Avast-branded PC optimizer: junk-file and browser cleaners, bloatware removal and program uninstaller, Sleep Mode that suspends background apps, registry cleaner, disk cleanup, software updater and scheduled/automatic maintenance. Descendant of avast! GrimeFighter (2014); since Dec 2017 shares merged engineering with AVG TuneUp. Now also bundled inside Avast One.
Original Avast product line (GrimeFighter 2014 -> Cleanup 2015 -> Cleanup Premium 2017); post-2017 builds share AVG TuneUp engineering; owned by Gen Digital since the Sept 2022 merger
License
Proprietary
Trialware
Price
Subscription
$29.88/first year renewing $65.99/yr (1 PC) or $34.68->79.99/yr (10 devices); free trial; free Android/iOS apps with premium IAP; paid MS Store listing
Launched
avast! GrimeFighter launch; renamed Avast Cleanup Jul 20, 2015, rebuilt as Avast Cleanup Premium Dec 20, 2017
First release
Domain registered
(avast.com)
Last seen alive
Checks
Mechanical checks derived from the fields above. Each row is one fact; "not yet checked" means exactly that, not a failure. There is no composite score; read them together.
Track record
about 12 years
Source published
No
Release signing
Signed
Security contact
Yes
Reproducible builds
Not yet checked
Telemetry
Unknown
Runs elevated
Always
Auto-update channel
Unknown
Recent activity
Last seen 2 days ago
MS Store package is store-signed (publisher 'AVAST Software'); direct installers are vendor-signed
Gen Digital runs coordinated vulnerability disclosure; Avast historically operated a public bug bounty
Sleep Mode and automatic maintenance run through a persistent elevated Windows service
No product-level telemetry statement found; the vendor's Jumpshot-era browsing-data sales (Jan 2020 exposé, Feb 2024 FTC order) are company-level history documented in flags
Built-in updater plus a Store channel; update-package signing not verified
The consumer suite that now bundles Cleanup Premium; standalone purchase remains available.
Research notes
Lineage: launched as avast! GrimeFighter on Mar 26, 2014 - a deep cleaner that booted a Linux environment to remove files unreachable while Windows ran, fronted by 'minions' characters; renamed Avast Cleanup on Jul 20, 2015; rebuilt as 'all-new Avast Cleanup Premium' on Dec 20, 2017 after Avast merged in AVG's TuneUp engineering.
Pricing: $29.88 first year renewing $65.99/yr for 1 PC, or $34.68->$79.99/yr for 10 devices, with a 30-day money-back window and a free trial; the Android and iOS counterparts are free with premium IAP, and Cleanup Premium is now also bundled inside Avast One.
Vendor context: parent is Gen Digital (NortonLifeLock-Avast merger, Sept 2022); in Feb 2024 the FTC ordered Avast to pay $16.5M and barred it from selling browsing data, after the Jan 2020 Motherboard/PCMag exposé of the Jumpshot subsidiary - company-level history, not this app's documented behavior.
MS Store listing is a paid listing under publisher 'AVAST Software'; no manifest capability data was exposed on the store page.
Vendor launch PR for the product under its original avast! GrimeFighter name - the earliest author promotion found (archived on the Gen Digital newsroom).
The avast! GrimeFighter product boots in Linux, allowing it to detect and remove files that can’t be detected while Windows is running. The result is a more effective cleaning that truly enhances performance, optimizes security, and prolongs the lifespan of PCs. — Problem statement
Marks a real change of direction: the 2017 rebuild that merged Avast and AVG engineering into the Cleanup Premium generation.
When Avast and AVG merged, however, we combined our best engineers combined with our best technologies and took Avast Cleanup to the next level. — Problem statement