Tidyroom FAQ

The basics

What does Tidyroom do?

Tidyroom frees up storage on your iPhone. It finds duplicate and similar photos, old screenshots, blurry and dark shots, big videos it can compress, Live Photos it can turn into stills, and duplicate contacts. It picks the best shot in each group and lets you confirm before anything is deleted.

Is Tidyroom really free?

Yes. Every feature is free. The app shows a small banner and an occasional ad after a clean-up. Tidyroom Plus, a monthly or yearly subscription, removes the ads and locks nothing else.

Does Tidyroom upload my photos?

No. Scanning, comparing and compressing run on the iPhone with Apple's on-device frameworks. Your photos, videos and contacts never leave the device, and there is no account.

Which iPhones and iOS versions work?

Any iPhone with iOS 18 or later. The app is available in English and German.

Photos and videos

I deleted a photo by mistake. Can I get it back?

Yes. Every deletion goes through the iOS confirmation and lands in the "Recently Deleted" album of the Photos app, where iOS keeps it for about 30 days. Tidyroom never deletes anything without that confirmation, and never in the background.

How does Tidyroom pick the best shot?

Within a group of duplicates or near-twins it compares sharpness, exposure, resolution and file size, and prefers the original over re-saved copies. The pick is a suggestion: open the group, compare, and change it if you disagree.

Why does Tidyroom ask for full photo access?

With limited access Tidyroom only sees the photos you picked, so it cannot find a duplicate of a photo it cannot see. You can change the access any time under iOS Settings > Apps > Tidyroom > Photos.

Tidyroom misses some similar photos. Why?

It is cautious on purpose: near-twins are grouped strictly, so the same place with different people stays apart. Switch near-twins from Strict to Normal in the app to group more loosely; no rescan is needed. Favorites are never flagged as blurry or dark.

What happens when a video is compressed?

Tidyroom re-encodes the video to HEVC at the same resolution and frame rate, which usually halves the size or better. The compressed video replaces the original in your library; the original goes to Recently Deleted, so you can compare and restore it within 30 days.

A video says it is only in iCloud. What now?

The original is not on the iPhone yet. iOS downloads it when you play or compress it, which needs a connection and can take a moment.

What does converting a Live Photo do?

It keeps the still image and removes the short video clip, which is usually most of the file. The result is a normal photo.

Contacts

Can I undo a contact merge?

Yes. Before each merge Tidyroom keeps a backup on your iPhone. Open Tidyroom's settings and tap "Restore merged contacts". The backup holds every field and the photo; notes are not included, because iOS does not let apps read them.

Overnight scan

I never get a notification from the overnight scan.

"Scan automatically overnight" in Tidyroom's settings is off by default. Once it is on, iOS runs the scan while the iPhone charges, at a time iOS chooses. Tidyroom notifies only when there is at least 50 MB to free, at most every 3 days, and only if notifications for Tidyroom are allowed. Nothing is ever deleted in the background.

Tidyroom Plus and purchases

What does Tidyroom Plus include?

Tidyroom Plus removes the ads. That is all it does on purpose: every feature already works without it. It is a monthly or yearly subscription and can be shared with your family via Apple Family Sharing.

I paid, but I still see ads.

Tap "Restore purchases" in Tidyroom's settings while signed in with the Apple Account you bought Plus with. This also helps on a new iPhone.

How do I cancel Tidyroom Plus?

Tap "Manage subscription" in Tidyroom's settings, or go to iOS Settings > your name > Subscriptions. Plus stays active until the end of the period you paid for.

Can I get a refund?

Apple handles all payments, so refunds go through Apple. Request one at reportaproblem.apple.com.

reportaproblem.apple.com

Privacy and ads

How do I change my ad choices?

In the EEA, the UK and Switzerland, "Ad privacy choices" in Tidyroom's settings reopens the consent form. Whether ads may use your advertising identifier is set under iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking.

How do I stop or delete usage statistics?

Usage statistics are off unless you switch them on. Turn off "Share anonymous usage stats" in Tidyroom's settings and sending stops at once. To have the statistics already sent deleted, tap "Copy installation ID" in the same section and mail it to hello@tawadi.de. The privacy policy has the details.

Privacy policy