Clean Master for PC
Also known as: Clean Master, CMPC
Active · Website
Windows junk-cleaner and PC-optimizer bundle from Cheetah Mobile (Singapore) - the surviving storefront of the company behind Clean Master for Android, once one of the most-installed apps ever (>1 billion) before Google disabled all Cheetah Play Store, AdMob and AdManager accounts on 2020-02-20 for disruptive ads and ad fraud. Clean Master for PC offers junk and registry cleaning, startup 'PC Boost', privacy/browser-trace cleanup, file shredder, driver booster and file recovery: free Standard edition plus Professional at $29.90/year for 3 PCs. Site (registered Aug 2017) serves plain HTTP only; privacy policy (Aug 2024) names 'Cheetah Mobile Singapore Pte. Ltd.' and claims no tracking in the software itself. Current installer is Authenticode-signed under 'Beijing Kingsoft Security software Co.,Ltd', timestamped 2025-11-12.
- Platforms
- Interface
- Features
- Dev-junk cleaning
- Not a focus
- Development
- Company team · original author still leadsCheetah Mobile Singapore Pte. Ltd. per the privacy policy; parent Cheetah Mobile Inc (NYSE: CMCM), originally Kingsoft's security-software arm, now focuses on AI/robotics (OrionStar).
- License
- ProprietaryCommercial freemium; free Standard edition, paid Professional
- Price
- FreemiumFree Standard edition; Professional 'Only $29.9 3 PC/Year' (subscription, 30-day money-back guarantee)
- Launched
- Established product predating this catalog's tracking era; no launch event identified - earliest evidence is the Aug 2017 domain registration
- First release
- Domain registered
- (cleanmasterofficial.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 9 years |
|---|---|
| Source published | No |
| Release signing | Signed |
| Security contact | None found |
| Reproducible builds | Not yet checked |
| Telemetry | None |
| Runs elevated | Not yet checked |
| Auto-update channel | Unknown |
| Recent activity | Last seen yesterday |
- clean_master_1_1.exe (31.5 MB, fetched 2026-11-02 from download.cleanmasterofficial.com): Authenticode verified (SHA256, DigiCert) under 'Beijing Kingsoft Security software Co.,Ltd' - Cheetah Mobile's Kingsoft corporate lineage - timestamped 2025-11-12.
- Privacy policy (effective 2024-08-14) states 'There are no advertising or analytic cookies or tracking technology in Clean Master software' - though it collects billing, support and account information; the website uses Google Analytics.
- Countervailing history: Forbes (2020-03, via White Ops researcher Gabi Cirlig) documented the Android sibling recording browsing history incl. the 'private' browser, search queries, Wi-Fi AP names and scroll behavior; no equivalent finding exists for the Windows product.
- Only a generic Contact Us form is published; no dedicated security channel.
- Pro feature list includes 'Auto Update' to the latest version; the update mechanism's signing/verification could not be determined.
Relations
- same author Clean Master for Android, CM Security, Cheetah Browser, CM Launcher (Cheetah Mobile)
Same Cheetah Mobile product family; the Android portfolio - including the flagship Clean Master - was pulled when Google disabled the company's Play/AdMob/AdManager accounts on 2020-02-20 (company IR statement).
- name collision CleanMacster (catalog entry cleanmacster)
Unrelated near-same-name: closed-source $9 macOS cleaner from Lokman Sahin, launched on r/macapps 2026-11-01. Different developer, platform and era.
- name collision CleanMaster: Remove Junk Files (catalog entry cleanmaster-remove-junk-files)
Unrelated near-same-name: free Mac App Store cleaner listed since July 2020 by 'Any Case Solutions, OOO' - this Clean Master is Cheetah Mobile's Windows product.
Research notes
- Survivor of the 2020 Google purge: the Android flagship passed 1 billion Play installs before Google disabled all Cheetah Mobile Play, AdMob and AdManager accounts on 2020-02-20 for disruptive ads and invalid traffic (company's own IR statement); this Windows storefront is what remains.
- Documented data collection on the Android sibling: Forbes (2020-03) reported the app recorded browsing history including the 'private' browser, search queries, Wi-Fi AP names and scroll behavior sent to China - context for the PC privacy policy's claim of no in-software tracking.
- Still maintained despite the dated storefront: installer re-signed 2025-11-12 under 'Beijing Kingsoft Security software Co.,Ltd' (Cheetah's Kingsoft lineage) even though the site footer reads © 2017 and the page still advertises 'V6.0 / 20.6MB' against a 31.5MB download.
- Site hygiene: www serves plain HTTP only (HTTPS fails outright); the download subdomain does support HTTPS.
- Classic PC-optimizer bundle: junk + registry clean, startup 'PC Boost', privacy/browser-trace wipe, file shredder, driver booster, file recovery, scheduled auto-clean - two of these (driver updater, file recovery) are categories this catalog excludes standalone.
- Entity trail: the privacy policy names 'Cheetah Mobile Singapore Pte. Ltd.' (effective Aug 2024); parent Cheetah Mobile Inc (NYSE: CMCM) pivoted to AI/robotics (OrionStar) after the Play ban.
Sources
Established alternatives
Related tools
Wrong, stale, or missing something? Flag this listing: corrections reach the site operator, not Clean Master for PC's developer. Last reviewed .