CleanMyMac

The Mac's favourite maintenance manager gets a big update

-  Ian Osborne

CleanMyMac has long been the Mac's favourite - if not the cheapest - suite of maintenance and upkeep tools. This new release is focused on tightening up the app, with improved speed and performance and greater efficiency, all wrapped up in a great new interface.

It’s easy to use. Boot the app and the first thing you see is the Smart Care pane. This integrates the functionality of the app as a whole into a single process, scanning your Mac for junk files, checking for malware, hunting down large and unused apps, and more. It can even scan your iCloud Drive.

Smart Care makes the process of looking after your Mac so much easier. All you have to do is click a large button marked 'Scan'. It takes some time, but the longer it takes the more necessary it is, and there’s no user intervention needed while it’s working its magic. When done, you’re offered the chance to review potential actions in each of five categories (Cleanup, Protection, Performance, Applications, My Clutter) before pressing the Run button and having the app purge your Mac. And that’s it. You need never go any further into this app if so inclined – Smart Care does everything for you.

If you do choose to use the other five modules found in CleanMyMac’s sidebar individually instead of through Smart Care, the first one you come across is Cleanup. This looks for files that do nothing except waste space. It’s amazing how much junk Cleanup can find, especially if you’ve given the app Full Disk Access (which you should).