DB Labs
What Is the iOS 18 Clean Up Tool?
The Clean Up tool is an Apple Intelligence feature available in iOS 18.1 and later that removes unwanted objects from photos using on-device AI. Tap or brush over any object — a stranger in the background, a power line, a piece of litter — and the AI fills the area with a plausible background. No image is sent to Apple's servers. It requires an iPhone 15 Pro or any iPhone 16 model. The edits are non-destructive: you can always revert to the original.
Which Devices Support Clean Up
Clean Up is an Apple Intelligence feature, and Apple Intelligence has specific hardware requirements. As of iOS 18.1:
- iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max
- iPhone 17 series (all models)
Notably absent: iPhone 15 and 15 Plus. Despite running iOS 18, these models do not have enough RAM (they have 6 GB vs 8 GB in the Pro models) to support Apple Intelligence on-device models.
How to Use the Clean Up Tool Step by Step
1 Open a Photo and Tap Edit
Open the Photos app and select the photo you want to edit. Tap Edit in the top right. The editing interface opens with the standard adjustment tools at the bottom.
2 Select the Clean Up Tool
In the toolbar at the bottom, swipe left past the standard tools (Crop, Filters, Adjust) to find the Clean Up button, represented by an eraser or wand icon with sparkles. Tap it.
3 Let iOS Auto-Detect Objects
After tapping Clean Up, iOS automatically analyzes the photo and highlights potential distractions with a yellow glow — usually strangers in the background, blemishes, or small objects. You can tap any highlighted item to remove it immediately.
4 Brush or Circle to Remove Manually
For objects iOS did not auto-detect, use your finger to brush over the object (like painting) or circle it. As you lift your finger, the AI processes the selection and fills the area. The processing typically takes 1-3 seconds.
5 Tap Done to Save
When satisfied, tap Done to save the edit. The change is non-destructive — the original photo is preserved. To revert, tap Edit → Revert → Revert to Original at any time.
What Clean Up Works Best On
| Object Type | Result Quality | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Strangers in background | Excellent | Best when subject is small & distant |
| Power lines / wires | Very good | Sky backgrounds fill cleanly |
| Litter / trash cans | Very good | Simple backgrounds work best |
| Watermarks & timestamps | Good | Solid-color backgrounds only |
| Shadows | Moderate | Complex textures may show seams |
| Large foreground objects | Fair | AI struggles with large gaps to fill |
Clean Up vs. Photo Cutout: Key Differences
These two tools are often confused. Clean Up removes objects from a photo and fills the background — the original photo is modified. Photo Cutout lifts a subject out of the photo as a separate transparent-background image — the original is unchanged.
Use Clean Up when you want to improve an existing photo. Use Photo Cutout when you want to extract a subject to use elsewhere — in Messages, Notes, or another creative context.
Privacy and On-Device Processing
Apple emphasizes that Clean Up runs entirely on-device using the iPhone's Neural Engine. Your photos are never uploaded to Apple or any third-party server for processing. This is a key differentiator from Google's Magic Eraser, which processes images in the cloud.
For more on Apple's broader AI photo features and what Apple Intelligence can and cannot do, see our overview of Apple Intelligence photo cleanup features.
Related Photo Editing Features in iOS 18
Clean Up is one of several AI-powered photo features Apple added in iOS 18. Others include:
- Smart Search: Natural language search in Photos — "show me photos from the beach last summer" — covered in our photo search tips guide.
- Photo Cutout: Lift subjects from backgrounds — see our Photo Cutout guide.
- Memories improvements: AI-generated Memories with custom music and captions — covered in our Apple Photos Memories guide.
Delete the Photos You Don't Need to Keep
Clean Up is great for fixing keepers, but some photos are just worth deleting. Swype Photo Cleaner helps you rapidly clear blurry shots, duplicates, and screenshots from your camera roll.
Free · iPhone · iOS 16+ · 100% on-device, zero uploads
Free · iPhone · iOS 16+