Emptie vs CleanMy Phone
Updated 23 October 2026 · By Dimitar Zurnov, who makes Emptie. Facts about CleanMy Phone are from its App Store listing; we haven’t tested it.
CleanMy Phone is a storage cleaner that does many things, video compression among them, on a paid plan. Emptie only does video: it compresses the videos in your library on your iPhone and replaces the originals, keeping their dates, places, favorites and albums, for free. Pick CleanMy Phone for an all-in-one tool; pick Emptie if video is what fills your phone.
At a glance
| Emptie | CleanMy Phone | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A video compressor that replaces originals in your Photos library | Storage cleaner: Sorts and removes clutter in photos and videos, and offers video compression with “minimal quality loss”. |
| Price | Free. Optional $2.99 one-time Founding Supporter purchase | Free download. CleanMyPhone access is listed at $7.99 a month or $36.99 a year (the listing also sells Gemini Photos plans). |
| A year of use | $0 | $36.99 a year |
| App Store privacy label | Data Not Collected | Data Used to Track You · Data Not Linked to You |
| Replaces the original for you | Yes, after a side-by-side review and one iOS confirmation | Not stated in the listing |
| Keeps date, location, favorites and albums | Yes, and checks each copy before deleting an original | Not stated in the listing |
| Sorted by space you would free | Yes | Not stated in the listing |
| Runs with the phone locked | Yes, with progress in the Dynamic Island | Not stated in the listing |
| Requires | iOS 26 or later (iPhone 11 and newer) | iOS 17.0 or later |
| US ratings | Not released yet | 4.59 from 22,827 ratings |
“Not stated in the listing” means we didn’t find it in the App Store description, not that the app can’t do it.
What CleanMy Phone does well
- Made by MacPaw, a long-established Mac developer
- A polished app with broad photo tools
- Says it processes on the device
Best for: People who already use MacPaw apps and want photo sorting as well as video.
Where Emptie is different
- Emptie is free instead of $36.99 a year
- Emptie’s privacy label is “Data Not Collected”
- Emptie compresses in batches in the background and pauses when the phone is warm
- Emptie shows each original next to its compressed copy before anything is deleted
What it costs over time
CleanMy Phone: Free download. CleanMyPhone access is listed at $7.99 a month or $36.99 a year (the listing also sells Gemini Photos plans). Kept for a year, that comes to $36.99 a year.
Emptie is free. If it helps you, an optional one-time $2.99 Founding Supporter purchase supports the founder. Compressing a library is mostly a one-time job, so we don’t think it should cost you every week.
What happens to your original videos
This is where video apps differ most. Many save a smaller copy as a new item and leave you to find and delete the original yourself. Unless the app carries the details over, the copy can show up under today’s date and outside the albums the original was in.
Emptie keeps every original untouched until its compressed copy is saved to your library and checked: it plays, it’s the same length, and its date (with time zone), location, Favorite and Hidden status and albums arrived. You review each pair side by side, and one iOS confirmation replaces the batch. The originals stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days. Why the space comes back after you empty it.
Privacy
CleanMy Phone’s App Store privacy label lists Data Used to Track You · Data Not Linked to You. Emptie’s says Data Not Collected: no account, no upload, no ads and no analytics, and the app makes no network calls.
Which should you choose?
- Choose CleanMy Phone: it’s best for people who already use MacPaw apps and want photo sorting as well as video.
- Choose Emptie: if videos are what fill your iPhone, you want them smaller without losing their dates and albums, and you’d rather not pay a subscription.
Frequently asked questions
Is Emptie a CleanMy Phone alternative?
For video, yes. Emptie only handles video: it compresses the videos in your library and replaces the originals, keeping their details. If you also want duplicate photos or contacts sorted, CleanMy Phone covers more ground.
How much does CleanMy Phone cost compared with Emptie?
Free download. CleanMyPhone access is listed at $7.99 a month or $36.99 a year (the listing also sells Gemini Photos plans). Emptie is free, with no subscription; an optional one-time $2.99 purchase supports the founder. Prices are from the US App Store listing as of 23 October 2026.
Does CleanMy Phone collect data?
Its App Store privacy label lists: Data Used to Track You · Data Not Linked to You. Emptie’s label is “Data Not Collected”: it has no account, no analytics and makes no network calls.
How we compared
We read CleanMy®Phone: Cleanup Storage’s US App Store listing, in-app purchase list and privacy label on 23 October 2026, as part of a review of 888 storage and video-compression apps. We didn’t install or test it. Prices change, so check the listing before you buy. If something here is wrong, email [email protected] and we’ll fix it.