What should I do about junk found by an app

[android jack]

So I've been using apps from CM and they've sometimes asked me to install Clean Master as it was part of the package. Normally I'd stay away from apps like that since in the past I had to reinstall addition data for apps, data asked to install after opening app.

When I went to the junk section it had a lot, like GB big. Small stuff like app and cache junk. I don't want to do anything in case it gets rid of stuff that is not actual junk like previous times.

The third junk is much bigger and classified as "ad junk"

Next was "residual junk" and "obsolete apks"

What should I do?

 

[Crashdamage]

Results from Clean Master in particular, or from most similar apps are, to put it very mildly, not to be trusted. To put it more accurately, Clean Master is a bogus piece of crap.

I'm not a fan of cleaner apps in general and almost never use one. But I'll admit that properly designed, they can have a legitimate purpose. If you have a device that's getting full and you need a bit of space or you've had it a while and installed and uninstalled a lot of apps and want to clear out any leftovers and tidy up databases a good cleaner can be useful.

To get better results tidying up the system try installing SD Maid - a lousy name, but a really decent cleaner app. Unlike other so-called cleaners, SD Maid only does what it should do - clear out junk files, clean up databases etc. It does not try to do things it shouldn't. There's no RAM cleaner/optimizer, no cache cleaner deleting useful cache files willy-nilly - just a powerful set of useful tools for doing useful things.

But...don't let the rather dainty name fool you. It is a powerful set of tools. Use with care and at your own risk!

https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...ps/details?id=eu.thedarken.sdm&token=OSBYaqLX

Android since v1.0. Linux user since 2001.

 

[B. Diddy]

Are you able to select those junk categories and see what files the app is referring to?

In general, I avoid these kinds of cleaner apps, because they don't really do anything that you can't already do using system apps or a good file manager. App caches are easily cleared by going to Settings>Storage, selecting Cached Data, and then tapping OK.

Not sure what Ad Junk would be. It might be thumbnail images cached by websites or apps that have ad banners.

I'm also not sure how it's finding obsolete apks. Apks from apps that are installed from Google Play Store are downloaded to the system cache partition, which can only be cleared in the Recovery Menu (but which is relatively easy to do on most devices). Maybe they're apks from other app stores like Amazon?

 

[android jack]

Are you able to select those junk categories and see what files the app is referring to?

In general, I avoid these kinds of cleaner apps, because they don't really do anything that you can't already do using system apps or a good file manager. App caches are easily cleared by going to Settings>Storage, selecting Cached Data, and then tapping OK.

Not sure what Ad Junk would be. It might be thumbnail images cached by websites or apps that have ad banners.

I'm also not sure how it's finding obsolete apks. Apks from apps that are installed from Google Play Store are downloaded to the system cache partition, which can only be cleared in the Recovery Menu (but which is relatively easy to do on most devices). Maybe they're apks from other app stores like Amazon?

I am able to see every file it is referring to under ad junk app junk etc. And from what I'm hearing, Clean Master should go bye bye.

 

[android jack]

Results from Clean Master in particular, or from most similar apps are, to put it very mildly, not to be trusted. To put it more accurately, Clean Master is a bogus piece of crap.

I'm not a fan of cleaner apps in general and almost never use one. But I'll admit that properly designed, they can have a legitimate purpose.

To get better results tidying up the system try installing. SD Maid - a lousy name, but a really decent cleaner app. Unlike other so-called cleaners, SD Maid only does what it should do - clear out junk files, clean up databases etc. It does not try to do things it shouldn't. There's no RAM cleaner/optimizer, no cache cleaner deleting useful cache files willy-nilly - just a powerful set of useful tools for doing useful things.

But...it is a powerful set of tools. Use with care!

https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...ps/details?id=eu.thedarken.sdm&token=ezbd5QGt

Android since v1.0. Linux user since 2001.

Installed it, ad stuff is smaller but another question came up, on lost.dir came up and should I go through with it.

 

[Crashdamage]

A lost.dir should be OK to wipe, but probably not large enough to worry about.

Android since v1.0. Linux user since 2001.