Does Curator work with iCloud Photo Library?
Yes. Curator reads your library through Apple's PhotoKit framework, so it works whether your photos live locally or in iCloud Photo Library.
If iCloud Photo Library is on, iOS may fetch full-resolution photos from iCloud to your device so Curator can analyse them — that's standard iOS behaviour. Curator itself never talks to iCloud or any other cloud service.
Does deleting photos in Curator also remove them from iCloud?
If iCloud Photo Library is turned on, yes — your iPhone and iCloud share one synced library, so a photo you remove is removed everywhere. It moves to "Recently Deleted" across your devices, where it stays recoverable for 30 days.
If iCloud Photo Library is off, deletions only affect the photos stored on that iPhone. Curator uses Apple's own Photos system either way, and never removes anything you haven't confirmed.
Will Curator delete my photos without asking?
No. Nothing is removed until you review and confirm it. Curator's suggestions are recommendations — you always make the final call on what to keep.
When you do confirm, photos move to your iPhone's "Recently Deleted" album via iOS, where they stay recoverable for 30 days. Curator never bypasses that safety net.
Can I recover photos after deleting them in Curator?
Yes, within 30 days. Deletions you confirm in Curator go to the iOS "Recently Deleted" album in the Photos app, where you can restore anything for 30 days before iOS removes it permanently.
How does Curator create albums?
Curator's Create tab suggests albums for you, grouped by trip, place and time — so months of camera roll arrive pre-sorted instead of one endless scroll.
Open any suggestion to make it yours: change which photos are included and rename the album. When you're happy, publishing it saves the album to a dedicated "Curator" folder in your Apple Photos, right where you'd expect to find it.
Can I turn my albums into a printed photo book?
Yes. Once you've published an album, the Curate tab's "Print" button hands it off to Journi Print, a specialist photo-book service. It pre-arranges a layout from your album, which you can then customise before ordering.
Printing and pricing are handled by Journi Print. Support for more print providers may come in the future.
How is Curator different from the iPhone's built-in Duplicates tool?
Apple's Photos app can merge exact duplicates, which is a good start. Curator goes further: it also finds near-duplicates and burst shots that aren't pixel-identical, flags screenshots and space-hungry videos, and — beyond cleanup — builds trip-and-time albums and hands them off for printing.
It's the difference between removing a few obvious copies and actually getting on top of your whole library.
Does it work with Live Photos and videos?
Yes. Curator sees your whole library, including Live Photos and videos. Videos get their own category in the Clean tab so you can spot the large files that take up the most space, and they can be grouped into albums alongside your photos.
Does Curator send my photos anywhere?
No. Every part of Curator runs on your device. It uses a CLIP neural network to understand what's in each photo (for similar-photo grouping and smart albums) and perceptual hashing to spot duplicates and bursts — all locally.
We don't operate any servers, so there is nowhere for your photos to go. No image data, thumbnails, or metadata ever leave your iPhone, and nothing is used to train AI. Because it all runs on-device, Curator even works in airplane mode.
Do I need to create an account to use Curator?
No. There's no account, no sign-up and no login. Download the app and start — Curator works with the photo library already on your iPhone, and there's no profile for us to hold, because we don't collect one.
Is there a subscription, or is it a one-time purchase?
It's a one-time purchase. The unlock is a permanent, non-consumable in-app purchase — pay once and it's yours. There is no subscription and no recurring charge of any kind. You'll see the exact price for your country on the App Store.
What does the free version include?
The free version lets you clean and organise photos from the last 30 days — the full Curator experience, scoped to a recent slice of your library so you can see exactly how it works on your own photos.
The one-time purchase simply removes that 30-day window and unlocks your entire library. Same app, same features.
Can I get a refund?
Refunds are handled by Apple, since every App Store purchase goes through them. You can request one through Apple's standard App Store refund process.
If something isn't working right, email us first at support@curatorapp.ch — we'd like the chance to help.
What iPhone and iOS version do I need?
Curator requires iOS 17.0 or later, running on any iPhone that supports it. Because the AI analysis runs locally, a newer iPhone will scan large libraries faster — but the app is built to work comfortably across supported devices.
Can I use Curator on more than one iPhone?
Yes. The purchase is tied to your Apple Account, not a single device. Install Curator on another iPhone signed in with the same Apple Account and tap the restore button to unlock it again — at no extra cost.