Is there a photo cleaner without a subscription?

What are the no-subscription models?

Built-in tools are the place to start. Files by Google and Samsung's Gallery and My Files apps find identical copies and clutter at no cost; they say less about which of several similar shots is best.

One-time unlocks and lifetime plans are the same thing under different names. Pay-per-photo is newer: instead of buying the app, you buy a number of photos to be reviewed, and nothing is owed after that unless you buy another pack.

How do I confirm a plan really won't renew?

• On the plan screen, look for words like lifetime, one-time or pay once, and avoid anything with per week, per month or trial.
• After buying, open the store's subscription list; a one-time purchase never appears there.
• Check the receipt email: it should say purchase, not subscription.

Some screens show a large lifetime price beside a small weekly price so the weekly looks cheap. Do the arithmetic for a year before choosing. The lifetime purchase entry explains how one-time unlocks are billed.

Also watch for introductory offers. A first-week price of a dollar or two that becomes a full weekly price is still a subscription, even if the first screen calls it a deal.

Which model costs least over a year?

It depends on how often you clean. If you clear a cluttered library once or twice a year, paying per photo or using free tools is usually cheapest. If you want an app open every week, a one-time unlock spreads its cost across years. A weekly subscription is the costliest in nearly every case, because it bills whether you clean or not.

Pay per photo is how GalleryJury is priced: the first 50 photos are free, then $5 buys 5,000 photos, paid once with nothing renewing. The Android app is coming soon to Google Play. See pay per photo for how that model works elsewhere.

Whichever you pick, try the free part on a small album first. That shows whether the app's choices match yours before any money changes hands.

Free tools also improve over time. Google and Samsung update their cleanup cards with system updates, so a feature missing last year may be there now.