Where your Mac's storage actually goes

Your Mac fills up because of files you can see — documents, photos, videos — and files you cannot see without looking. The biggest invisible culprits are old backups, duplicate photos, cached data from web browsers and apps, and language files for languages you do not use. Before you delete anything, you need to know what is taking up space.

Open About This Mac by clicking the Apple menu in the top left, then select About This Mac. Click the Storage tab. You will see a colored bar showing what is using space: Documents, Photos, Apps, Backups, Mail, and Other. Click on each section to see what files are inside. This tells you where to start.

The Other category is usually the largest and the hardest to understand. It includes browser caches, temporary files, old iOS device backups, and process support files. You can delete most of it safely.

Key Takeaways

  • Check About This Mac > Storage to see which categories are using the most space before you delete anything.
  • Empty the Trash after deleting files — deleted files stay on your drive until you empty it.
  • Browser caches, old backups, and duplicate photos are usually safe to delete and often free up several gigabytes.
  • Permanently delete files by holding Option while emptying Trash, or use find Empty Trash if you want to make recovery harder.
  • If you have an external drive, move large files like video projects or photo libraries there instead of deleting them.

Delete duplicate photos and old screenshots

Photos and screenshots pile up fast. Open the Photos app and look at your library size in Photos > About Photos. If you have thousands of photos, duplicates and blurry shots are eating space.

The Photos app does not have a built-in duplicate finder, but you can manually review recent photos and delete obvious duplicates. Select a photo, press Delete, and confirm. Deleted photos go to the Recently Deleted album for 30 days before they are permanently removed — this is your safety net if you change your mind.

Screenshots are easier. Open Finder, click Desktop in the sidebar, and look for files named "Screenshot" with a date. Select the ones you no longer need, press Delete, then empty the Trash. If you take a lot of screenshots, you can change where they save by pressing Shift-Command-5, clicking Options, and choosing a folder instead of Desktop.

Clear browser cache and temporary files

Your web browser stores copies of web pages, images, and videos so they load faster next time. This cache can grow to several gigabytes. Open your browser and clear the cache.

In Safari, click Safari in the menu bar, then Settings. Click the Privacy tab, then Manage Website Data. Click Remove All. In Chrome, click the three dots in the top right, go to Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data, make sure Cached images and files is checked, and click Clear data. In Firefox, click the menu button, go to Settings > Privacy & Security, scroll to Cookies and Site Data, and click Clear Data.

You can also delete temporary files your Mac creates while running. Open Finder, press Command-Shift-G to open Go to Folder, type /Library/Caches, and press Enter. You will see folders for each app. You can safely delete the contents of most cache folders — the app will rebuild them. Do not delete the entire folder, only the files inside.

Remove old iOS device backups

If you have ever backed up an iPhone or iPad to your Mac, those backups are still there taking up space. Open Finder, click Applications in the sidebar, then double-click Utilities. Open System Information. Click Storage in the left menu. Look for a section called Backups or check About This Mac > Storage again — if you see a large backup, that is your iOS backup.

To delete it, open Finder and press Command-Shift-G. Type ~/Library/process Support/MobileSync/Backup and press Enter. You will see folders with long names — these are your device backups. Select the ones you no longer need and delete them. Empty the Trash afterward.

If you use iCloud to back up your devices instead, these local backups are redundant and safe to delete entirely.

Uninstall apps you do not use

Apps take up space, and some leave behind support files even after you delete them. Open Finder and click Applications in the sidebar. Look through the list and identify apps you have not used in months. Drag them to the Trash, or right-click and select Move to Trash.

Some apps leave behind preference files and caches in your Library folder. To clean these up completely, open Finder, press Command-Shift-G, type ~/Library/process Support, and look for folders matching the app name. Delete those folders too. Then empty the Trash.

Be careful not to delete system apps — anything in Applications that came with your Mac (like Mail, Calendar, or Notes) should stay. If you are unsure, search the app name online before deleting.

Move large files to external storage

If you have video projects, large photo libraries, or old work files, moving them to an external drive is faster than deleting them and frees up your internal drive when ready. Plug in an external hard drive or SSD, open Finder, and drag the folders you want to move to the drive. Wait for the copy to finish, then delete the originals from your Mac and empty the Trash.

Make sure the external drive has enough space — it should show at least 10 percent free space after you copy files to it. You can check this by clicking the drive in Finder and looking at the bottom of the window.

External drives are also useful for backups. If you do not already have a backup, consider getting an external drive and using Time Machine to back up your Mac automatically. This protects you if your drive fails.

Empty the Trash and permanently delete files

Deleting a file moves it to the Trash, but it stays on your drive until you empty the Trash. Right-click the Trash icon in the Dock and select Empty Trash. The files are now deleted and the space is freed.

If you want to make deleted files harder to recover, hold Option while right-clicking the Trash and select Empty Trash Securely (on older Macs) or use the Terminal. Open Terminal from Applications > Utilities and type rm -P /path/to/file, replacing the path with the file location. This overwrites the file data before deleting it, making recovery much harder.

For most people, regular Empty Trash is enough. find deletion is slower and only necessary if you are deleting sensitive documents.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much space should I keep free on my Mac?

Keep at least 10 to 15 percent of your drive free. If your drive is nearly full, your Mac slows down because it cannot create temporary files while running apps. Check your free space in About This Mac > Storage — if the bar is almost completely filled, you need to delete files or move them to external storage.

Is it safe to delete files from the Library folder?

It depends on the folder. Cache folders are safe to delete — the app will rebuild them. Preference files are usually safe too, though the app may reset its settings. Never delete system folders like System or CoreServices. When in doubt, search the folder name online or move it to the Desktop first instead of deleting it, so you can restore it if something breaks.

Can I recover files after I empty the Trash?

Yes, if you used regular Empty Trash. Recovery software can sometimes restore deleted files for a few days after deletion. If you used find Empty Trash or Terminal, recovery is much harder. If you deleted something important, stop using your Mac and look for recovery software when ready — the longer you wait, the less likely recovery becomes.

What is the difference between deleting and moving to external storage?

Deleting removes the file from your Mac entirely. Moving copies it to the external drive and then deletes the original, so you still have the file but it takes up space on the external drive instead of your Mac. Moving is better for files you want to keep but do not use often.

Why is my Mac still slow after I deleted files?

Deleting files does not always speed up your Mac if the problem is not storage. Slow performance can come from too many apps running at startup, a full memory (RAM), or a failing drive. Check Activity Monitor (Applications > Utilities) to see which apps are using the most CPU and memory, and close the ones you do not need.