All features
Everything HEVCut does. And where it stops.
HEVCut compresses the videos and photos already in your library and helps you clear duplicates and clutter, on iPhone, iPad and Mac (iOS, iPadOS and macOS 26 or later). Here is every feature, grouped by area, with the limits stated plainly. Media is processed on your device and never uploaded.
01 · Home dashboard
One screen for your whole library.
Home shows what compression could save and where the clutter is, with a tile for each tool. Everything else opens from here.
- Savings hero
- A bar compares your library's size today with its estimated size after compression, beside thumbnails of the items that would save the most and the total you've saved so far. Tap it to open Compress.
- Tool tiles
- Duplicates, Clutter and Swipe preview what's inside: duplicate groups by tier, clutter by category, and the next cards to review. The External drive tile opens folder compression.
- Status at the top
- A chip shows when HEVCut is syncing with Photos (Syncing, then Synced). A Low storage button appears when your device is nearly full, and a prompt appears if notifications are off.
- Fits the screen
- Tiles sit side by side when there's room and stack on narrow screens.
Free & ProHome, the library scan and every summary on it are free.
Tool pageAll tools
02 · Compress videos
Smaller videos, same library.
HEVCut re-encodes the videos already in your Photos library to HEVC (H.265) on your device. Each result is saved as a new video for you to review; the original stays until you choose Keep Compressed.
- HEVC output
- Encoded with Apple's hardware HEVC encoder: 8-bit for standard video, 10-bit (Main10) for HDR and high-bit-depth sources.
- Four presets
- Gentle, Standard (the default), High and Maximum. Each sets a bitrate that adapts to the video, plus a resolution and frame-rate cap (table below).
- Keep original resolution
- A free toggle in the compression settings. With it off, presets cap video at 1080p (720p at Maximum), so 4K becomes 1080p. With it on, 4K stays 4K and the bitrate scales up with the extra pixels.
- Fine-tune (Pro)
- Set an exact bitrate from 1 to 30 Mbps, a resolution from original down to 360p, and a frame rate of original, 60 or 30 fps.
- HDR
- HLG and HDR10 videos stay HDR, in 10-bit.
- Audio
- Spatial Audio and Audio Mix tracks are passed through, with an AAC fallback. Other audio is converted to AAC stereo.
- Metadata kept
- Capture date, location, favorite status, albums and filename are copied to the compressed video. Timecode and subtitle tracks are copied when possible.
- Never bigger
- HEVCut only offers videos it estimates will shrink by at least 5%. If a result still comes out larger, it's discarded and the original is kept. When a video won't shrink at your setting, its details offer Increase compression.
- Pick or batch
- The grid shows each video's size and estimated savings. Compress everything in the list or pick items; the total you can reclaim is shown before you start. Tap Keep in a video's details to leave it uncompressed; the Hide Kept filter takes those out of the list.
- iCloud originals
- Videos kept only in iCloud carry a Stored in iCloud badge and are downloaded from your iCloud library when they're compressed.
| Preset | Bitrate at 1080p30 | Resolution cap | Frame-rate cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gentle | 7.5 Mbps | 1080p | Original |
| Standard (default) | 4.5 Mbps | 1080p | 60 fps |
| High | 3 Mbps | 1080p | 60 fps |
| Maximum | 1.5 Mbps | 720p | 30 fps |
Bitrates adapt to each video; the figures are the reference for a 1080p, 30 fps clip. Keep original resolution lifts the resolution cap. In our test, two 1080p60 HDR (HLG) clips came out 25% and 66% smaller at Standard; results depend on the source.
Good to know
- 4K is scaled to 1080p by default (720p at Maximum). Turn on Keep original resolution to keep it.
- Dolby Vision's dynamic metadata isn't carried over; the video stays HDR as HLG or HDR10.
- Surround audio such as 5.1 is mixed down to stereo.
- Edited, trimmed and slow-motion videos are compressed from the version Photos shows, so those edits become part of the new file.
- Videos are encoded one at a time.
- iCloud-only videos need a connection to download first.
Free & ProA few free compressions to try; Pro adds unlimited compression and Fine-tune. Keep original resolution is free.
Tool pageVideo Compressor
03 · Compress photos
HEIC or AVIF, made on your device.
Photos get the same treatment: a smaller copy in HEIC or AVIF, encoded on your device, that you review before the original goes.
- HEIC or AVIF
- HEIC is the default. To switch, open Compress, tap the gear, and choose Photo Compression, then Format, then AVIF. AVIF is encoded on the device with the open-source libavif and libaom libraries. HEVCut doesn't output JPEG.
- Four presets
- Gentle, Standard (the default), High and Maximum set the quality and a cap on the longest side (table below).
- Fine-tune (Pro)
- A quality slider and a size choice of Original, 3840, 2560, 1920 or 1080 px. For photos, original resolution is only available here.
- HDR
- HEIC keeps Apple's HDR gain map, except at Maximum, which saves standard dynamic range. AVIF keeps HDR at every preset as 10-bit HLG or PQ, without a gain map.
- Live Photos
- Keep Live Photo (HEIC only) keeps the motion clip. With it off, the default, or with AVIF, the result is a still photo, which is how HEVCut removes the video half of a Live Photo.
- Same safeguards
- As with video: capture date, location, favorite status, albums and filename are copied, and only photos estimated to shrink by at least 5% are offered.
- Example savings
- In our test of 8 photos, Standard HEIC saved a median of 62%, Gentle 41% and High 81%. A small sample, not a promise for every library.
| Preset | Longest side | HDR in HEIC |
|---|---|---|
| Gentle | 3840 px | Kept |
| Standard (default) | 3840 px | Kept |
| High | 2560 px | Kept |
| Maximum | 1080 px | Removed |
AVIF keeps HDR at every preset.
Good to know
- No preset keeps full resolution: the largest cap is 3840 px on the longest side. Original is a Fine-tune (Pro) option.
- RAW files (DNG, CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, RAF, ORF, RW2) are converted to HEIC or AVIF, so you lose RAW editing latitude.
- Burst frames are never compressed; handle them in Duplicates.
- AVIF can't hold a Live Photo, so AVIF results are always stills.
Free & ProSame as video: a few free compressions to try; Pro adds unlimited compression and Fine-tune.
04 · Review before replace
Nothing is replaced until you decide.
Every compressed result is saved as a new item next to its original. You compare the two, then keep the smaller one or go back.
- Keep Compressed or Revert
- Keep Compressed removes the original, which goes to Photos' Recently Deleted album. Revert deletes the compressed copy and leaves the original untouched.
- One or many
- Decide item by item in each result's details, or for everything at once: Delete in the dock removes every original that has a compressed copy, and Undo in the toolbar reverts them all.
- Compare first
- Drag a divider across a photo to see the original and the compressed copy side by side. Videos play in sync under the same divider, and you can zoom in to check detail.
- What carries over
- Capture date, location, favorite status, albums and filename move to the compressed copy, so it shows up in the same place in your library and albums.
- Recovery
- Originals removed with Keep Compressed or Delete stay in Recently Deleted for Photos' recovery period, usually 30 days, so you can restore them there.
- Shared Library
- Apps can't save new items straight into an iCloud Shared Library, so compressed copies of Shared Library items go into an album named Add to Shared Library. Select all there and move them to the Shared Library; HEVCut removes moved items from the album.
- Reminders
- The Pending Deletions Live Activity reminds you when originals are waiting for a decision.
Free & ProKeep Compressed, Revert, Delete and Undo are free.
05 · Duplicates
Copies grouped by how alike they are.
Duplicates finds copies of the same photo or video and groups them by match tier, with a suggested copy to keep in each group.
- Exact
- Same picture, same file size and dimensions: re-saves, AirDrop copies, re-imports.
- Similar
- Same picture in a different file: a re-export, resize or re-encode.
- Near
- Pictures that differ slightly, such as a small crop, a color tweak or recompression. Shown with a confidence level.
- Burst
- Frames from one burst sequence.
- How matching works
- HEVCut compares a visual fingerprint of each item, made on your device, rather than capture times. Videos are compared by their poster frame.
- Keep Best Copy
- Picks the copy to keep by favorite, Shared Library, location, edits, Live Photo, resolution and file size, and tells you why, for example “This copy is a favorite.”
- Use suggestions
- Selects the suggested extra copies in every group at once. Burst groups are left out; you pick burst keepers group by group.
- Burst-aware deletion
- Delete some frames of a burst and HEVCut saves the frames you keep as standalone photos, under one confirmation. This needs full Photos access.
Good to know
- Keep Best Copy doesn't judge faces, eyes, smiles or sharpness.
- Heavy crops, large color edits and mirrored copies may not be matched.
- Deleted items go to Recently Deleted.
Free & ProFinding and reviewing duplicates is free. Deleting from Duplicates needs Pro.
06 · Clutter
The photos you didn't mean to keep.
Clutter collects what piles up without you choosing it: screenshots, screen recordings, downloads from chat and social apps, and photos that didn't come out. You review each category and delete what you don't need.
- Seven categories
- Screen recordings, QR & barcodes, Screenshots, Blurry photos, Messaging apps, Social media and Other (table below).
- Detection
- Blur and code detection reuse the analysis Apple Photos already runs on your device. Source apps come from where Photos records each item came from, with the filename as a fallback.
- Review, then delete
- Open a category, check the items, and delete what you don't need. Deleted items go to Recently Deleted.
- Sorts
- Newest, Oldest, Largest Files, Last Modified.
| Category | How HEVCut finds it |
|---|---|
| Screen recordings | Apple's screen-recording file names |
| QR & barcodes | Apple Photos' on-device analysis found a code |
| Screenshots | Photos' Screenshots album |
| Blurry photos | Apple Photos' on-device analysis rates the photo as blurry |
| Messaging apps | Saved from WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, WeChat, Messenger or LINE |
| Social media | Saved from Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, X or Facebook |
| Other | Download-style file names that fit no other category |
Good to know
- Items Photos hasn't analyzed yet aren't flagged as blurry or as containing a code.
- Clutter doesn't judge video quality.
- Favorites aren't left out, and filename matching can catch a photo you want to keep, so look before you delete.
Free & ProBrowsing Clutter is free. Deleting from Clutter needs Pro.
07 · Swipe
One card at a time, left or right.
Swipe shows your library as a deck of cards. Swipe left to mark an item for deletion, right to keep it. Nothing is deleted until you review the marked items.
- Controls
- Swipe, tap the Delete and Keep buttons, or press the left and right arrow keys on a keyboard.
- Undo and Start Over
- Undo steps back one card. Start Over takes you back through the items you've already reviewed.
- Favorite
- Mark a photo as a favorite without leaving the deck.
- Review, then delete
- Marked items collect in a review grid. Check them, then delete them together with one confirmation; they go to Recently Deleted.
- Filters
- Photos, videos or both; newer or older than a cutoff from 1 month to 5 years; an album or a Photos category such as Screenshots; personal or shared library. Exclude favorites, slo-mo, spatial videos, Live Photos, GIFs or panoramas.
- Sorts
- Newest, Oldest, Random, Largest Files, Last Modified.
Good to know
- Swipe doesn't suggest what to delete. Every decision is yours.
Free & ProA number of free swipes to try; Pro removes the limit.
Tool pageSwipe Cleaner
GuidesClean up by swiping
08 · External drive & Files
Footage that isn't in Photos.
Compress videos and photos stored on an SD card, an external drive, or anywhere in the Files app, without importing them into your library first.
- Pick a folder
- Open External drive from Home, tap Select Folder, and choose the folder.
- Formats
- Videos: MP4, MOV, M4V and HEVC files, plus other containers when the system can read them. Photos: HEIC, HEIF, JPEG, PNG and AVIF.
- New file alongside
- Each result is saved next to its original with
_compressedadded to the name: a .mov for videos, a .heic or .avif for photos. It keeps the source file's dates. - Same settings
- Uses the same compression settings as your library: preset, Keep original resolution, and HEIC or AVIF.
- Never bigger
- If a file wouldn't get smaller, no new file is kept and the original stays as it is.
- Deleting originals
- You can delete the originals afterwards, but files on a drive don't go to Recently Deleted, so deleting is permanent. Deleting them all at once asks you to confirm; Keep Compressed on a single file deletes its original straight away, so check the copy first.
- Every device
- Works on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Good to know
- Containers such as AVI, MKV or WebM may not open, depending on what the system can read.
- Deleting originals on a drive can't be undone.
- HEVCut encodes one video at a time, across the library and the drive.
Free & ProUses the same free compressions as your library; Pro for unlimited.
09 · Background compression
Leave the app. Compression keeps going.
Long compression runs don't need HEVCut on screen. On iPhone and iPad with iOS and iPadOS 26, a run continues after you leave the app. On Mac, it keeps going while you work in other apps.
- System progress
- When you leave mid-run, iOS shows HEVCut's progress in its own progress indicator, with the space freed so far.
- Library and drive
- Works for library runs and for External drive runs.
- Stop or pause
- You can stop the run from the system's progress indicator. If you do, or if iOS ends the background time, the queue pauses.
- Compression paused
- When the queue pauses in the background, HEVCut sends a Time Sensitive “Compression paused” notification with the space freed so far.
- Pick up where you left off
- Open HEVCut and the paused queue continues.
- On Mac
- Compression keeps running while you switch to other apps.
Good to know
- iOS decides how long background work may run. Low Power Mode or a warm device can shorten it or keep it from starting.
- Only compression runs in the background. The library scan, including duplicate and clutter detection, pauses when you leave HEVCut and picks up where it left off when you come back.
- Keep Compressed and Revert decisions happen in the app.
10 · Widgets & Live Activities
Your library, at a glance.
Four widgets track savings and library growth, and two Live Activities remind you when something is waiting.
- Savings
- How much space you've saved, and how much you can still free up.
- Storage Forecast
- Your library's size, how much it changes each month, and when it will reach the next iCloud+ tier: 50 GB, 200 GB, 2 TB or 6 TB.
- Library Growth
- How fast your photo library has been filling up.
- Capture Activity
- The photos and videos you captured each day.
- Sizes and languages
- Every widget comes in small and medium sizes and is translated into the app's languages.
- Pending Deletions
- A Live Activity that shows swiped items and compressed originals waiting for your review, with a Review button that opens HEVCut.
- Get Started
- A Live Activity that reminds you to finish setting up, with the space HEVCut found in your library.
Good to know
- Tapping a widget opens the HEVCut app.
Free & ProWidgets and Live Activities are free.
GuidesStorage Forecast widget
11 · iPhone, iPad and Mac
One app for every screen.
HEVCut runs on iPhone, iPad and Mac with iOS, iPadOS or macOS 26 or later. The layout adapts to the space you give it.
- Mac app
- Since version 10.2, HEVCut is a native Mac app, with Mac-style controls and sizing rather than a scaled iPad layout, menu bar commands and resizable windows.
- Inspector
- On iPad and Mac, when there's room, tool screens show their summary in an inspector beside the grid; show or hide it from the toolbar. On iPhone, the summary sits above the grid.
- Adaptive layouts
- Home's tiles sit side by side or stack, and grids add columns as the window grows, including iPad multitasking and resized Mac windows.
- Keyboard
- ⌘, (Command-comma) opens Settings. In Swipe, the left arrow marks a card for deletion and the right arrow keeps it.
- Drives on Mac
- External drive compresses folders on connected drives, and compression keeps running while you use other apps.
GuidesCompress on Mac
12 · Languages & accessibility
26 languages. VoiceOver and Reduce Motion.
HEVCut is translated into 26 languages and follows the accessibility settings on your device.
- 26 languages
- Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian.
- VoiceOver
- Tiles, badges and controls have VoiceOver labels. Home tiles read out their numbers, for example how much Duplicates can free and in how many groups.
- Reduce Motion
- HEVCut follows your device's Reduce Motion setting. A separate Reduce Motion switch in HEVCut's Settings also cuts animations and turns off confetti.
- More than gestures
- Swipe works with buttons and arrow keys as well as gestures.
How HEVCut compares06
Weighing your options? See it side by side.
- HubAll comparisonsEvery side-by-side page in one place.
- Built inHEVCut vs Apple Photos' built-in toolsApple's tools only merge exact copies and shrink new captures. HEVCut compresses the library you already have, saving space in iCloud as well as on your iPhone.
- CleanerHEVCut vs CleanMyPhoneMacPaw's cleaner compresses videos five at a time and doesn't compress photos. HEVCut handles both across your whole library, on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
- 16 appsHEVCut vs video compressor apps16 App Store compressors side by side, and why HEVCut does more: no ads, named formats, photos, cleanup, metadata kept and a native Mac app.
- 5 appsHEVCut vs phone cleaner appsCleanup, Boost Cleaner, Clever Cleaner and two Smart Cleaners delete well but barely compress, and none names a format. HEVCut does both.
- SwipeHEVCut vs Slidebox and SwipewipeSwipe apps only decide what to delete. HEVCut's Swipe starts with your largest files, then compresses everything you keep.
QuestionsFAQ
Common questions.
- Does HEVCut keep 4K videos in 4K?
- Not by default. Every video preset caps resolution at 1080p, and Maximum at 720p, so 4K videos are scaled down. Turn on Keep original resolution in the compression settings, a free option, to keep 4K at 4K.
- Which HEVCut features need Pro?
- Scanning, Home, widgets, browsing Duplicates and Clutter, and Keep Compressed or Revert are free, and you get a few free compressions and swipes to try. Pro adds unlimited compression, Fine-tune, unlimited swipes, and deleting from Duplicates and Clutter. Pro is available as a subscription or a one-time purchase; check the App Store for current prices.
- Are my photos and videos uploaded anywhere?
- No. Compression, scanning and duplicate detection run on your device, and your media is never uploaded. Items stored only in iCloud are downloaded from your own iCloud library when you compress them.
- What happens to the original after compression?
- It stays until you decide. Keep Compressed moves the original to Photos' Recently Deleted album and leaves the compressed copy; Revert deletes the copy and keeps the original. To decide for everything at once, use Delete in the dock or Undo in the toolbar. Files compressed on an external drive work differently: deleting those originals is permanent.
- Can HEVCut make a file bigger?
- No. HEVCut only offers items it estimates will shrink by at least 5%, and if a result still comes out larger than the original, it discards the result and keeps the original.
- Does HEVCut run on Mac?
- Yes. Since version 10.2, HEVCut is a native Mac app for macOS 26 or later, with the same compression and cleanup tools, Command-comma for Settings, and folder compression for connected drives.
On the App Store
Free up space. Keep your memories.
HEVCut runs on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Everything stays on-device, offline. Try a few compressions before committing to Pro.
Try it on the App Store