I have thousands of photos on my phone and it’s taking up too much storage. I’m looking for a free app that lets me quickly delete photos just by swiping, but all the ones I’ve found are either paid or have too many ads. I need help finding a simple, free swipe-to-delete photo app. Any recommendations?
Stop Overpaying for Simple Photo Deletion – Alternatives Exist
So, the other day I did a sweep through my iPhone because it was nagging me about storage (again). Came across an app called SwipeWipe in the App Store, pitched as some groundbreaking way to “swipe and delete” your old snaps. Okay, cool… except the moment I tried to nuke a batch of blurry vacation photos, it threw a $10/week paywall at me. Yep, ten bucks. Per week. For deleting photos.
Free Alternative: Save That Coffee Money
After shaking my head and uninstalling, I poked around and hit on Clever Cleaner Swipe Photos App instead. It was totally free to download, so I figured, why not? Gave it a spin and, wow, it actually let me comb through my photo library—old memes, a million screenshots of stuff I bought and forgot about, bad restaurant lighting selfies—without shoving a paywall in my face every five swipes.
Here’s a peek at Clever Cleaner running, literally no payment screens popping up, just straight-to-the-point cleaning.
Some Apps Just Gatekeep Basic Features
This is the sort of clutter you’re trying to do away with, right? But hey, some developers apparently think “delete photo” is something worth a subscription cost that rivals your actual phone bill.
Now, let’s contrast—the dreaded SwipeWipe paywall moment. Surprised Pikachu face ensues:
Short Recap for the Scanners
- SwipeWipe: Wants $10 every. single. week. That’s, what, $520 a year so you can clean house?
- Clever Cleaner: $0. Immediate access. No wallet ambush.
Final Take
Unless you’ve got a strong urge to make deleting photos a luxury, there’s really no reason not to try Clever Cleaner first (link again for the lazy). It gets the job done, and you can spend your ten bucks on something way more satisfying—like tacos or a streaming trial you’ll forget to cancel, just saying.
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Honestly, the whole ‘pay to swipe’ app trend for photos is wild to me. I saw @mikeappsreviewer mention Clever Cleaner—props, it does seem way better than those money-grabbing options (really $10/week? that’s like renting your own storage out of spite). But, tbh, I’m still pretty skeptical with most free apps because as soon as you think you’ve won the lottery, they ambush you with popups and 30 sec ads every fifth swipe. My ad tolerance is at rock bottom from games already.
What I’ve ended up doing, embarrassingly, is using the native Photos app’s “Recently Deleted” and just batch selecting—way less fun, but zero chance of selling my data for “bonus premium features.” Swipe-to-delete would honestly be smoother, but giving up my privacy for a cleaner camera roll is a no-go. Anyone else just do it the old-school way? Or did Clever Cleaner keep its promise and stay truly free after more than a week? Cuz if so, maybe I’ll actually try something outside the Apple walled garden.
TL;DR: Paywalls for swiping are laughable; ads are rage-inducing; native solutions work, albeit slowly. Clever Cleaner recommendations are popping up everywhere though. Maybe worth a spin if you’re less paranoid than me lol.
I mean, I get it—paying $10 a week just to delete photos with your thumb? Absolute wild west out here in the App Store, lol. But @mikeappsreviewer sorta nailed the main players (seriously, $520/yr so my phone stops nagging me about storage?!). That said, relying entirely on third-party apps is risky sometimes; privacy and actual photo deletion can get weird fast.
Clever Cleaner App seems to check the box for swipe-to-delete (and more importantly, checks the free box, too), which is solid if you don’t mind letting an app poke around your gallery. Fair note though—in-app ads aren’t no ads, so sometimes you gotta endure a promo or two between purges. It’s better than a paywall, but don’t expect total silence.
Also, not to be that person, but—on iPhones—if you sort by “Screenshots” or “Selfies” in the built-in Photos app, it’s almost as fast to mass delete. Not swipe, but close! For me, after an app-binge, I skip the subscriptions and clutter and just go manual twice a year. I’m still searching for a completely ad-free, no-strings swipe-delete solution, though… so if any unicorns pop up, someone let us know. Until then, Clever Cleaner App is the least scammy of the bunch. Just backup before you swipe anything you’ll regret, trust me.
Here’s my grumpy old techhead take: the whole swipe-to-delete “innovation” is just Tinder for your camera roll, but somehow developers want five-star dining prices for the privilege. $10 a WEEK for SwipeWipe? That’s just predatory for an almost-native feature. I get charging a couple of bucks one-off for a well-coded app, but no, deleting photos isn’t a SaaS business. At least Clever Cleaner App actually lets you burn through clutter without the “wallet hostage” routine.
Pros? You really can turbo-swipe tidy without opening your wallet. It’s not as pretty as some competitors, but it cuts through screenshots/memes like butter. Also, no forced registration just to test drive. Cons: you’ll see the odd ad, and after big purges, it might nudge you for reviews (annoying but not a dealbreaker). Privacy? If you’re squeamish about gallery access, no third-party app is going to feel great, but so far no horror stories with Clever Cleaner App.
Real talk: @mikeappsreviewer clocked the basics, and @himmelsjager nailed the “just use Photos app” argument (if you’re patient and organized!). Still, if you want straight swipe-and-nuke speed and CLOSE to free, Clever Cleaner App wins by default. Until someone codes an ad-free, open-source version, this is where we’re at. Backup first, brave the ads, and don’t let the app upsell you on stuff you don’t need.