Customer Reviews (500)

Fhshdgjxbsbz • 2025-03-21T21:26:50-07:00

Great app Tk

whatworks? • 2025-03-21T18:10:37-07:00

Seems easy enough to use. I would recommend it.

Dave_2113 • 2025-03-21T17:48:46-07:00

Love this app ! This has made it so much easier to do “spring cleaning” of my contacts, emails and photos.

Summary of Key Insights

  • The Cleanup: Phone Storage Cleaner app has a generally positive sentiment, with many users finding it helpful for freeing up storage space on their devices by identifying and deleting duplicate or similar photos and videos. However, there are significant concerns regarding the app's pricing model, aggressive advertising, and stability issues (crashing). Many users feel misled by the "free" advertising, as essential features require a paid subscription, and some report being charged before the free trial ends or experiencing difficulty canceling subscriptions. The constant barrage of ads in the free version is also a major point of frustration. While the app's core functionality is appreciated, these issues detract significantly from the user experience.
  • Strengths: Easy to use, effective at identifying duplicate/similar photos, saves time.
  • Weaknesses: Misleading "free" advertising, expensive subscription model (especially the weekly option), aggressive advertising in the free version, app crashes, potential data loss, and issues with subscription management.
  • Overall Sentiment: Mixed. While many users find the app useful, the negative reviews highlight significant issues that impact user satisfaction.
  • Quantitative Metrics:
    • Overall Rating (based on the provided distribution): Approximately 4.1 stars (calculated from the weighted average of the star ratings).
    • Score Distribution: 5-star (63%), 4-star (10.2%), 3-star (6.4%), 2-star (4.2%), 1-star (16.2%).

Data & Methodology Overview

  • Data Sample Size: 500 reviews.
  • Time Frame: Reviews appear to span from late 2023 to April 2024 (based on dates mentioned in the reviews).
  • Analysis Methods:
    • Sentiment analysis was inferred from the star ratings and review text.
    • Keyword extraction was used to identify frequently mentioned issues, requested features, and positive aspects.
    • Frequency analysis was used to determine the prevalence of different themes and sentiments.

Key User Pain Points

  • Misleading Advertising/Pricing: Many users feel deceived by the app's "free" claims, as core functionality is locked behind a subscription. The weekly subscription price is perceived as excessively high. Some users report being charged before the free trial ends or experiencing difficulty canceling their subscriptions.
  • Aggressive Advertising: The free version is heavily laden with ads, which disrupt the user experience and are a major source of frustration. Users report having to watch ads to delete even small batches of photos/videos.
  • App Crashes/Instability: A significant number of users report that the app crashes frequently, especially when processing large numbers of photos or during the deletion process. This results in lost progress and wasted time.
  • Subscription Management Issues: Some users struggle to cancel their subscriptions or report unexpected charges.
  • Functionality Issues: Some users report issues such as the app not finding anything to clean up, not working for email clean up, or crashing when trying to delete.
  • Data Loss Concerns: A few users have reported the app deleting important contacts or misidentifying and deleting important emails.

Frequently Requested Features

  • Offline Functionality Improvements: While the description states the app works offline, some reviews indicate it requires an internet connection.
  • Batch Deletion: Users want the ability to select and delete larger batches of photos/videos at once, rather than deleting them individually or in small groups.
  • Improved Stability: Resolving the frequent crashing issues is a top priority.
  • Folder Selection: The ability to select entire folders for cleaning.
  • More Flexible Pricing Options: Users are looking for more affordable subscription options, such as monthly or yearly plans, instead of the expensive weekly option.
  • Clearer Subscription Information: Users want more transparent information about the subscription costs and trial period upfront.

Strengths and Positive Aspects

  • Ease of Use: Many users find the app easy to use and navigate, even those who are less tech-savvy.
  • Effectiveness: The app is generally effective at identifying duplicate and similar photos/videos, helping users free up storage space.
  • Time-Saving: Users appreciate that the app saves them time compared to manually cleaning their photo libraries.
  • Helpful Suggestions: The app's suggestions for which photos to keep are appreciated by some users.
  • Contact Cleaning: Some users find the contact cleaning feature helpful.

Prioritized Action Recommendations

High Priority:

  • Fix App Crashing Issues: Address the app crashing problems immediately, as this is a major source of frustration and renders the app unusable for many users. Implement robust error handling and debugging to identify and resolve the root causes.
  • Improve Transparency and Honesty in Advertising: Remove misleading claims about the app being "free." Clearly state the limitations of the free version and the costs of the subscription upfront.
  • Address Subscription Management Issues: Make it easier for users to cancel their subscriptions and ensure that they are not charged before the free trial ends. Provide clear instructions on how to manage subscriptions within the app and on the Apple App Store.
  • Re-evaluate Pricing Model: The weekly subscription price is perceived as excessively high. Offer more affordable and flexible subscription options, such as monthly or yearly plans. Consider a one-time purchase option.

Medium Priority:

  • Reduce Aggressiveness of Advertising: Reduce the frequency and intrusiveness of ads in the free version. Consider alternative monetization strategies that are less disruptive to the user experience.
  • Improve Accuracy of Duplicate/Similar Photo Detection: Enhance the algorithm for identifying duplicate and similar photos to reduce the number of false positives.
  • Implement Batch Deletion: Allow users to select and delete larger batches of photos/videos at once.
  • Enhance Offline Functionality: Ensure that the app functions properly offline, as advertised.

Low Priority:

  • Improve User Interface: While the app is generally easy to use, consider making minor improvements to the user interface to enhance the overall user experience.
  • Add More Features: Explore adding additional features that users have requested, such as folder selection.

Opportunities for Startup Ideas

  • Transparent Pricing App Store Review Platform: An app or website that specifically reviews the pricing practices of subscription-based apps on the App Store, highlighting those that are misleading or deceptive.
  • AI-Powered Personalized Cleaning Suggestions: An app that uses AI to learn user preferences and provide more personalized suggestions for which photos and videos to delete, improving the accuracy and relevance of the recommendations.
  • Simplified Subscription Management Tool: A tool that helps users manage all of their app subscriptions in one place, making it easier to cancel unwanted subscriptions and avoid unexpected charges.
  • Privacy-Focused Photo Cleaning App: An app that emphasizes user privacy and data security, ensuring that photos and videos are processed locally on the device and are not shared with third parties.

Trends and Observations

  • Negative Sentiment Focused on Pricing and Advertising: The majority of negative reviews are related to the app's pricing model and aggressive advertising practices, suggesting that these are the most significant factors impacting user satisfaction.
  • App Crashing as a Recurring Issue: App crashing is a frequently mentioned problem, indicating a need for improved stability and performance.
  • "Free" Misleading Advertising: A very common complaint is that the app is advertised as free, but most features require a paid subscription. This is a major source of user frustration.
  • Language Preference: The reviews are primarily in English, but there are also a significant number of reviews in Spanish, suggesting a need for localization efforts.

Conclusion

The Cleanup: Phone Storage Cleaner app has the potential to be a valuable tool for users looking to free up storage space on their devices. However, the app's current pricing model, aggressive advertising, and stability issues are detracting significantly from the user experience. To improve user satisfaction and increase adoption, the developer should prioritize addressing these issues. Specifically, the developer should focus on improving transparency and honesty in advertising, re-evaluating the pricing model, fixing app crashing problems, and reducing the intrusiveness of ads. By addressing these concerns, the developer can create a more positive and sustainable user experience.

Original App Link

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cleanup-phone-storage-cleaner/id1510944943?uo=2