Clean Master Review 2024: A Lightweight Digital Maid Service

Clean Master isn’t really an antivirus software, but it can help remove viruses and malware that may be slowing down your computer. The majority of what Clean Master does revolves around cleanup. It scans your drives looking for junk files and then gives you a breakdown of what was found with options to delete the junk. Overall, it does what it says, but it doesn’t really provide you with much more than a digital maid service.

Clean Master overview

Who is Clean Master best for?

• Recommended for anyone looking to clean their computer

If your computer is running slower than normal, you can use Clean Master to help get rid of junk files and potential computer viruses on your hard drive. The free tools are fast and efficient. The design may look a little outdated, but the product itself works.

For anyone looking for a little more out of this product, the Professional version has additional tools and features like a system disk slimming expert, driver booster, file shredder, and file recovery. Some of the features will scan and tell you if they found improvements, but you won’t be able to run the corrections unless you purchase the Professional version. We’re not sure it’s worth it, however, since the tools are pretty basic.

Clean Master pros and cons

Clean Master features

The features are short and sweet when it comes to the Clean Master product. Everything is focused on cleaning and optimizing your PC device performance with little in the way of prevention or protection. You won’t find anything like a firewall, anti-fraud protection, phishing protection, or a virtual private network (VPN). This software is reactionary rather than proactive.

Malware and antivirus scan

This product does a decent job of cleaning junk files and less advanced viruses you may have picked up online. While it’s not actually an antivirus, it will remove files for you if it can. This is not a product you want to rely on for your cybersecurity needs, but it is one you can grab quickly if you have no other option. If you know how antivirus works, then you’ll see that the usual tools and protections aren’t available on this product.

Real-time protection

If you want a real-time protection product, you’re better off using an antivirus. Clean Master is not written to be a comprehensive protection tool. At most, you’ll be able to clean off less intrusive, potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) and viruses as well as wiping trackers. Do not rely on these cleaning tools to keep you protected while browsing the internet.

Cleaning and optimization

This is really what this product is all about. It scans your device looking for junk, which could include viruses, ransomware, and even duplicate photos or residual files of software you’ve uninstalled. After cleaning up these things, it frees up more storage space for your RAM usage and may even help with your battery life.

Most of the tools in the Clean Master product are meant to clean junk files that may be slowing down your computer or compromising your privacy. If you look at the screenshot below, you’ll see the Junk Clean and the Privacy Clean options. The Junk Clean removes duplicate photos, remnants of programs you’ve uninstalled, and other bits cluttering up your hard drive. The Privacy Clean says it will “fix privacy risks, block unwanted access, and resolve privacy disclosure risks once and for all.” While that isn’t really clear, it alludes to protecting you from cookies and trackers.

Mobile app

There are mobile cleaner apps for Android devices and for iOS, but the iPhone app wasn’t created by Cheetah Mobile, the developer for Clean Master. It’s the same name, but it's not the same company. This means it is not the same app as the Android version and not the same company you’ll find on the website. While the Apple Store screens its apps far better than the Google Play store, we still wouldn’t recommend downloading this one.

The Android app isn’t easy to distinguish from its competitors and looks like a scam app in the Google Play Store. User reviews say it gives you a WhatsApp cleaner, app manager, applock feature, and it removes obsolete APK files. In addition, it claims to have a battery cooler to combat phone overheating and antivirus for your phone.

However, reviews are mixed on the effectiveness of these claims. If you want a product to clean potential viruses and malware from your Android phone, we suggest MalwareBytes or one of these best antivirus apps for Android.

Bonus features

Clean Master Professional comes with a few bonus features focused on cleaning and streamlining your device to work faster and without viruses. The paid version also adds file removal and recovery of important files. However, this is not a robust product with a lot of offerings.

Unfortunately, if you want to use any of these features, you’ll need to upgrade to a Pro plan. Clean Master’s bonus features include the following:

• System Disk Slimming Expert: Removes unneeded components to free up space on your system
• Driver Booster: Keeps drivers updated to avoid system crashes or malfunctions
• File Shredder: Deletes files securely so they can’t be recovered
• File Recovery: Helps you easily recover lost files
• PC Boost: Optimizes your PC to improve speed and stop lag
• Privacy Clean: Helps eliminate privacy risks and blocks unwanted access

Clean Master test results

Third-party testing sites are important for keeping cybersecurity software credible and accountable for its claims. Unfortunately, because these third-party sites charge for their services (don’t worry, their results are unbiased), not every company chooses to be included in regular testing. This is the case with Clean Master.

The last AV-TEST was performed in November 2016 and only on Android. We did include those results below. Developers are constantly updating software and patching issues. A computer that was well protected in January could have out-of-date protection software by March. While the developers of Clean Master could be keeping up with patches and the latest technology, there’s no way to know without third-party testing.

Clean Master AV-TEST results

Our Clean Master experience

We tested the free version of Clean Master on our 2017 Acer running Windows 10. The product itself isn’t overly complicated. The free version really only has a junk cleaner and PC boost. We were told we had eight types of junk on our machine, but then we weren’t able to see what that meant with the free version. It could have been a tracker we picked up or something fishy on our C drive. It wasn’t clear as any other features require a Pro subscription.

One thing that didn’t thrill us was the privacy policy. Your information is gathered and used for marketing purposes, so there’s a good chance you’ll end up with some spam after using Clean Master. There is an opt-out option, but it’s not easy to access. To opt out and exercise your right to privacy, you have to email the privacy officer at eudpo@cmcm.com.

Overall, we had a good experience with the product. There really isn’t much to Clean Master as there aren’t a ton of features available. Most of the offerings are focused on cleaning your disks and drives as well as optimizing your computer. There is an AutoClean feature that schedules sessions, but it’s only available with the Pro subscription. Since we weren’t thrilled with the privacy policy, we’d likely not continue to use this product ourselves.

Clean Master compatibility

The product is available for certain Windows operating systems only. On the site, Clean Master lists it supports Windows XP/7/8/10. There don’t appear to be any other claims for support.

There is a Clean Master app in the Apple Store, but it’s by different developers and only removes duplicate photos on your macOS or iOS device. It is not the same as the Android or Windows product and cannot be subject to the same review. It’s best to stay away from this app. If you’re looking for a legitimate program for Mac, we suggest MacKeeper.

The Android app is offered by the same developers, which means it has the same functionality as the Windows application. The reviews for the Android app are mixed. It’s always worth reading the reviews because the Google Play Store tends to allow malware-infected apps more frequently than we’re comfortable with.

Clean Master customer support

Clean Master doesn’t really have any type of customer support. While there is a support page with FAQs and a Contact Us page, neither can lead to communication with any actual people. Since the product is so paired down, we aren’t surprised the Support is as well.

Clean Master cost

Clean Master offers three payment options for the Professional plan. You can choose a three-month plan, one-year plan, or two-year plan. There is no difference in the amount of features you receive between each of the paid plans. If you do choose to only use the free product, you won’t have access to most of the features. If you think that its performance enhancement and advanced cleaning features would be useful, then the most cost-effective option is the two-year plan.

This is a simple product with a singular focus in mind. While other antivirus software focuses on a lot of features, the main focus of Clean Master is to clean and optimize your Windows PC and Android phone. If you are looking for an option for macOS or iOS, you won’t find that with Clean Master.

Clean Master plans and prices

Clean Master FAQs

Bottom line: Is Clean Master good?

Clean Master is ok. It’s definitely not the best antivirus you will find, and you shouldn’t be using it exclusively to protect your computer. This is more likely to assist you in cleaning junk and PUPs from your device. If you’re looking for an actual antivirus product, we have reviewed many of the best antivirus products on the market and recommend them.

If you find your machine slowing down, Clean Master could help you revive it. The bonus features with the paid plan, like the file shredder and file recovery, could definitely be useful. Overall though, there are better options that you could and should be using to protect yourself and your devices while online.

4.0

AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

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On Clean Master's website

Antivirus Software

Clean Master

• Offers a free product
• Easy-to-use
• Most features are only available on Pro

Author Details

Mary James

About the Author

Mary is a seasoned cybersecurity writer with over seven years of experience. With a B.S. in Liberal Arts from Clarion University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Point Park University, she educates audiences on scams, antivirus software, and more. Her passion lies in educating audiences on helpful ways to protect their data.