CleanMyMac 5.7.0 (macOS)

A Mac that's been running for eighteen months without a proper clear-out. The system drive is nearly full, mail attachments have piled up, and login items have multiplied. CleanMyMac is the tool I reach for first to bring some order back.

Start with the Smart Scan. It runs through system junk, mail attachments, and malware checks in one pass. The new Gmail cleanup tools in version 5.7.0 help trim bloated inboxes without opening a browser. After that, use the File Scope view to spot large forgotten files — old disk images and exported video projects tend to hide for years. The Shredder tool permanently deletes sensitive files so they cannot be recovered. There is also a malware protection module that sits in the background, though I tend to run manual scans. For uninstalling apps properly, MacPaw has a separate App Cleaner & Uninstaller, but the core cleanup tasks live here.

Real-world scenario: a media teacher's end-of-term clean-up

One of the art and media teachers at the school hands me an iMac every July. It has been used by six different students a day, each exporting video projects, downloading assets and leaving installer files behind.

CleanMyMac is the first thing I run. The Smart Scan finds several gigabytes of leftover Adobe cache and Final Cut render files that the students never cleared. The Gmail cleanup catches a shared departmental inbox with hundreds of attachments that should have been archived months ago.

Works alongside Apple's tools, not replacing them

CleanMyMac works alongside what Apple provides rather than replacing it. macOS's own Disk Usage tool gives you a basic view, but the File Scope view in CleanMyMac is quicker for finding individual large files by size. The Shredder tool fills a gap that the Trash does not handle — if a student's personal data needs to be removed from a shared machine before it is reissued, the standard Empty Trash is not enough.

For app removal, I still reach for MacPaw's App Cleaner & Uninstaller when an app has left behind preference panes or services. CleanMyMac covers the everyday cleaning, and the separate uninstaller handles the stubborn leftovers. The malware protection module is something I leave on for the staff room machines — teachers tend to click through download prompts faster than they should.

CleanMyMac frees up space and boosts performance on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.

A typical session: cleaning a colleague's Mac before a laptop swap

A colleague is handing back his MacBook Pro before moving to a newer model. He wants personal files gone but the machine needs to stay usable for the next person. I open CleanMyMac on his machine and run through the session in a half-hour lunch break.

First, the Smart Scan. I let it clean those. Then I open the Gmail cleanup tool and connect his work account — it pulls a list of mail over a year old with large attachments. He selects the ones he already has saved locally and removes them from the server. That frees another few hundred megabytes.

Next, the large-files view. There is an old Parallels virtual machine from a project he finished last year. He confirms it is not needed, and I delete it. The Shredder handles a folder of scanned documents with student names — permanent removal, no recovery possible.

After the cleaning finishes, I check the protection module to make sure it is running. The machine is ready to be handed over. The whole session took less time than waiting for macOS's own indexing to catch up after a manual delete.

• Added cleanup tools for managing Gmail mail attachments and clutter
• New email cleanup functionality included

• macOS 11 or later
• Apple Silicon and Intel Macs