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 antivirus protection.

Clean Master at a glance

Price	$15.90–$49.90
Free plan	Yes
# of devices protected	1 - 3
Malware scans	Manual and automated
Real-time protection	Yes
EICAR test results	0/3
Firewall	No
Phishing protection	No
Compatibility	Windows, macOS, Android
Extras	Junk Clean, PC Boost, Privacy Clean, File Recovery
24/7 customer support	No
Learn more	Get Clean Master

Our experience

During our testing, we quickly realized Clean Maseter is more of a performance optimization tool rather than an antivirus. We tested the paid version on our laptop running Windows 11.

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 are three types of scans: Junk Clean, PC Boost, and Privacy Clean. All three scans took less than a minute to complete. The results list the items that can be boosted or cleaned, depending on the scan you select, and it can easily fix those items for you.

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 hit unsubscribe on the link in the footer of the marketing emails or you can contact legalnotice@cheetahfun.com.

We've also had several instances where antivirus software flagged Clean Master as malicious. Bitdefender listed Clean Master as an infected web resource. 

For anyone who's interested in Clean Master, we would recommend proceeding with caution and pairing it with a true antivirus. 

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 paid version has additional tools 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 prices and subscriptions

Clean Master offers a free plan and the Professional plan for $15.90–$49.90. The only difference between the Professional plans is the length of your subscription. 

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 device.

	Standard	Professional
Price for first year	Free	$29.90/yr
# devices supported	1	3
Manual and auto scan
Phishing protection
Firewall
Real-time protection
Ransomware protection
Parental controls
Performance optimization tools
VPN

Clean Master security 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.

Real-time protection

Clean Master claims to have real-time antivirus protection, but we couldn't find the feature anywhere. The closest we found was the Real-time monitor in the settings. 

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. Junk Clean removes duplicate photos, remnants of programs you’ve uninstalled, and other bits cluttering up your hard drive. 

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.

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

We review every antivirus program in three testing categories:

• Scan speeds: Measure duration of scans and if they impact device performance
• EICAR tests: Use cyberthreat test files to confirm the program's efficay
• Third-party tests: Review antivirus test results to check the program's claims

Clean Master had fast scan speeds but we can't speak very positively about its other results. It failed all three EICAR tests and its most recent third-party test results are from January 2017, so its hard to confirm how it works now.

Scan speed

• Result:  Fast

Clean Master isn't a typical antivirus program, so it doesn't have typical malware scans. There's the Junk Clean scan to clean your device, the PC Boost scan to make it run faster, and the Privacy Clean scan to clean your PC history.

Scan type	Time spent
Junk Clean	40 seconds
PC Boost	10 seconds
Privacy Clean	13 seconds

All three scan types took less than a minute to complete. We also didn't notice our computer speeds slowing during the scans. 

EICAR test results

• Result: 0/3

EICAR stands for the European Institute of Computer Antivirus Research. It has a library of test files for different types of cyberthreats, including malware and phishing pages.  

Test	Clean Master score
Malware detection	Fail
Drive-by malware downloads	Fail
Phishing pages detection	Fail

Test results as of 08/30/2024.

AV-TEST results

• Result: Clean Master had adequate results for Android, but hasn't retested in several years. 

Third-party testing sites are important for keeping cybersecurity software credible and accountable for its claims. AV-TEST is an independent organization that tests antivirus programs for malware protection, impact on device performance, and accuracy of its malware detection.

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.

Test type	Windows 11 score	macOS Monterey score	Android 6 score
Protection	N/A	N/A	4.5/6
Performance	N/A	N/A	N/A
Usability	N/A	N/A	6/6
Total	N/A	N/A	10.5/12
Date	N/A	N/A	January 2017
Link to test	N/A	N/A	Link

Clean Master's last AV-TEST was performed in January 2017 and only on Android. It received a perfect usability score, indicating it had no false positives. However, it had lower malware detection rates than the industry average.

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.

AV-Comparatives results

• Result: Clean Master app was approved by AV-Comparatives, but hasn't retested in nearly a decade.

AV-Comparatives is another independent organization that tests security software. It compares how programs perform for mobile security, real-world protection, malware protection, and performance impact. 

Test type	Mobile security	Real-world protection	Malware protection	Performance impact (Lower is better)
Score	99.9%	N/A	N/A	N/A
Platform	Android	N/A	N/A	N/A
Date	July 2015	N/A	N/A	N/A
Link	Link	N/A	N/A	N/A

Similar to its AV-TEST results, Clean Master hasn't submitted its program for testing in about a decade. It also only submitted its Android app. 

Back in 2015, Clean Master was approved by AV-Comparatives. It had a 99.9% malware protection rate and zero false positives. 

Clean Master compatibility

Clean Master is available for Windows 7 and above. Its help guides claim there's a link that allows you to download the macOS app on the main website, but every page only mentions Clean Master for PC.

There's also a Clean Master Android APK download app on the help guides.

Clean Master customer support

Clean Master doesn’t really have any type of customer support. There's a support page with FAQs and help guides on ZenDesk, but the guides aren't very clear. 

If you select the Contact Us page, there will be a list of emails you can contact. We reached out with a question but didn't receive a confirmation that our email was received or any indication of when we'd get the response. 

Top alternatives

Clean Master doesn't check several antivirus boxes, like including real-time malware detection, phishing protection, and a firewall. But that doesn't mean you're out of options. 

Take a look at some of our best recommendations for true antivirus protection: 

FAQs

Bottom line: Is Clean Master good?

Clean Master is 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.