Gulag Cleaner on mobile: how to clean a Wuolah PDF from Android or iPhone

“Can I use Gulag Cleaner on my phone?” is one of the most repeated questions, and the short answer is yes. gulagcleaner.pro is an ordinary web page: there is no app to install and the PDF is processed inside the phone's browser, without uploading it anywhere. What changes compared with a computer is how you pick the file and where the result ends up. Step by step.

Before you start: download the PDF, don't open it “inside” Wuolah

The cleaner needs the file, not a link. Download the notes from the browser or from the Wuolah app until they show up in your downloads folder (or in the Files app on iPhone). If you only open the document in the app's viewer, there is no file to clean.

On Android

1. Download the PDF from Wuolah. Chrome puts it in the Downloads folder.
2. Open gulagcleaner.pro/cleaner in Chrome, Firefox, Samsung Internet or Edge.
3. Tap “Choose PDF”. Android's file picker opens: go to Downloads and tap the PDF.
4. Wait a few seconds while the progress bar advances. When it finishes you'll see a preview of the first pages and how many were removed.
5. Tap “Download clean PDF”. The file is saved to Downloads with the same name and the .clean.pdf suffix.

On iPhone and iPad

1. Download the PDF from Safari. iOS keeps it in the Files app, under Downloads (in iCloud Drive or “On My iPhone”, depending on your settings).
2. Open gulagcleaner.pro/cleaner in Safari or Chrome.
3. Tap “Choose PDF” and pick Browse to reach the file in Files.
4. Check the preview and tap “Download clean PDF”. Safari saves it to Downloads too; from there you can share it with Books, Notes or whatever app you study with.

Time-saving tips

• Add a shortcut. In Safari: Share → “Add to Home Screen”. In Chrome for Android: menu → “Add to Home screen”. It's a bookmark with an icon that opens the site like any other.
• Clean several in a row. When a file finishes, tap “Another PDF” and pick the next one without reloading the page.
• Data. The PDF is never uploaded: the only thing you download is the page itself and the engine. Once loaded, every clean happens on the phone.
• Large files. There is no fixed limit, but the ceiling is the browser's memory. With a course pack of hundreds of pages on an old phone, close tabs or use a computer.

If it doesn't work on your phone

The most common failures have the same fix as on desktop: an up-to-date browser, a private window without extensions, and checking that the file is a PDF without a password. If the button doesn't open the picker, try another browser. The full list is in Gulag Cleaner not working? What to do.

And if you'd rather automate it from a computer, there is a command-line version: CLI vs web version.