Smartphone storage fills up quickly—especially when your device contains thousands of photos, videos, screenshots, and unused files. Apps like AI Cleaner: Clean Up Storage attempt to solve this issue using artificial intelligence to identify unnecessary data and help users remove it easily.
AI Cleaner is developed by GRIMLAX TRADE, S.L. and currently holds a 4.6-star rating with more than 167K reviews on the App Store.
The app promises to simplify storage management by automatically detecting duplicate photos, identifying large files, merging duplicate contacts, and clearing outdated calendar entries.
But how well does it actually perform? Let’s take a closer look.
Key App Information
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Developer | GRIMLAX TRADE, S.L. |
| App Rating | 4.6 / 5 |
| Number of Reviews | 167K+ |
| Free Version | Yes |
| Paid Plans | $11.99/month or $34.99/year |
Interface and User Experience
When you open the app for the first time, the interface looks modern and well-designed. It supports both light mode and dark mode, making it comfortable to use in different environments.
The main navigation sections include:
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Photos
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Videos
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Contacts
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Compression tools
These tools are clearly displayed and easy to access, which makes the app beginner-friendly.
The Similar Photos section is especially useful because it groups images that appear identical or nearly identical, allowing users to review them quickly.
However, the interface is not perfect.
UI Problems
While the design looks good visually, some issues appear during extended use:
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Photo previews sometimes load slowly.
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Long scrolling sessions may cause lag.
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In some cases, the app may crash.
Another drawback is that the interface wastes space with large margins and visual separators, which makes the layout feel less optimized on larger iPhone screens.
Interface Rating: 2/5
Cleanup Performance
The core purpose of AI Cleaner is to free up storage space. To test its performance, the app was used on an iPhone 15 Pro Max with 256GB storage that was nearly full.
The scan detected the following items:
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4,655 similar photos (20.4 GB)
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64 duplicate videos (11.5 GB)
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102 duplicate contacts
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3,452 outdated calendar events
In total, the app identified approximately 31.8 GB of removable data.
These numbers look impressive, but the accuracy of the detection raised some concerns.
Detection Accuracy
Many photo groups contained images that were not actually similar. For example:
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Completely different objects were grouped together.
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Photos with different lighting and angles were considered duplicates.
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Some groups contained unrelated subjects.
The detection was slightly better when identifying photos of people, but mistakes were still common.
Best Photo Selection
The app also tries to select the “best photo” automatically, but the results were inconsistent. In many cases, the app failed to choose the highest-quality image.
Because of this, users must manually review most suggestions before deleting files.
Blur Detection Issues
Blur detection also showed poor accuracy. Several images labeled as “blurry” were actually clear photos.
Cleanup Accuracy Rating: 2/5
Swipe Mode
AI Cleaner includes a Swipe Mode, which allows users to review photos quickly by swiping left or right to delete or keep them.
While the feature is helpful, it is oddly hidden inside secondary sections like Blurry Photos or Screenshots.
Most competing apps place swipe review tools directly in the main navigation menu, making them easier to access.
Scan Speed
Another downside is scanning performance.
In testing, a full scan of a nearly full 256GB iPhone took about 44 minutes to complete, and the app even crashed once before finishing the process.
Many similar storage cleaner apps complete scans much faster, often within a few minutes.
Scan Speed Rating: 2/5
Pricing and Free Version
AI Cleaner follows the standard subscription model used by most storage cleaning apps.
Available plans include:
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$11.99 per month
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$34.99 per year
A free version is available, but it includes strict limits.
Free users can only delete:
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10 photos or videos per day
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2 other items (contacts, events, etc.) daily
These limitations make it difficult to fully test the app without upgrading to a paid plan.
Pricing Rating: 3/5
Pros and Cons
Advantages
Easy-to-use interface
Duplicate video detection
Automatic cleanup tools
Dark mode support
Disadvantages
Poor AI detection accuracy
Slow scanning performance
Limited free version
Occasional crashes
Hidden features in the interface
Final Verdict
AI Cleaner: Clean Up Storage offers many useful tools for managing iPhone storage. It includes features for detecting duplicate photos, removing unnecessary files, merging contacts, and compressing videos.
However, the overall performance does not fully meet expectations.
The AI detection system often groups unrelated photos, scanning takes longer than expected, and occasional crashes affect usability.
While the app can still help free up space, there are more reliable alternatives available.
Final Score: 2.8 / 5