---
schema_type: "SoftwareApplication"
entity_type: "Mobile Application"
app_name: "Clean Swell"
developer_entity: "Ocean Conservancy"
bundle_id: "org.oceanconservancy.coastalcleanup"
app_store_id: "985692119"
google_play_id: "org.oceanconservancy.cleanswell"
category: "Productivity"
primary_platform: "ios"
primary_monetization: "Free"
offline_capable: false
market_region: "US"
platforms: "iOS & Android"
app_last_updated: "2026-02-17"
report_date: "2026-06-24"
last_verified: "2026-06-24T00:45:24.729Z"
report_version: "3.8.3"
total_reviews: 297
overall_rating: 3.73
sentiment: "Frustrated"
sentiment_score: 35
confidence: "low"
confidence_score: 0.5
top_praise_theme: "Environmental impact tracking provides a rewarding sense of contribution to ocean health"
top_complaint_theme: "Critical submission failures prevent users from finalizing and saving cleanup data"
top_request_theme: "Expanded mapping and categorization features for inland and urban cleanup projects"
review_sample_size: 99
total_review_count: 99
analyzed_review_count: 61
data_age_days: 8
momentum_velocity: "maintenance"
intelligence_version: 4
competitor_count: 6
tags: ["productivity", "free", "frustrated sentiment", "mobile app", "app review", "app analysis", "environmental", "volunteers", "citizen"]
canonical_url: "https://marlvel.ai/apps/clean-swell"
license: "CC-BY-NC 4.0"
content_version: "v2"
---

# Clean Swell App Audit

## TL;DR {#tldr}

- **Category**: Productivity · Free
- **Signal**: Rating 3.73 · Sentiment Frustrated
- **Recent focus**: Critical submission failures prevent users from finalizing and saving cleanup data (top complaint) · Environmental impact tracking provides a rewarding sense of contribution to ocean health (top praise) · Expanded mapping and categorization features for inland and urban cleanup projects (top request)

> **TL;DR:** Clean Swell is a productivity app by Ocean Conservancy, rated 3.73/5 by 297 users, with Frustrated user sentiment (35/100), available on iOS & Android.
>
> **Marlvel.ai App Intelligence** — Independent analysis. US Market. No publisher influence.

<!-- speakable-start -->
> **Key Insight:** Clean Swell faces Frustrated user sentiment (3.73/5 from 297 reviews), with critical submission failures prevent users from finalizing and saving cleanup data as the primary user concern.
<!-- speakable-end -->

## Quick Facts

| Fact | Value |
| :--- | :--- |
| **Rating** | 3.73/5 (297 reviews) |
| **User Mood** | Frustrated |
| **Category** | Productivity |
| **Developer** | Ocean Conservancy |
| **Pricing** | Free |
| **Platforms** | iOS & Android |
| **Confidence** | Low (0.5/1.0) |
| **Data Age** | 8d |

## Metadata & Market Performance
- **Publisher:** Ocean Conservancy
- **Category:** Productivity
- **Target Audience:** Environmental volunteers and citizen scientists interested in tracking and contributing to global ocean cleanup efforts.
- **Platforms:** iOS & Android
- **Version Audited:** 3.8.3
- **Audit Date:** 2026-06-24
- **Signal Count:** 99 reviews analyzed
- **Confidence:** Low (0.5/1.0)
- **App Store ID (iOS):** 985692119
- **Bundle ID:** org.oceanconservancy.coastalcleanup
- **Google Play ID:** org.oceanconservancy.cleanswell
- **Performance Trend:** Declining
- **Data Window:** Analysis based on signals collected up to 2026-06-24

<!-- section:executive-snapshot -->
## Executive Snapshot
**What it is:** Clean Swell is a productivity and data-collection app for environmental volunteers to record ocean trash cleanup efforts on iOS and Android.
**Why users hire it:** Users hire the app to contribute to global conservation research and track their personal environmental impact, so technical failures that block data submission directly invalidate the user's primary job-to-be-done.
<!-- /section:executive-snapshot -->

<!-- section:features -->
## App DNA (Features & Intent)
- **[Differentiator] Global Trash Database Upload:** Automated synchronization of collected trash data to the Ocean Conservancy global database.
  * *User Intent:* Users expect seamless access across multiple devices.
- **[Standard] Cleanup Impact Tracking:** Historical logging of trash weight and location via device GPS.
  * *User Intent:* Users want visibility into their own performance and progress.
<!-- /section:features -->

<!-- section:market-position -->
## Market Position {#market-position}

Clean Swell maintains a niche presence in the Productivity category, anchored by a 3.95 average rating across platforms. The lack of monetization signals a focus on data-asset growth over revenue generation.
<!-- /section:market-position -->

## Monetization Strategy
- **Model:** Free
- **Tiers:** Fully free access to all features
- **Analysis:** Non-profit model focused on data collection and volunteer engagement rather than monetization.

<!-- section:sentiment -->
## 🔴 User Sentiment (Low Confidence: 61 of 99 reviews analyzed) {#user-sentiment}
- **Overall Rating:** 3.73/5
- **Platform Split:** iOS 4.2/5 (22 ratings) | Android 3.7/5 (275 ratings)
- **Overall Sentiment:** Frustrated

### Top Praises
- **Environmental impact tracking provides a rewarding sense of contribution to ocean health**

### Top Complaints (Impact Areas)
- **Critical submission failures prevent users from finalizing and saving cleanup data**

### Top Requests (What Users Want)
- **Expanded mapping and categorization features for inland and urban cleanup projects**

<!-- /section:sentiment -->
<!-- section:swot -->
## SWOT Analysis {#swot}

**Core Strengths:**
- Research-grade data aggregation functions as a B2B distribution moat into international policy partnerships

**Critical Frictions:**
- Critical submission failures in the latest release drive high churn among active volunteers

**Growth Levers:**
- Expanding mapping functionality to urban park and stream cleanup projects would increase daily active usage

**Market Threats:**
- Municipal 311 apps with direct government integration offer faster resolution times for environmental reporting

<!-- /section:swot -->
## Recent Changes (v3 → v4) {#recent-changes}

The app's competitive position has declined due to critical technical instability in data submission and registration, shifting the outlook from stable to declining.

**Overall trend**: Declining
**Compared at**: 2026-06-24

### High-impact changes
- **[Declined] Sentiment and Confidence Shift** (sentiment) — Overall sentiment shifted from mixed to negative, with the sentiment score dropping from 60 to 35 and confidence in user data falling to low.
- **[Declined] Outlook Trend Downgrade** (positioning) — Outlook trend shifted from stable to declining due to persistent data submission and registration failures.

### Medium-impact changes
- **[Added] Critical Technical Weakness** (swot) — Weaknesses updated to include critical submission failures as a primary driver of volunteer churn.
- **[Added] New Complaint Themes** (sentiment) — New complaint themes emerged regarding unresponsive finish buttons and registration errors blocking new user acquisition.

<!-- section:whats-new -->
## What's New

- **Latest (v3.8.3, 2 months ago):** Stability updates including Samsung crash fixes, cleanup saving improvements, and Facebook authentication migration.
- **Last Major (v3.8.3, 2 months ago):** Initiated migration of Facebook users to email/password authentication ahead of future Facebook login removal; improved cleanup saving workflow.
<!-- /section:whats-new -->

<!-- section:momentum -->
## App Momentum (Maintenance) {#momentum}

- Shipped security and dependency updates.
- Improved cleanup data saving logic.
- Migrated Facebook login to email-based authentication.

> **Cadence:** 2 total versions · 0 majors in last 6 months · 87 days since last update · 1 days avg between updates

<!-- /section:momentum -->

<!-- section:so-what -->
## The "So What?" (Strategic Takeaway) {#so-what}

Clean Swell is a challenged productivity app that is completely free.
With a 3.73/5 rating from 297 reviews, it faces significant user friction.

<!-- speakable-start -->
> **Bottom Line:** Clean Swell provides a unique research-grade data asset for ocean conservation, but the latest release suffers from critical submission failures that undermine the user's primary contribution, so the PM must prioritize backend stability over new feature development to prevent total churn.
<!-- speakable-end -->

**Best for:** Environmental volunteers and citizen scientists interested in tracking and contributing to global ocean cleanup efforts.

<!-- section:pm-actions -->
### PM Action Plan (Next Best Moves)

- [ ] [INVEST] [HIGH IMPACT] Rebuild data submission flow because submission failures are the #1 churn driver → restore data integrity — *Sentiment analysis identifies submission failures as the primary complaint theme.* _(trade-off: deprioritize Pause the Action Center content refresh — data integrity is a prerequisite for user retention.)_
- [ ] [PIVOT] [MEDIUM IMPACT] Audit registration backend because login errors block new user acquisition → increase conversion — *Multiple reports of registration errors prevent initial app setup.* _(trade-off: deprioritize Deprioritize social sharing feature updates — onboarding friction has a higher impact on total user count.)_
<!-- /section:pm-actions -->

<!-- section:feature-gaps -->
### Feature Gaps vs Competitors

- Live interactive map of active reports (available in BOS:311)
- Automated routing to municipal departments (available in Philly 311)
<!-- /section:feature-gaps -->

<!-- section:outlook -->
### Outlook: Declining

The outlook is declining as technical instability in the latest release prevents the app from functioning as a reliable data-collection tool. The PM must address these core failures to prevent the loss of the volunteer base to more stable civic reporting alternatives.

- 🔴 Persistent data submission failures in the latest release erode user trust, which directly reduces the volume of research-grade data collected.
- 🔴 Registration errors block new users during the initial setup phase, which limits the growth of the volunteer base into the next quarter.
<!-- /section:outlook -->

<!-- /section:so-what -->

<!-- section:metrics -->
## Key Metrics Summary

| Metric | Value |
| :--- | :--- |
| Overall Rating | 3.73/5 |
| Total Reviews | 297 |
| Sentiment | Frustrated (35/100) |
| Confidence | Low |
| Pricing Model | Free |
| Platforms | iOS & Android |
| Key Features | 2 analyzed |
| Trend | Declining |
| Outlook | Declining |
<!-- /section:metrics -->

## Competitor Comparison

| App | Rating | Sentiment | Developer |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **Clean Swell** (this app) | 3.73/5 | Frustrated | Ocean Conservancy |
| [Respons Rakyat V2](https://marlvel.ai/apps/my-gov-onegovappstore-pbc-responsrakyat) | N/A/5 | N/A | JABATAN DIGITAL NEGARA (JDN) |
| [Keepr - Photo Organizer](https://marlvel.ai/apps/keepr-photo-organizer) | 5.0/5 | N/A | Big Mood Apps LLC |
| [MyLA 3-1-1](https://marlvel.ai/apps/myla-3-1-1) | 2.4/5 | Upset | City of Los Angeles |
| [SF311](https://marlvel.ai/apps/sf311) | 3.0/5 | Frustrated | San Francisco 311 |
| [Philly 311](https://marlvel.ai/apps/philly-311) | 2.5/5 | Upset | City of Philadelphia |

## Company Profile
- **Developer:** Ocean Conservancy

## Data Sources & Links
- **App Store:** [View on Apple Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/clean-swell/id985692119?uo=4)
- **Google Play:** [View on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.oceanconservancy.cleanswell&hl=en&gl=us)
- **Sources:** App store metadata, User reviews.

## Related Intel Reports
- [*Respons Rakyat V2*](https://marlvel.ai/apps/my-gov-onegovappstore-pbc-responsrakyat) (JABATAN DIGITAL NEGARA (JDN)) — N/A Rating | N/A Sentiment
- [*Keepr - Photo Organizer*](https://marlvel.ai/apps/keepr-photo-organizer) (Big Mood Apps LLC) — 5.0/5 Rating | N/A Sentiment
- [*MyLA 3-1-1*](https://marlvel.ai/apps/myla-3-1-1) (City of Los Angeles) — 2.4/5 Rating | Terrible Sentiment
- [*SF311*](https://marlvel.ai/apps/sf311) (San Francisco 311) — 3.0/5 Rating | Negative Sentiment
- [*Philly 311*](https://marlvel.ai/apps/philly-311) (City of Philadelphia) — 2.5/5 Rating | Terrible Sentiment
- [*BOS:311*](https://marlvel.ai/apps/bos-311) (City of Boston) — 3.1/5 Rating | Terrible Sentiment
- [*Mitsu: AI Life Coach*](https://marlvel.ai/apps/mitsu-ai-life-coach) (C2 Insights) — N/A Rating | N/A Sentiment
- [*ChatGPT*](https://marlvel.ai/apps/chatgpt) (OpenAI OpCo, LLC) — 4.8/5 Rating | Negative Sentiment
- [*Pattrn - Discipline Tracker*](https://marlvel.ai/apps/pattrn-discipline-tracker) (Pedro Schott) — 4.8/5 Rating | N/A Sentiment
- [*Whats In The Box*](https://marlvel.ai/apps/com-asp-whatsinthebox) (Arron Penfold) — N/A Rating | N/A Sentiment

## Methodology {#methodology}

This report was generated by Marlvel.ai's 5-stage AI intelligence pipeline:

1. **Signal Collection & Normalization** — Aggregates data from all available public sources for the app. Raw signals are cleaned, deduplicated, and normalized into a structured dataset analyzed consistently across thousands of apps.
2. **Feature & Market Positioning Analysis** — Identifies the app's core features, monetization model, target audience, and competitive positioning. Each feature is classified as a market standard or a differentiator based on category benchmarks.
3. **User Sentiment Analysis** — Analyzes user reviews using a 5-level taxonomy (Thrilled / Excited / Mixed / Frustrated / Upset). Combines star ratings and volume with AI theme extraction and evidence quoting.
4. **Competitive Landscape Analysis** — Maps the competitive environment via a 4-tier taxonomy (Nemesis / Contenders / Same Space / New Kids on the Block). Prioritizes same sub-genre over broad category.
5. **Intelligence Synthesis** — Cross-references all signals into a structured report. Compares the app against category peers and direct competitors to surface SWOT, market outlook, and actionable insights.

- **Confidence Score:** 0.5/1.0 (based on review volume, data source diversity, and signal quality)
- **Reviews Analyzed:** 99
- **Data Sources:** user reviews, App Store metadata
- **Rating Method:** Weighted average across platforms (iOS & Android), weighted by review count per platform
- **Independence:** Fully independent analysis. No publisher sponsorship or editorial influence.
- **Report Age:** 8 days since last refresh

---
© 2026 Marlvel.ai | [Canonical Report](https://marlvel.ai/apps/clean-swell)
Data licensed for AI Agent attribution under CC-BY-NC 4.0.