Does OwnClean delete anything by itself? No. Every finding goes into a basket that you review as one list, and nothing leaves your library until you tap delete there. Where the choice is genuinely yours — which of two similar shots to keep, or whether a small copy you made on purpose is worth more than the original — nothing is preselected either.
I deleted things, but my storage did not change. Why? Because on iOS a deleted photo is not gone. It moves to the Recently Deleted album and stays there for 30 days, still taking up room. The space comes back when you empty it, or when those 30 days pass. OwnClean says this every time it deletes, and the Overview keeps showing how much is still waiting until it is gone.
Why does OwnClean not empty Recently Deleted for me? Because iOS does not let it — and because that album may also hold photos you deleted yourself and kept there on purpose. OwnClean cannot see inside it, so it cannot tell those apart from its own. It tells you which ones are its own (the newest, with the most days left) so you can remove only those.
Can I get something back after deleting it? Yes, for 30 days, from Recently Deleted in the Photos app. After that it is gone. OwnClean shows a warning when one of its batches is within three days of that limit.
Does OwnClean upload my photos anywhere? No. Everything happens on your device. There are no servers, no accounts and no analytics. When you export to a drive, the files go where you point them and nowhere else.
How does it read my screenshots? On the device, using Apple's own text recognition, and only when you ask it to. It keeps two things: what kind of screenshot it is, and one short line to recognise it by. The recognised text itself is never stored — screenshots hold account numbers, codes and conversations, and a second copy of all that would be a cost with no benefit.
Why is it not offering my receipts? Because they are records of something. Receipts, tickets and codes are set aside in their own section, never suggested, and never counted towards the space you could free.
Your number differs from the one in Settings. Which is right? Both. OwnClean measures your photo library exactly, file by file. Settings also counts caches, thumbnails and System Data, which no app can reach. There is a screen in the app explaining the difference.
Does it need internet or iCloud? No, but if your originals live in iCloud rather than on the phone, they have to download before they can be exported or compressed. OwnClean warns you when you are on cellular, because that download uses your data plan.
What happens to the original when I compress a video? Nothing. Compressing always writes a new file. The original is offered for deletion only after the copy is saved somewhere real and you have watched it — and even then it goes through the basket like everything else.
Why does the app list a "compressed copy and original" separately? Because that is the one case where a cleaner would give exactly the wrong answer. To any duplicate-finder the two look like near-identical videos, and the usual rule — keep the better quality — points straight at the small copy you made on purpose. OwnClean makes no suggestion there at all.
Is there a subscription? No. OwnClean is bought once.
Does it work on iPad? Yes, on iPhone and iPad.
Can it clean app caches or System Data? No, and neither can any other app on the App Store. iOS does not allow it. Anything claiming otherwise is either deleting your own files or doing nothing.
Still stuck? Reach the developer through this support site.