James Delahunty
2 Aug 2018 8:04
A recent update to the mega-popular CCleaner tool prompted backlash from long-term users as privacy options disappeared and other problems arose.
Recently acquired by Avast, CCleaner was updated to v5.45.6611 with some noticeable changes. In the free version of the app, Privacy settings were removed from the options meaning users could no longer opt-out of sending usage information. Another noted issue is that it seems impossible to close the application through normal means.
When you click the X in the top right hand corner of the app, CCleaner minimizes to the system tray on the taskbar, which is not unusual behavior. What is unusual is that right-clicking on the CCleaner icon in the system tray no longer provided the option to exit CCleaner.
This could be because of a shift in the way the developers want CCleaner to be used. In the new version, it seems much more difficult to disable Active Monitoring. Many CCleaner users may only use it to clear out browser history and temporary files every now and then. Active Monitoring will keep an eye on the accumulation of junk and other data and prompt users to run the cleaner routinely.
In order to disable it in the latest version, users apparently need to toggle off "Enable system monitoring," and then turn off Active Monitoring later. The problem users are having is that it toggles itself back on after restarting the app or rebooting.
The developer has listened and posted a long response on the Piriform support forum, promising to address some of these issues:
In CCleaner v5.45 we extended existing analytics functionality in the software in order to gain greater insight into how our users interact with the software.
This data is completely anonymous, and through collecting it we can rapidly detect bugs, identify pain points in the UI design and also understand which areas of functionality we should be focusing our time on. Most modern software companies collect anonymous usage data as it is very helpful when prioritising bug fixes and future improvements in the product experience. For example, we can see that many of our users have upgraded to the Professional edition but have never switched on the 'scheduled cleaning', which is one of the main benefits of the paid product. From this we know we need to work harder to make this paid-for feature more obvious in the CCleaner UI.
Since the release, you have shared your feedback and we have been listening. Some of you are concerned that CCleaner might be accessing and sharing your personal data. To be clear, CCleaner does not collect any personal data. Some of you told us that you do not want to share even anonymous usage data. After listening to your feedback we realize we need to provide you with a better level of control for anonymous data collection.
When it came to adding the new analytics, the simplest way to do so was to extend the 'Active Monitoring' feature. Active Monitoring has been in CCleaner for a number of years and is essentially just some intelligent triggers for alerting you to clean out junk data when a lot of it has accumulated, and also for keeping you updated with the latest (and safest) cleaning definitions. Scary name aside, these contextual cleaning alerts help to remind people that cleaning is more of a maintenance task than a one-shot solution. Over time junk files will continue to be generated and more tracking files added and these alerts help our users to stay on top of that.
Back to v5.45, and to what we have learned: combining the new analytics with the Active Monitoring feature was quick to implement, but it doesn't offer a lot of flexibility in terms of controlling these distinct items separately. Lesson learned: simplest isn't always best.
You spoke, we listened. Here's what we're doing:
- We will separate out Active Monitoring (junk cleaning alerts and browser cleaning alerts) and heartbeat (anonymous usage analytics) features in the UI and we will give you the ability to control these individually. You will have the options of enabling all, some or none of these functions, and this functionality will be uniquely controlled from the UI.
- We will take this opportunity to rename the Advanced Monitoring features in CCleaner to make their functions clearer.
- We will deliver these changes to the software in the coming weeks.