RAW Keeper – Support
Help & FAQ · for iPhone, iPad and Mac
RAW Keeper removes the RAW from RAW+JPEG pairs – but only for photos that are not favorites – and compresses large non-favorite videos to HEVC. Everything happens locally on your device.
FAQ
The scan finds 0 candidates – is the app broken?
No. The photo feature needs RAW+JPEG pairs (photos from dedicated cameras that appear as one photo with a RAW badge). If your library has none, there is simply nothing to remove. The video feature, however, finds any non-favorite video of 20 MB or more that isn't HEVC yet.
What happens to the originals?
They go to "Recently Deleted" and can be restored for 30 days. iCloud storage is freed only afterward.
Are favorites really never touched?
Never. Favorites, edited photos, slow-mo and time-lapse are skipped – and re-checked live immediately before any change. Live Photos only if you explicitly slim them down (see below).
Important with several devices: if you have only just marked favorites on another device, wait until iCloud has synced them. Only then does the device you clean up on see the mark – and can protect the photo.
Keep the image or keep the RAW – what is the difference?
From version 1.1, RAW Keeper asks on first launch what should stay; you can change the choice in Settings at any time. Keep the image, remove the RAW saves the most (typically 20–30 MB per photo); the image is saved once anew at 90% quality, and the RAW is then gone for later RAW editing. Keep the RAW, remove the image is lossless but saves less (typically 5–10 MB per photo). Favorites always keep both.
What happens to ProRAW photos from the iPhone?
From version 1.1: ProRAW photos that are not favorites are saved anew as HEIC at full resolution (quality 90%) – that saves most of the file. Date, location and albums are preserved, and the ProRAW original stays in "Recently Deleted" for 30 days. Favorites stay ProRAW. In "keep the RAW" mode, ProRAW photos are not touched.
How do I clean up after a shoot?
Mark your favorites, then tap "New since …". RAW Keeper only searches what was taken, imported or changed since your last search – that takes seconds. Whatever was already on the list stays there.
Slimming down Live Photos – what exactly happens?
From version 1.2, and only when you explicitly tap it: the still image is saved once anew as a regular photo (quality 90%) – with HDR, portrait depth, date, location and albums. Only the short motion before and after goes away, usually around 2 MB per photo. The Live Photo stays in "Recently Deleted" for 30 days. Favorites, edited and spatial items are never slimmed down.
Duplicates & short videos – what gets deleted?
From version 1.2, also only on an explicit tap: exact duplicates (same size, length, resolution and capture time) – one copy always stays, preferably a favorite – and accidental clips under 2 seconds. Never favorites, edited videos, slow-mo, time-lapse or spatial videos. Right before deleting, the app checks every video again; for duplicates also that the copy that stays is still there and unchanged.
Why is the kept image re-encoded?
To stop iCloud from re-attaching the RAW, the kept image needs new bytes (HEIC or JPEG, quality 90%). Date, location, albums and favorite status are preserved.
A video wasn't replaced – why?
A video is only replaced if the HEVC result is at least 10% smaller. If the gain is smaller, the original stays untouched.
What is free, and what does the Full Version cost?
The app is free, and cleaning up one item at a time is free as well – as often as you like. The one-time Full Version purchase lets you do it in a single batch instead of confirming each item individually. It is a one-time purchase, it supports Family Sharing, and it can be restored on your other devices from the settings screen.
What about a shared iCloud Photo Library?
Please be careful here, and test with a single item first. The scan is restricted to your personal library, but Apple gives apps no reliable way to tell whether an individual item is shared or private. The replacement file may end up in your personal library, which would mean the other person loses the original without getting the replacement. Run one item, then check on the other person's device before you clean up more.
How to bring the replacement back: in Photos, open the album "RAW Keeper – Converted" (shrunk videos: "RAW Keeper – Compressed"), select all items and choose "Move to Shared Library". Then the other person sees the replacement as well.
Important note on use
RAW Keeper changes your photo library: cleaning up deletes originals (restorable for 30 days from "Recently Deleted", permanent afterwards). The app verifies every result before an original is touched and only replaces when that check passes — still: use the single-item test run, look at the result, and keep your own backup of irreplaceable shots. Use of the app is governed by Apple's standard licence agreement (provided "as is", liability limited to the extent permitted by law); your mandatory statutory rights, in particular as a consumer, remain unaffected.
Contact
Questions, issues, requests: florian.mahrl@gmail.com
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