Originally published at: CleanMyMac X 4.14 - TidBITS
Mac maintenance utility introduces an improved and rebranded security component. ($89.95 new, free update, 120 MB, macOS 10.13+)
I had to uninstal CleanMyMac because it interfered with Toothfairy.
I wonder if this has been fixed
Tommy
I really find CleanMyMac useful…Never had any problems with it and we get frequent updates. Thanks Ukraine!
Perhaps @mjtsai knows something about how CleanMyMac might interact with ToothFairy, though I have definitely run both in the past with no apparent trouble.
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I’m not aware of any issues between CleanMyMac and ToothFairy. Could you contact me at toothfairy@c-command.com and explain more about what you’re seeing?
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I’ve been using CMM regularly since it was a pup. It gets better and better with each iteration, and it’s never caused me a problem - but I’ve never used Toothfairy.
You may know: CMM’s made by Macpaw, all of whom are in Kyiv. I can’t imagine how they can continue to develop stuff for us with the war literally on their doorstep, but somehow they can. And my guess (I have no information) is that they’re also active in the war effort with their IT know-how. These people are real heroes in my book.
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Not quite all. They do have offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Limassol, Cypress. Plus they do promote working remotely.
I sincerely appologize. It was imazing and CleanMyMac that didn’t work together. The Imazing support I uninstall CleanMy Mac and then I was able to back my iPhone and iPad up smoothlz
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I’m a sucker for apps like this. I’m always looking for ways to improve performance on our three M1 / M2 MacBook Air’s.
About 18 months ago, I read all the reviews I could find on CleanMyMac X. Many users gave CMM high ratings. And even some “experts” gave it good marks. I ignored the professionals that panned it as a useless waste of money… or marketing FLUFF because does not do anything the MacOS doesn’t already do.
I convinced myself that CMM just might be the holy grail of MacOS performance utilities. I bought and installed it on our 3 laptops. I used it nearly every week for a year. The interface is beautiful and easy to use. The GOOD news: It NEVER caused any harm. The BAD news: After 12 months, I had to admit I could NOT see any performance improvements.
So, I did more homework and queried the CMM staff. I learned they will not provide any facts to support their claims that it improves performance. I also learned its malware module is highly overrated, does not perform well in testing, conflicts with other malware apps (like Sophos and Malware Bytes) and has never been evaluated by a neutral 3rd party like AV Comparatives or AV-Test. The CMM staff tried to persuade me that their software “experts” know what they are doing and don’t need 3rd party evaluations. That to me was “smoke & mirrors”.
Lastly, it became clear that the few things CMM does that the MacOS does not do, like undelete files associated with an app you delete, can be done by other FREE apps (like the one I use: AppCleaner).
What finally convinced me to cancel and remove CMM was the following Apple forum discussion: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250607795?login=true&page=2.
My conclusion… while the CMM staff might be “hero’s” and their user interface is very cool, they offer no FACTS to show what CMM does to “improve” performance that the MacOS does not already do. I believe CMM is just slick marketing hype. Buyer beware.
I’m a sucker, too. I’ve also used it for months, but haven’t seen any improvements, either.
I guess it’s sort of like taking vitamins every day. You don’t know if you really need them, but people say you need them and you feel good about taking them.
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The vitamin supplements analogy is perfect. I/we cannot get any useful science based evidence that they work, but I/we still take a bunch of them every day. Why? I don’t know. Blind hope??
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The Apple Discussion thread that you said made the decision for you is from Sep 2019. I’m sure it was talking about a much much earlier version than the current 4.14.x in Sep 2023.
My questions all relate to today’s version (4.14.2), which I have installed on my MacBook Pro (2019). It has always done what it says without issue. The only problem that I had was that it identified some “Leftovers” from application version updates that were necessary for the application to run. Re-installing the affected app fixed the problem, but I watch that more closely now.
I have other apps that do portions of what CleanMyMac does and am wondering if I should eliminate the redundancy by getting rid of something:
- For duplicate file finding: Duplicate File Finder, Gemini 2
- For uninstalling apps: App Cleaner & Uninstaller, AppZapper
- For Malware: Malwarebytes
- For updating applications: MacUpdater
- For general maintenance: DaisyDisk, ClearDisk, Disk Space Analyzer
Any thoughts on these apps versus CleanMyMac X 4.14.2.
Yes, having multiple actions in Clean my Mac is one of the reasons I use it. I am really a fan!
It all depends.
Most of CMM but not all you can do it manually but who bothers?
Is its cost effective likely not - I am an early adaptor(10+ Years) and paid $40 for life time licence which they have honoured when I moved it from 2010 to M1 Mini.
Onyx does similar work(Cleaning) for free (while BuhoCleaner is another paid alternative)
CMM keeps System , Other storage under control and produces smaller TM backups.
I run CMM daily before TM backup
I don’t use Menu, Assistant … function they are alarmist and useless
Just run it in batch without compressing processors
CMM is Ukrainian made and is trolled by Russians
Most of CMM criticism comes from users who never used it
CMM is oversold in its adverts its not a miracle cure but it does work.