Terms & Conditions

1. Acceptance of these terms

By downloading, installing, or using PhotoSweep for iOS (“the app”) you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the app. These terms are between you and CS42.org (“we”, “us”); Apple is not a party to them.

2. What the app does

PhotoSweep is a utility that helps you review your own photo library and reclaim storage. It lists your photos and videos by file size, identifies exact and similar duplicates, lets you review items by month or date range, and stages the items you choose for deletion. Deletion itself is performed by iOS, only after you confirm it, and moves items to Photos’ Recently Deleted album.

3. Licence

We grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the app on devices you own or control, for personal, non-commercial purposes, in accordance with the App Store Terms of Service. You may not copy, modify, reverse-engineer, redistribute, rent, or resell the app or any part of it, except where such restriction is prohibited by law.

4. You are responsible for the deletions you confirm

Duplicate detection and the suggested “keeper” in a group are automated suggestions based on metadata and image fingerprints, not guarantees. Similar-looking photos may be genuinely different photos. Always look before you confirm.

5. Not a backup service

The app is not a backup, archive, or recovery tool, and we do not store copies of your content. Before any significant cleanup, make sure you have your own backup — iCloud Photos, a computer, or an external drive. We strongly recommend verifying that your backup is current before deleting in bulk.

6. Recovery window

Items you delete remain in Photos’ Recently Deleted album for approximately 30 days (this period is set by Apple and may change), during which you can restore them in the Photos app. Emptying that album is a separate action you perform yourself. After it has been emptied, the items cannot be recovered through the app, and we have no ability to recover them for you.

7. Permissions

The app requires photo library access to function, including write access, because moving an item to Recently Deleted is a write operation. You may grant full or limited access, and you may revoke or change access at any time in iOS Settings. Revoking access does not delete anything; it simply prevents the app from seeing your library.

8. What the app cannot do

iOS sandboxes every application. PhotoSweep cannot access, clean, or modify other applications’ data, the system cache, temporary system files, or any storage outside the photo library you granted it. The in-app “Free Up More Space” guide is informational: it directs you to Apple’s own tools for those tasks. Nothing in the app or on this site should be read as a claim to clean areas of the device that iOS does not permit any app to reach.

9. Storage figures are estimates

File sizes, library totals, “reclaimable” figures, and the device storage bar are derived from information iOS reports, and they are presented as accurate estimates rather than guarantees. Actual space recovered can differ — most commonly because storage is not released until Recently Deleted is emptied, and because iCloud, system caches, and other apps affect free space independently of anything the app does.

10. No account, no payment, no user content

The app has no accounts, no sign-in, no subscriptions, and no in-app purchases. It transmits no content to us and provides no way to publish, share, or upload anything through us, so clauses commonly found in these documents about user-generated content, community rules, moderation, or payment terms do not apply.

11. Intellectual property

The app, its name, icon, design, and code remain our property and are protected by applicable law. Your photos and videos remain entirely yours; we claim no rights over them and never receive them.

12. Disclaimer of warranties

The app is provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including but not limited to merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the app will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that duplicate detection will identify every duplicate or classify every group correctly. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties, so parts of this clause may not apply to you.

13. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of data, photos, videos, or profits, arising out of or relating to your use of the app — including deletions you confirmed. Where liability cannot be excluded, it is limited to the amount you paid for the app, which is zero. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot lawfully be limited.

14. Privacy

The app collects no personal data. Full details are in our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these terms.

15. Changes to the app and to these terms

We may update the app to add, change, or remove features, and we may update these terms. The current version is always published on this page with its “Last updated” date. Continuing to use the app after a change constitutes acceptance of the revised terms. If you do not accept them, stop using the app and delete it.

16. Termination

You may end this agreement at any time by deleting the app. We may terminate the licence if you materially breach these terms. Termination does not affect photos you have already deleted or kept.

17. Apple-specific terms

These terms are between you and us only, not Apple. Apple has no obligation to provide maintenance or support for the app. Apple is not responsible for any claim relating to the app, including product liability, legal or regulatory non-compliance, or consumer protection claims. Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these terms and may enforce them against you.

18. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the United Arab Emirates, without regard to conflict of law rules, except where mandatory consumer protection law in your country of residence applies. If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in effect.

19. Contact

Questions about these terms: hello@cs42.org.