Cleanup: Phone Storage Cleaner crashes and loses progress on big libraries, suggestions to prevent that?

Cleanup tends to crash on large photo libraries because it runs heavy duplicate analysis in memory and doesn’t handle interruptions well, especially on older devices or when iCloud Photos is syncing.

When the app is pushed to the background or memory is reclaimed, it often loses scan progress entirely.

To reduce crashes, disable iCloud Photos temporarily, close all background apps, and keep Cleanup open until the scan completes without locking the screen. Scanning and deleting in smaller batches instead of running a full-library cleanup greatly lowers the risk of crashes.

Make sure both iOS and Cleanup are fully updated, then reinstall the app and re-grant full photo access to reset its index.

If crashes persist, don’t hesitate to share your story here.