PicLoom's Duplicates page. It groups identical copies and similar burst shots, suggests one to keep in each group, and never preselects your favorites. Compare, decide, move on.
Step 5: review the queue before it leaves
When you are ready, open everything you set aside, rescue what surprises you, and confirm. iOS shows the final confirmation and Recently Deleted keeps its own recovery window.
For the fuller routine, including batch sizes and a weekly rhythm, see how to declutter your iPhone photo library. If deciding is the hard part, how to decide which photos to keep settles most cards in seconds. And if you are still comparing other apps in this family, the Swipewipe comparison covers the delete-focused side, and the Slidebox comparison covers the filing-focused side.
Who should stay with CleanMyPhone
- Maximum space freed per minute is the goal, and AI bulk cleanup gets you there.
- Video compression and Live Photo conversion are features you actually use.
- You like the AI deciding first and approve the results in bulk.
- The subscription price is fine for you, and you prefer paying yearly to paying once.
None of that is a criticism. The wrong reason to switch is a feature list; the right one is that the app's pace or price no longer matches how you want to treat your library.
Frequently asked questions
Is CleanMyPhone the same as Gemini Photos?
Yes. MacPaw's photo cleaner was called Gemini Photos for years and is now called CleanMyPhone. If you have the old app installed, it is the same developer and the same product line under a new name.
How much does CleanMyPhone cost?
It is free to download. Its App Store listing describes a 1-year subscription with a 3-day free trial that renews automatically; the App Store shows the current plans and prices for your region.
Is there a free CleanMyPhone alternative?
Apple Photos is free with the device and has its own Duplicates album. PicLoom is free to download with a daily allowance of 50 review decisions, and Pro is a one-time purchase for unlimited reviewing, not a subscription.
Does PicLoom delete photos automatically?
No. There is no auto-delete and no one-tap purge. You set photos aside, review the queue yourself, and iOS shows the final confirmation. Recently Deleted keeps Apple's own recovery window.
Will I lose anything by switching?
No. Both apps work on the same Photos library, and deletions always pass through Apple's confirmation and Recently Deleted. There is no import step and nothing to move.
CleanMyPhone earned its reputation with speed: AI bulk cleanup, video tools, and a subscription that funds continuous development. PicLoom does a different job: the same calm right-and-left rhythm, pointed at what stays. Set aside what you do not need, review it once, and let the photos that stay become days, journal entries and memories instead of anonymous files. PicLoom is now on the App Store; you can see how the review flow, calendar and journal screens work, compare plans on the pricing page, or get it from the download section.