Swipewipe alternatives for cleaning up iPhone photos
Swipewipe made swiping through your camera roll popular: one way to keep, the other to delete. It works, and nearly a hundred thousand ratings on the US App Store prove it. But there are reasons to look elsewhere: its plans are mostly weekly subscriptions, its privacy label includes data used to track you, or you are simply missing something specific.
These are the alternatives I compared. Full disclosure up front: the first one, Limina, is mine. That is why it comes first; the rest of the list tries to be fair to each app.
Prices and privacy labels taken from the US App Store on October 22, 2026. Apps change their plans often, so check before you pay.
At a glance
| App | How you pay | Data used to track you? | What sets it apart |
|---|---|---|---|
| Limina | $4.99/month or $29.99 once | No | Bursts, Live Photos and USB/SSD drives |
| Swipewipe | Mostly weekly ($3.99–$9.99), yearly $29.99 | Yes | Photo map and “On This Day” |
| Slidebox | Weekly, yearly or one-time | No | Sort into albums as you swipe |
| Slider | Yearly, $19.99 | Yes | Built with videos in mind too |
| Photo Cleaner ® | Weekly, monthly or yearly | Yes | Go through your library month by month |
| Cleanup | Mostly weekly | Yes | Duplicates, contacts, email and video compression |
1. Limina
Limina shows you your photos fifteen at a time and you swipe to keep them or mark them. At the end of each batch you see how much space you are about to free, and nothing is deleted until you confirm. Once you have decided on a photo, it never shows it again.
- Modes: oldest, newest, shuffled, screenshots, “this time last year”, whole bursts at once, similar photos, videos (longest first) and Live Photos, where you can keep just the photo and reclaim the space its video takes.
- External drives: plug a USB drive or SSD into your iPhone or iPad and clean it up with the same swipes. I have not seen another app on this list do that.
- Privacy: everything happens on your iPhone, with no account and no ads. Its App Store label only declares purchases, not linked to you.
- Price: free to review photos every day; Limina Pro (videos, similar photos, Live Photos, drives and infinite mode) is $4.99 a month or $29.99 once.
- Downsides: it is new and barely has any ratings yet, and it needs a recent version of iOS.
2. Swipewipe
The reference in this genre. Besides swiping, it goes through your library month by month, has “On This Day” with a widget and streaks, a map of where you took each photo, and AI photo enhancement. Its US plans range from $3.99 to $9.99 a week, plus a $29.99 yearly plan, and its privacy label includes data used to track you.
Do not confuse it with “Swipe Photo Cleaner: SwipeWipe”, which is from a different developer.
3. Slidebox
The veteran: it has been on the App Store since 2015. Its strength is that, as you swipe, you can send each photo to an album, so it organizes as well as cleans. It also compares similar photos and lets you undo. It offers weekly or yearly subscriptions and a one-time purchase, and its privacy label has no tracking.
4. Slider
Very similar gesture, with good video support and a review step before you empty the trash. Its only listed purchase is a $19.99 yearly subscription. Its privacy label includes data used to track you.
5. Photo Cleaner ®
It organizes your library by month and year: you open “September 2021” and swipe through that month. It asks for confirmation before deleting. Plans are weekly ($3.99), monthly ($7.99) and yearly ($29.99), and its privacy label includes data used to track you.
6. Cleanup
Not a swipe app but an all-in-one cleaner: duplicates, similar photos with the best one marked, video compression, duplicate contacts and even junk email. It is by far the most used. Its listed plans are mostly weekly ($5.95 to $11.99), and its privacy label includes data used to track you.
Which one should you pick?
- You want to pay once and be done: Limina or Slidebox.
- You do not want to be tracked: Limina or Slidebox, going by their privacy labels.
- You have photos on a USB drive or SSD: Limina.
- You also want to sort into albums: Slidebox.
- You also want to clean contacts or email: Cleanup.
- You like Swipewipe and its memories map: stick with Swipewipe.