Everyone loves a well-curated gallery with just the photos they want, and I’m no exception. I am also someone who ends up capturing random photos and screenshots — and they add up over time. Now, I could always dedicate some time to gallery cleaning, but it often turns into a boring, mechanical task. Even with one of the better gallery apps for Android, cleaning up the gallery proved difficult. Things did change, however, when I came across a rather oddly satisfying app called Sponge, which helps me declutter my gallery in the most fun way possible.

The swipe made deleting photos feel like a game

My thumb found a new bad habit, and I don’t mind

Sponge is a free Android app you can download from the Play Store, and it does a few things differently from other cleaning/decluttering apps you may have come across. Unlike the messy multi-selection system that doesn’t let you preview the photos you select, Sponge uses a swipe-to-clean system for decluttering your gallery! You may be familiar with this interface on dating apps like Tinder, where you swipe left or right depending on whether you like the person.

Sponge does something similar: swipe right to keep the photo, left to discard it. Instead of showing you a confusing photo grid, Sponge displays individual images at a time. It also displays essential data, such as the file size and format, along with an additional button for more info. If you’re not a fan of swiping, you can also use the Keep/Delete buttons in the interface.

This system works because you can sit back and relax. Then, these swipe gestures are easy to grasp as well. So, if I normally took a few minutes to clear a month’s photos/screenshots, Sponge keeps it under a minute. This new system has since been a game-changer, helping me take better care of my gallery. ​​​​​​

Sorting by month saved me from gallery paralysis

Turns out chaos just needed a calendar

Probably the biggest hindrance I face with conventional gallery apps is the grid that spans pages. Sponge, however, makes things easier by grouping all photos by month, which works well for monthly cleaning sessions. When you open the app for the first time, it will quickly scan your file system for photographs and show the data grouped by months. It also shows the number of photos taken each month, which helps me pick the worst offenders.

You can also choose between multiple sorting options. For instance, I may want to arrange the monthly folders by the number of images rather than by date. Either way, once I open the folder, I can start swiping. Now, here’s something interesting: Sponge doesn’t instantly delete the photos that you swipe left on. Instead, it keeps all these photos in a temporary folder for review. You can view these photos by tapping the Proceed button.

Even then, you don’t have to delete the photos instantly. The app lets you decide later, which works well if you are also cleaning multiple months’ worth of photos at a time. You might also want to set up Sponge to remind you to complete the cleaning process, and the resume function comes in handy here. It is worth noting that Sponge doesn’t touch the photos you’ve backed up via Google Photos or other apps. So, if you ever lose an important photo, you can always find a copy in the cloud, but it could also be a limitation.

My numbers are modest, and that’s the honest part

I’ve managed to clear around 1000 photos

Sponge has essentially turned a boring task into something I love doing! As a result, I’ve managed to remove around 1000 photos from my gallery in the past two weeks. Now, I should add that I’ve had these unwanted photos for years, but I never tried to clean the gallery for obvious reasons. I did come across a rather hefty month from 2020, and the folder contained an unhealthy number of screenshots and photos I no longer needed. I don’t think I’d have cleaned the folder if not for Sponge’s oddly satisfying nature.

Depending on how your Android device stores photographs, you may not save much storage space, though. But, the way I see it, Sponge is for the sake of a cleaner, minimal gallery. I must also add that Sponge’s paid subscription offers many more options than the free version. For instance, the paid version can show you 30 random photos and help you clean them by swiping. You also get some categorization options and additional preferences with the paid version. It also lets you sort the swiped photos into different folders.

The free version has real limits, and I hit them

While I find Sponge exceptionally useful and a bit addictive, there are some issues to keep in mind. For instance, you might find the free version restrictive at times because the gated features are appealing. For instance, it would have been nice to have at least the album-based view in the free version. Then again, there’s also the question of what you are looking for. If basic gallery cleaning is your objective, this ad-free app does a decent job for most people.