How to Delete Other Storage on Mac
Why Other Storage Is So Large on Your Mac
If you have looked at your Mac's storage breakdown and found Other taking up 20, 30, or even 50 GB, you are not alone. This is one of the most common complaints from Mac users. Knowing how to delete other storage on mac means understanding that this is a dumping ground for anything macOS cannot categorize.
The Other category grows silently in the background. Every time you browse the web, install an app, or receive an email, data gets added. But very little is cleaned up automatically. That is why manual intervention is necessary.
Target 1: Browser Data
Browsers are one of the biggest sources of Other storage. Chrome, Safari, and Firefox all store cached pages, cookies, local storage, and offline data. Chrome stores its data in ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome, and this folder can grow to several gigabytes.
To how to delete other storage on mac from browsers, open each browser and clear its cache. In Safari, open the Develop menu and click Empty Caches. In Chrome, go to Settings, Privacy, Clear Browsing Data, and choose Cached Images and Files. In Firefox, go to Settings, Privacy, Clear Data. This step alone can recover 1 to 5 GB.
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Target 2: Mail Downloads
The Mail app downloads and stores email attachments locally. Check ~/Library/Mail and the folder size. If you receive many emails with attachments, this can grow to several gigabytes.
Rather than deleting mail data directly, open Mail settings and change attachment download settings. Set it to download only recent attachments or none. Then delete old emails with large attachments from within the Mail app. You can search for emails with attachments and sort by size to how to delete other storage on mac from email.
Target 3: Old Software Installers
Every .dmg, .pkg, and .zip file you have downloaded counts as Other storage. People often download installers, run them, and forget to delete the original file. Open Finder and search for .dmg files across your entire Mac. You will likely find many you no longer need.
Also check for .pkg files and old .zip archives. These are safe to delete after you have installed or extracted their contents. This is an easy way to how to delete other storage on mac without any risk to your system.
Target 4: Messages and Chat Data
If you use iMessage heavily, photos and videos shared through Messages are stored locally at ~/Library/Messages/Attachments. For active texters, this folder can grow to tens of gigabytes over years of use.
To manage this, open Messages settings and change Keep Messages from Forever to 1 Year or 30 Days. This automatically removes old message attachments. You can also manually browse ~/Library/Messages/Attachments to see the total size and decide how to delete other storage on mac from this source.
Target 5: System Caches and Temporary Data
System-level caches at /Library/Caches and temporary files at /tmp contribute to Other storage. While most temporary files are cleaned on restart, system caches persist. You can safely delete contents from /Library/Caches, though you may need administrator permission.
In Terminal, use the sudo rm command to clear system caches. Be very careful with sudo commands and double-check the path before pressing Enter. After clearing system caches, restart your Mac so the system can rebuild what it needs.
Verifying Your Cleanup
After going through each target, check your storage again. Go to About This Mac, then Storage. The Other category should be noticeably smaller. It won't reach zero because some Other files are essential system data, but reducing it by 50 percent or more is realistic.
Remember that your Mac will start rebuilding caches immediately, so the number will slowly increase again. This is normal and expected. Regular monthly cleanups keep the growth under control.
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