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While Piriform may be best known for its Microsoft Gold partner app, CCleaner for PCs, the British company is also knocking it out of the park with its Mac optimization service. CCleaner for Mac brings a long list of helpful features to the table, all wrapped up in a simple and modern app.
From macOS Sierra onwards, any Mac can be brought up to speed in mere seconds, with the deleting of data ranging from duplicate files to cache and cookies. It’s possible to remove apps, change startup processes, and even monitor your Mac’s CPU in real time.
All this is included in the generous free-forever version. However, upgrading to a premium plan is possible for only $2.49 per month for the Professional plan. Opting for the Professional Plus bundle results in even higher savings, at $1.10 per device per month. Both plans come with annual billing, 24/7 technical assistance, and a 30-day money-back guarantee for any commitment-phobes.
Launched in 2004, CCleaner was one of the first-ever PC system cleaners. The company branched out into macOS in 2012 and Android soon after but is yet to provide an app for iOS. However, it’s clear that today, CCleaner for Mac leaves little to be desired.
Not only is the app easy to navigate with its tabs and summarizing dashboard, but it also provides helpful guidance. Opening a tab reveals concise explanations alongside the option to scan. While the interface may be simple, it presents an extensive list of tools.
The free version includes the possibility to scan and remove clutter, browser data, and duplicate files. CCleaner also provides a startup manager and the ability to uninstall apps. These are all topped off by the system monitor and statistics sections, which give a handy overview of every detail of the computer and the scans that have been implemented.
Scanning with CCleaner is done in the blink of an eye. The best part is that while scans are thorough and complete, users can select what gets deleted. Every scan reveals a detailed list of elements that users can choose to include or delete, plus it’s possible to customize where the app scans and the size of the files it looks for via the settings. Users can even set up a notification for when their computer gets too cluttered or their free disk space is low.
As such, it’s possible to delete junk, leftovers, logs, errors, cache, history, cookies, and autofill information. These last elements are extremely useful in ensuring online privacy as they remove all traces of sites that have been visited, searches made, and files downloaded.
Anyone can get a little trigger-happy with a digital camera or smartphone, which results in a computer chock-full of low-quality photos. CCleaner takes a handy feature to the next level with its premium plan by not only providing duplicate-file removal but also photo ‘cleaning’. The app can identify and delete any almost-identical images, plus remove blurry or poorly lit photos.
CCleaner provides clarity about what apps a Mac truly needs with its startup manager. This is designed to reduce how long a computer takes to turn on by providing visibility on what is sneakily launching in the background.
Users are also given further assistance in understanding their Macs with the app uninstaller, which is extremely handy for removing forgotten or well-hidden apps that are hefty and use up a lot of CPU.
The monitoring section of the app further educates the Mac user with detailed information about CPU usage, RAM, memory, battery levels and cycles, the temperature of every part of the machine, and much more.
As a useful addition, CCleaner provides statistics about every scan completed and how much space it’s cleaned up. It then offers up a suggestion about what this space can be used for.
Like many Mac optimization services, CCleaner offers a free version that performs unlimited scans and repairs. The app is all-encompassing and provides what most personal Mac users require. Meanwhile, the Professional plan adds the automation of some tools, handy 24/7 technical assistance, and photo analysis to the mix.
The company also offers three bundles that include additional PC software. While this may not be useful for Mac-only households, these bundles still provide significant savings and cover PC, Mac, and Android devices. The CCleaner Professional Plus bundle covers three devices for $39.95 for one year. CCleaner Premium covers five devices for one year at $54.95 (equivalent to paying $0.91 per month per device) or for two years at $99.95 ($0.83 per month per device).
All plans involve an up-front payment, and CCleaner accepts PayPal, most credit cards, and Apple Pay. No matter the plan or bundle, all come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Contacting CCleaner directly is easy for paid subscribers due to its 24/7 live technical support. For non-paying users, there is no phone number, email address, or chatbot visible on its website or app.
Confusingly, at first glance, the help center doesn’t offer any information for Mac. However, this is misleading as help for both operating systems can be found under ‘CCleaner for Windows’, where there’s a decent FAQ section. If this isn’t enough, the site takes you to a request form. While the company claims to respond within 48 hours, the one reply we received was after six days and didn’t even refer to the same subject matter.
CCleaner provides an extensive community forum and blog. Although it’s active on social media, most of its YouTube tutorials and Facebook posts focus on PC use. However, this is still another place to find support.
There’s no denying its commitment to PCs, but CCleaner has also polished up its Mac version to the extent that it’s become a real contender. The app is a pleasure to use with its clear explanations, convenient scanner, and useful cleaning tools – all for free.
While the weak customer support is unfortunate, it’s by no means essential for using the app, which is relatively self-explanatory. Plus, this is easily remedied by upgrading to a paid plan, which won’t leave your wallet that much lighter and results in the full attention of technical support – along with photo analysis and the automation of some tools.
CCleaner for Mac provides vital stats for your device and speedily scans and cleans data – all for an affordable price. Although the app only covers devices as far back as macOS 10.12x and so can’t be used on old, tired machines, it provides a modern and helpful way to maintain the health of younger Macs.
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