Cleanup

You can purchase a Cleanup subscription from the Avast website or from Settings ▸ Subscription ▸ Cleanup ▸ Buy now.

You can also purchase a subscription after running an initial Cleanup scan.

1. Click Check my PC to scan for and review any issues.
2. Click Start Cleanup.
3. Select your preferred subscription plan.
4. Follow the on-screen payment steps to complete your purchase.

If you purchased Cleanup via the Avast Antivirus, your activation code is applied automatically. If necessary, you can manually enter the activation code that was sent to you by email after purchase using the steps below:

1. Go to Settings ▸ Subscription.
2. Scroll down to the Avast Cleanup section and click Insert activation code.
3. Copy the activation code from your email, paste it into the Insert Activation Code box, and click Next.
4. Click Yes to confirm subscription details.
5. Click OK to close the confirmation dialog.

Note: If you are a GrimeFighter (discontinued) user, go to Settings ▸ Components ▸ Cleanup ▸ Customize and click My License to log in to your Avast Account and retrieve your license information. Read more...

The Clean option clears disk space and helps protect your privacy by removing unnecessary or potentially harmful items from your system.

To run a scan and manage which items are removed from your PC, follow these steps:

1. Click Clean.
2. Review the results screen that appears, and tick or untick each item according to your preferences:
   • Junk files (ticked by default): removes leftover files (such as driver packages, temporary files, and log files) which use disk space and can slow down your PC. Click Details to manage which files Cleanup removes.
     Note: By default, Prefetched data is unticked as these files can reduce the time it takes for certain programs to start. Tick this option only if prefetched data is taking up a large amount of disk space.
   • Browser cache (ticked by default): clears a temporary location on your PC that stores downloaded files from the web. If left uncleared, the browser cache may use a large amount of space on your hard drive and slow down your system. Click Details to select the browsers you want to clear.
   • Search providers and add-ons: scans for potentially dangerous search engines and browser add-ons with poor reputations. Click Details, then tick the box next to Show add-ons with a good rating to view browser add-ons and their ratings (5 stars indicates a high rating.) Click Reset search engine to select a new search engine from the drop-down menu.
   • Tracking cookies (ticked by default): removes small data files that record information about which websites you have visited. Click Details to select which browsers you want to remove cookies from.
   • Other cookies: removes small data files stored on your hard drive from web servers. These files are used to store your website customization settings, such as your selected language. Click Details to select which browsers you want to remove cookies from.
   • Items in your download and browsing history: clears pages and files of visited websites. Click Details to select the browsers you want to clear.
3. Click Resolve.
4. When the success screen appears, click OK.

The Optimize option allows you to adjust your PC's settings to enhance the performance of your system.

To scan for and resolve performance issues, follow these steps:

1. Click Optimize.
2. Review the optimization tasks and tick each item to manage what Cleanup optimizes:
   • Redundant apps (ticked by default): disables unnecessary programs which may be running in the background. Click Details to manage which apps Cleanup disables.
   • Inefficient system settings (ticked by default): allows changes to your system settings to improve your PC's performance. Click Details to manage which settings Cleanup adjusts.
   • Obsolete registry entries (ticked by default): removes unused items from the registry. Windows Registry is a database on your PC that stores Windows settings. Removing items from the registry can help to improve the overall performance of your PC. Click Details to manage which registry entries Cleanup removes.
   • Start-up processes: allows you to manually disable certain apps from running during bootup which reduces the time it takes for your PC to start. Click Set to view a list of apps, tasks, and services. You can Enable or Disable any Startup program or Scheduled task, and additionally Delay or Ignore any Services using the drop-down menus.
3. Click Optimize.
4. When the success screen appears, click OK.

Note: Some optimization tasks may require you to restart your PC.

The Schedule option allows you to configure automatic Cleanup scans.

To schedule an automatic clean, follow these steps:

1. Click Schedule, then tick Scheduled cleaning.
   Note: The Real-time monitoring option is ticked by default and scans your PC continuously for files leftover from uninstallation.
2. Specify if you want the scan to run on just one occasion (Once) or periodically (Daily, Weekly, or Monthly).
3. Set the time that you want the scan to run in 24-hour format (for example, instead of 3pm use 15:00) and select a date or day of the week.
4. Manage your preferences for the following options:
   • Don't scan if your PC is running in battery mode (ticked by default): ignores schedule settings if your PC is not connected to a power source. This setting helps to preserve your PC's battery life.
   • If in sleep mode, wake up the system to start the scan: runs the scheduled scan even if your PC is in power-saving mode.
   • Shut down the system after the scan finishes: automatically turns off your PC after the scan.
5. Click Set to save your Schedule settings.

Note: If you have already configured Schedule settings, click the button next to Scheduled cleaning (Once, Weekly, Monthly) to access and edit your Schedule settings. You can also access Schedule settings from Settings ▸ Components ▸ Cleanup ▸ Customize ▸ Scheduling. Read more...

To manage Cleanup settings, such as how often you are notified of performance issues, go to Settings ▸ Components. Scroll to the Performance section, and click Customize next to Cleanup. Read more...

If you are dissatisfied with a change made to your PC by Cleanup, you can use System restore. For more information, refer to the documentation related to your version of Windows.