Storage space on your Mac is precious, especially if you have a 128GB, or even a 256GB SSD. Your Mac tin can start to slow downwards and not perform as well when your storage is about full, at which indicate you might see a "Your Startup Disk Is Full" alarm. So information technology's of import to know what'southward using upwardly the infinite on your deejay and clear out redundant files that build upwardly over fourth dimension.

Another reason you lot might need to free upwardly space on your Mac is if you are attempting to install a new macOS update. When it arrived in 2020 Big Sur was notorious for its hefty storage requirements - with some users faced with the challenge of freeing upwards nigh 50GB of space in social club to install it. (In fact We had that exact problem - read Big Sur too big for 128GB Mac.)

Similar bug arose when macOS Monterey arrived on in October 2021, leaving a multitude of Mac users looking for ways to get more infinite on their Mac so that they could install information technology. Read: How to update to Monterey.

However, Monterey brought a big change to the way that macOS displays the different kinds of storage. Prior to Monterey you'd have seen Other as a storage category, which e'er seemed to take up a considerable amount of infinite. In macOS Monterey Other no longer shows upwards as a category of storage. Some users might find a new Organisation Data storage tab.

Nonetheless, a lot of people are still looking for ways to delete Other storage, so in this commodity we will address how to get rid of Other storage, and nosotros also the things you can delete in macOS Monterey if you feel something is taking up also much infinite.

Can I delete Other storage on my Mac?

Faced with the need to make space on your Mac you will no dubiousness be because what you can delete. You might be bold the worst and preparing to remove some of your photos, videos, music and documents – simply and so you might stumble upon an allocation of something called Other storage that is taking up numerous gigabytes on your drive and wonder whether you can free up space by deleting Other.

Apple'southward decision to proper noun this storage Other probably didn't aid discourage people from attempting to delete information technology. It's like the Stuff binder people tend to put unimportant things in - it basically says delete me! This may well be why in macOS Monterey in 2021 Apple tree has renamed this so it just shows up every bit macOS, a proper noun that doesn't say delete me!

If you are wondering what is Other in Mac storage and want to know if you can delete Other storage - and if you should, we will reply your questions. Plus we'll explain how y'all tin delete Other storage on Mac.

We'll also discuss how y'all can delete what was known as Other storage in Monterey, including how to admission System Data, whether this is the same equally Other, and if in that location is annihilation you can delete from that.

We besides run through various ways to free upwards space on your Mac in a dissever article.

If you lot aren't certain how to see how much disk infinite your Mac has read: How to check how much storage you have on your Mac.

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What is Other on a Mac?

When confronted with the demand to costless upwards storage on your Mac we're guessing that your starting time port of telephone call was About This Mac, where there is a handy tool to assistance you lot manage your storage - and it'south here that we're assuming you lot saw the gigantic Other category.

If y'all weren't already aware of the About This Mac storage view, it's offers various tools to assist you run into and manage what takes up all the types of storage on your Mac. To get to this bones overview of what'southward taking up the space on your Mac by following these steps:

  1. Click on the Apple Logo in the top left.
  2. Go to About This Mac.
  3. Choose Storage. Look while information technology calculates.
  4. Eventually you will see a bar chart showing what types of files are taking up space on your Mac, like to the image below. In our case, yellowish is Photos, scarlet is Apps, light bluish is Letters, regal is Music, night bluish for Mail, low-cal blue for iCloud Bulldoze and grayness for System. Other is the biggest consumer of storage in our case: 38.55GB.

    Delete Other Storage

  5. Click Manage and you volition run into a screen like the one below. Hither you can brand various tweaks to your system, choosing to shop files in iCloud, for example, or reviewing files to reduce clutter.

    What is other storage on mac: Managing Mac disk space

  6. Nevertheless, you can't access Other hither at all - notice how it's greyed out in the left mitt cavalcade.

With Other such a big consumer of storage you are most likely wondering what exactly Other is.

While most of the main categories for file types is straightforward, the Other variety can be quite a mystery. If information technology isn't music, documents, videos, photos or apps, what could it exist?

The label 'Other' is applied by the organization to files that don't fit squarely into those types, such as installer packages, cache files, old Fourth dimension Machine backups, app extensions, temporary files and the similar. Near are those that you don't need any more, but they've got to be stored somewhere, so they get dumped in the Other category.

Aside from Other another big user of storage space is Organisation - we have a separate article near what's in System and what you can delete.

Other storage on macOS Monterey

In macOS Monterey Arrangement Information also includes junk files, app data, browser plugins and Fourth dimension Machine snapshot - which is substantially the same kind of content as Other storage used to contain, and then the same communication beneath almost how to delete this content will use.

How to see what'due south in Other

So now we know what types of files finish upwardly in Other, simply how can we actually see what'south taking upwardly all the Other space on our Macs?

To see what's using upward all that Other space you'll need to open the Finder and head to the Library binder, as that'due south usually where the majority of Other content is stored.

Depending on how your system is prepare, you might non be able to see the Library folder in your normal Finder window, so the easiest way to jump directly to it is to follow these steps:

  1. Open Finder.
  2. Click on the Go option in the carte bar.
  3. Select Go to Folder.
  4. Then type in ~/library and printing enter.

What is other storage on Mac: Finding the Library folder

Y'all'll at present be presented with a long list of folders, nigh of which will contain files accounted by macOS to be Other.

Yous'll see a lot of folders, many of which nosotros would advise you to footstep away from immediately. However in that location are a few folders here that you might exist able to safely delete some items from, for example, Caches and Awarding Back up. But y'all need to be very careful as you dig around looking for sub-folders within them that contain information that is safe to remove. (You might also like to read our article that explains How to delete cache on a Mac.)

Before you start to delete anything delight read on though - because deleting some of these files might affect the way your Mac works!

Besides, not all the files in Other will be visible. If you want to know how to see subconscious files read: How to show hidden files on a Mac.

Can I delete Other files?

Yes, only you'll need to be careful. Some files in Other might affect the fashion your Mac works. The safest files in the Other category to remote are things like .dmg files left over from installations, old Time Motorcar backups, and iPhone and iPad backups. We'll run through this below.

But when you start getting into cache files and other more obtuse types you can speedily run into problems. For instance, deleting a cache from an old app that yous no longer have won't crusade whatsoever problems. But should you lot delete one from an app you do use, then it will immediately forget all of your preferences and other details.

Basically, the rule of thumb is if you're not sure what something is or what it does, leave it alone. Of course, as always, we strongly recommend that you run a complete backup of your system before yous start removing anything, but to avoid disaster.

Just follow our step-by-step guide on how to backup a Mac and you lot tin brainstorm cleaning upward your system knowing that you accept a copy to fall back on should annihilation become amiss.

How to delete Other files

As we said above, you lot can't just select Other and delete information technology thereby reclaiming 30GB of infinite in one go. All the same, you can locate and delete some of the file types that Apple classes in the Other category, thereby reclaiming some of that space.

Y'all can delete some files that are classed equally Other via the Finder. Some of these you can search for by file type, only others are to be found in the Library binder, but you'll need to know where to await and accept an idea of what they are before you trash them.

At that place are also some file types that are easy to locate and delete safely, so we'll first by showing you how to tackle them.

All these files are deleted the same mode every bit whatsoever normal file: locate them in the Finder > right click on the file > choose Movement to Bin (or Trash if you lot are in the US).

Notation that you lot'll need to empty the Bin/Trash afterwards or the file volition yet be on your Mac. To practise that right click/control-click on the bin icon and choose Empty Bin/Trash.

Delete DMG files and other infinite hogs

Information technology is quite easy to locate and delete DMG files (program installers) and these are a adept place to start because they tin take up a surprising amount of space. You lot can locate and delete them via the Finder.

  1. Click on your Desktop (anywhere in that location isn't a file or folder)
  2. Open up the Finder.
  3. Click on This Mac.
  4. In the search box type dmg.
  5. When it appears beneath select Kinds: Disk Epitome.
  6. Press Enter.
  7. Now yous will see all the dmgs you have on your Mac. Yous tin safely delete these.
  8. To delete them select all by pressing Command + A then correct click/control click on the selected area and choose: Move to Bin/Trash. Delete DMG files
  9. You may demand to enter your countersign to confirm.
  10. Once you have moved these files to the trash/bin you lot will demand to empty it: right click on the trash icon and choose Empty Bin/Empty Trash (depending on your language).

At that place are other file types that can take a lot of infinite up on your system that y'all tin can besides delete this manner. Repeat the steps above to delete PDFs, CSV files, and Nada athenaeum.

Delete Temporary files

macOS creates temporary files on your Mac and generally these files are vital to performance, however, they quickly get outdated. Once you are sure your Mac no longer needs them you tin can safely delete them.

  1. Open the Finder.
  2. Click on the Get choice in the menu bar.
  3. Select Go to Folder.
  4. Type in ~/library.
  5. Printing enter.
  6. Locate the Application Support folder.

Accept a look through these folders, if you lot find any for apps that you know you don't use then you can probably safely delete the files associated with them.

Delete Enshroud files

Caches are another file blazon that takes upwardly space in Other, and like the temporary files addressed above, you need to be conscientious because your Mac may need these files to run the way y'all want it to.

We do have a separate article that explains How to delete cache on a Mac which is worth a read considering the whole process is quite complex. There'southward more than ane kind of cache for starters.

Y'all can delete system cache past following these steps:

  1. Open the Finder.
  2. Click on Go > Go to Folder…
  3. Type in Library/Caches/
  4. Click on Go.

Now you tin open up each binder and look for files you think you can safely delete.

Just exist conscientious.

Deleting awarding enshroud is a slightly different process:

  1. Open the Finder.
  2. Click on Go > Go to Folder…
  3. Type in ~/Library/Caches/ (in that location is a ~ this time, it'southward next to the Z).
  4. Click on Get.

Once again you will need to open each folder and brand a decision about what to delete.

Think y'all too demand to empty your Trash/Bin after you have deleted these files.

Delete Fourth dimension Machine snapshots

Time Motorcar snapshots could also be a space hog on your Mac. You may be aware that Apple'south Time Automobile software tin support your Mac to an external bulldoze, but did you know that it besides creates local snapshots on your Mac itself?

Apple tree says that it will only store these snapshots if there is enough free infinite, and it will delete old ones to store new one, so this shouldn't be a big space hog. But it could allow you to recover enough space to make all the difference.

Luckily there is an easy methods for removing local snapshots from your hard drive - merely turn off the Time Machine feature. When you do this it should remove these backups from your Mac.

The other way to delete these snapshots isn't so piece of cake: you need to use Final. If you want to try information technology then nosotros explicate how here: How to delete Time Machine snapshots on your Mac.

You may also like to read how to delete Time Motorcar backups on Mac to observe the easy way to remove them.

How to delete Other safely

If nosotros've non made it clear enough above, it is possible to delete a lot of what Apple tree classes as Other, just you demand to be extremely cautious because without some of these files your Mac may not work optimally.

Also, you need to be aware that deleting certain files this fashion can leave some remnants on your Mac, fifty-fifty later you have emptied the Trash.

Considering of these concerns our preferred method for deleting Other on a Mac, and removing all the infinite hogs, is to use one of the dedicated Mac cleaning software packages that help you avoid whatever costly mistakes.

Some of our electric current favourites are CleanMyMac Ten, MacCleaner two Pro, and Daisy Disk, just yous'll find a selection of other excellent options in our roundup of the best Mac cleaner software and optimization tools.

These oft take organisation analysing features that can highlight redundant files while belongings back on the ones that are still used on a regular ground. Then if yous desire to remove them it's just a case of hit one button rather than trawling through hundreds of sub-folders and hoping y'all don't delete anything essential.

What is other storage on Mac: CleanMyMac X

You'll need to pay for them, as the trials usually only offer the ability to diagnose bug rather than fix them, simply most are well worth the money when you consider the time and frustration that they tin salve.

We used CleanMyMac to delete files when we needed to free upwardly space for macOS Big Sur. At that place are diverse options, we'll run through some of them beneath:

Smart Browse - this volition scan your Mac and somewhen let you know what junk you tin can remove. Yous can click on Review Details to meet what it is suggesting you delete. In our instance these are Used Enshroud Files, Universal Binaries, System Log Files, Language Files, and so on, to the tune of four.56GB. There's also the selection of removing Postal service Attachments and elimination the Trash.

Clean My Mac delete Other

Large & Old Files - this lets you remove files you haven't opened for a while. This accounted for 5.23GB in our example.

Delete files Other

You can too use CleanMyMac to uninstall apps.

CleanMyMac is £29.95/$29.95 (commonly £34.95/$34.95) if yous buy the plan for one Mac. There is also a gratis trial. Download from developer MacPaw here.

We also have a round up of the Best Mac Cleaners in which we wait at the following alternatives to CleanMyMac: DaisyDisk, MacBooster, Parallels ToolBox, and MacCleaner Pro.

Before buying whatsoever additional software or delving into the Library folder, take a expect at our tips on how to costless space on a Mac, as there might be some unproblematic things you can exercise to claim back that valuable hard disk drive storage.