Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about Photo Cleaner: Cleanup, your privacy, and how the app works.
Yes, but only locally on your device. The app needs full photo library access to analyze and find duplicates, similar photos, and other items. However, your photos never leave your device—all processing happens locally using Apple's built-in frameworks.
No. Photo Cleaner: Cleanup operates 100% offline. There are no accounts, no cloud sync, and no servers involved. Your photos and analysis results stay on your iPhone, period.
When you delete photos through the app, they first go to an in-app trash. You can review and restore them from there. When you empty the app trash, photos move to Apple's 'Recently Deleted' album, where they remain for 30 days before permanent deletion. You're always in control.
Yes. Photos you delete first go to the in-app trash (reviewable anytime). After emptying the app trash, they move to iOS's 'Recently Deleted' album where they stay for 30 days. During this time, you can recover them through the Photos app.
The app uses perceptual hashing—an advanced technique that compares the visual content of photos, not just file names or metadata. This means it can find true duplicates even if the files have different names, were saved at different times, or have slight compression differences.
Duplicates are exact or near-exact copies of the same image. Similar Photos are visually alike but different—like burst shots, multiple attempts at the same pose, or photos taken seconds apart. The app groups these together and helps you identify the best quality shot to keep.
When you empty the app trash, photos are moved to Apple's Recently Deleted album. If you have iCloud Photos enabled, deletions will sync across all your devices after the 30-day Recently Deleted period. This is standard iOS behavior—the app works with Apple's system, not around it.
Initial analysis typically takes 1-3 minutes for most photo libraries (under 10,000 photos). The app caches results locally, so subsequent launches are nearly instant. Only new or changed photos are re-analyzed.
Never. Every deletion requires your explicit action. Photos go through a two-step process: first to the in-app trash where you can review them, then to Apple's Recently Deleted album where they're recoverable for 30 days. You're always in control.
Yes. The app analyzes photos available on your device. For photos stored only in iCloud (showing the download icon), thumbnails are analyzed without downloading the full image. This means the app won't use your cellular data or fill your storage with iCloud downloads.
Yes, Photo Cleaner: Cleanup works on both iPhone and iPad running iOS 17 or later. The interface adapts to larger screens while providing the same powerful cleaning features.
To find duplicates and similar photos, the app needs to compare all your photos against each other. With limited access, you would have to manually select photos each time, which defeats the purpose of automatic detection. Full access is required for the app to work effectively, but remember—your photos never leave your device.
You can reach our support team at support@text2box.com. We typically respond within 24-48 hours. For faster help, please include your iOS version and a description of the issue you're experiencing.