Pixtide vs Photo Cleaner ® by Lumi: Two Swipe Cleaners Compared

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Photo Cleaner ® by Lumi Software and Pixtide are iPhone swipe cleaners with the same core loop: a month by month view, left to delete, right to keep, unlimited free swiping and a check before anything is removed. Photo Cleaner ® rates 4.79 from 4,974 US ratings and shows ads, with Premium from $3.99 a week, checked on the App Store on 2026-09-25. Pixtide has no ads and nothing to buy, but no duplicate tools.

This page is written by the Pixtide team (we make Pixtide). We name where the other app wins.

Which Photo Cleaner this page is about

Dozens of App Store apps are called Photo Cleaner, so this page compares one of them: Photo Cleaner ® by Lumi Software B.V., a studio in the Netherlands, App Store id 6473627334. It launched on 2023-12-02, released version 3.11.0 on 2026-09-25, and is English only. Its UK rating is 4.80 from 1,441 ratings, checked on the App Store on 2026-09-25.

Reviewers like it for the same reason people try Pixtide: "Completely free to swipe/use as much as you want, unlike other popular apps," wrote a 5-star US reviewer on 2026-01-30. Our survey of which photo cleaner apps are free found most competitors cap the free tier; these two do not.

Photo Cleaner ® and Pixtide side by side

Every Photo Cleaner ® figure comes from its App Store page, checked on 2026-09-25. Both apps' listings are in English.

Cost and ads

Photo Cleaner ® by Lumi Software is free to swipe and pays for itself with ads and a Premium subscription; Pixtide has neither. The App Store marks Photo Cleaner ® as Contains Advertising, and reviewers describe an interstitial ad after each finished month or album plus banners. Premium costs $3.99 a week, $7.99 a month or $29.99 a year, checked on the App Store on 2026-09-25, with no lifetime option.

Of the 420 reviews we read, about 25 call the ads minimal and about 28 call them too many. A 3-star reviewer on 2025-11-17 called the app "really aggressive with the ads" and said they were looking for "an ad-free alternative that doesn't use a subscription-based monetisation model." Pixtide has no ads and no purchases of any kind. Our guide to Tinder for photos apps lines up how the other swipe cleaners charge.

Privacy label

Photo Cleaner ® by Lumi Software declares tracking on its App Store privacy label, and Pixtide's label has no tracking section. Checked on 2026-09-25, Photo Cleaner ®'s label lists four categories as data used to track you: Location, Identifiers, Usage Data and Diagnostics. Data linked to you, for advertising and analytics, includes coarse location, device ID and advertising data. Its privacy policy, dated 2026-06-09, names Google AdMob and RevenueCat.

What neither the listing nor the policy says is how photos are handled, and one 5-star reviewer asked exactly that. We found nothing suggesting Photo Cleaner ® uploads photos, and we do not claim it does. Pixtide works entirely on the phone, needs no account and never uploads a photo. Its label reads Data Not Linked to You, from anonymous usage statistics you can switch off in Settings.

Sorting flow

The two sorting flows are closer than any other pair we have compared. Photo Cleaner ® by Lumi Software opens on an overview by month and year and ticks months off as you finish them; Pixtide also lets you open a month or a whole year and remembers where you stopped. Photo Cleaner ® adds a weekly cleanup with an optional end-of-week notification.

The difference is the third direction. Photo Cleaner ® has two. Pixtide adds a swipe down that moves a photo to a Decide Later queue, so the hard calls wait until the end instead of stalling the session. A Decide Later queue is not mentioned in Photo Cleaner ®'s listing. Pixtide also offers categories such as screenshots, selfies and bursts, a recent-shots deck and On This Day.

Safety before deletion

Both Photo Cleaner ® by Lumi Software and Pixtide put a check between the swipe and the delete. Photo Cleaner ®'s listing promises a "Final Confirmation", where "You get one last check before any photo is removed". Pixtide's review screen does the same job: every left swipe waits there, you tap to rescue, then confirm. Pixtide also has undo for the whole session; undo is not mentioned in Photo Cleaner ®'s listing.

After confirming, both apps delete through Apple's Photos library, so photos sit in Recently Deleted for 30 days, as Apple Support explains. That also explains a common complaint. "The app says i've earned 16gb but it doesn't show in the settings app," wrote a 2-star reviewer on 2026-07-27. Space returns once Recently Deleted is emptied (Apple's steps), in either app.

Video

Pixtide plays videos inline with sound and a scrub bar, so you can check the middle of a long clip before you keep or delete it. Sound is off until you tap the speaker. Photo Cleaner ® by Lumi Software also shows videos, with a mute button since version 3.11.0. A scrub bar is not mentioned in its listing.

Photo Cleaner ® has one video advantage: a large-files section for items over 50 MB, added in version 3.10.0. The listing does not make clear whether that section is free or part of Premium. Pixtide has a Videos category you can swipe through, but no section sorted by file size.

Breadth: duplicates, similar shots and large files

Photo Cleaner ® by Lumi Software does more than swipe, and that is where it clearly wins. Since version 3.4.0 on 2025-09-11 its Premium unlocks duplicate detection, similar-photo cleanup and screenshots cleanup, and its site describes bulk removal of "duplicates, similar shots, screenshots, and large files" after the swipe. If you want the swipe and the automated sweeps in one app, Photo Cleaner ® covers both with Premium.

Pixtide covers only the swipe. It does not detect duplicates or similar photos, and it has no large-files section. For duplicates, Apple's Duplicates album in the Photos app finds exact copies for free, and Pixtide's Screenshots category lets you swipe through screenshots at no cost. Everything Pixtide has is free, but it has less.

Where Photo Cleaner ® wins

Photo Cleaner ® by Lumi Software is the better pick in several concrete cases, all checked on the App Store on 2026-09-25:

• Duplicate, similar and screenshot tools in the same app, with Premium.
• Large-files section for items over 50 MB.
• Older iPhones: it runs on iOS 16.4 or later, and on Apple silicon Macs and Vision Pro; Pixtide needs iOS 18.0.
• Ratings: 4.79 from 4,974 US ratings is a far larger sample than Pixtide's handful.
• Update pace: version 3.11.0 shipped on 2026-09-25, and the developer replies to reviews.

One honest limitation

Pixtide has no duplicate detection, no similar-photo grouping and no large-files view. It shows only the representative photo of a burst, and deleting it removes the representative only, so prune individual burst frames in the Photos app. Pixtide is iPhone only and needs iOS 18 or later.

Who should pick which

Pick Photo Cleaner ® by Lumi Software if you want its paid duplicate, similar and screenshot tools in the same app as the swipe, if you are on iOS 16.4 or 17. Pick Pixtide if you want the swipe loop with no ads and nothing to buy, a Decide Later swipe, undo for the whole session and videos you can scrub. Both swipe for free, so try both. For other options, see the Slider alternative and free swipe photo cleaners with no subscription.

Pixtide at a glance

• Free: no subscription, no in-app purchases, no premium tier.
• No ads.
• No AI: you decide every photo.
• Works entirely on your phone: no account, no photo ever uploaded.
• Swiping only marks a photo; you review everything before confirming, and deleted photos stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days.
• Photos and videos, sorted by month, year, category or recent shots.
• iPhone with iOS 18.0 or later.

Pixtide is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Photo Cleaner ®. All product names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. This comparison reflects publicly available information as of September 2026; pricing and features change, so please check each app's App Store listing for the latest details.

Frequently asked questions

Is Photo Cleaner by Lumi free?

Partly. Photo Cleaner ® by Lumi Software lets you swipe through your whole library for free with no limit, but the free tier shows ads and its duplicate, similar-photo and screenshot tools need Premium at $3.99 a week, $7.99 a month or $29.99 a year, checked on the App Store on 2026-09-25. Pixtide is fully free: no ads, no swipe limit and no in-app purchases.

Pixtide vs Photo Cleaner by Lumi, which one should I use?

Both are iPhone swipe cleaners with unlimited free swiping and a review step before deletion, checked on 2026-09-25. Pick Photo Cleaner ® by Lumi Software if you want paid duplicate, similar-photo and screenshot cleanup in the same app, or you are on iOS 16.4 or 17. Pick Pixtide if you want the swipe loop with no ads, nothing to buy, a Decide Later swipe and whole-session undo.

Does Photo Cleaner by Lumi track you?

Its App Store privacy label, checked on 2026-09-25, lists Location, Identifiers, Usage Data and Diagnostics as data used to track you, and its privacy policy names Google AdMob for ads. The listing does not say how photos are handled; we found nothing saying it uploads them. Pixtide's label has no tracking section, and Pixtide never uploads a photo.

Why doesn't my iPhone storage go down after deleting photos with a cleaner app?

Every iPhone photo cleaner, including Photo Cleaner ® by Lumi Software and Pixtide, deletes through Apple's Photos library, so deleted photos move to the Recently Deleted album and keep using space for up to 30 days. The storage figure in iPhone Settings drops once Recently Deleted is emptied or the 30 days pass. Emptying it early makes those deletions permanent.