{"id":24289,"date":"2020-04-03T00:48:49","date_gmt":"2020-04-03T00:48:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/?p=24289"},"modified":"2022-05-02T20:12:51","modified_gmt":"2022-05-02T20:12:51","slug":"what-is-other-storage-on-mac-html","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/what-is-other-storage-on-mac.html","title":{"rendered":"What is Other Storage on Mac &#038; Ways to Clean It"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The hard drive on your Mac is where all of the files and data required to power the computer are stored. When you started your machine for the first time, you might have been confident that you would never fill up all of those gigabytes. Your Mac is screaming fast and you have storage to spare. Life is good!<\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter wp-image-41525 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/other-storage-photo.jpeg\" alt=\"other storage photo\" width=\"800\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/other-storage-photo.jpeg 800w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/other-storage-photo-300x150.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/other-storage-photo-500x250.jpeg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/other-storage-photo-768x384.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>Now fast forward a few months or years. You are still satisfied with the performance of your Mac but you may have noticed a slight slowdown. Maybe you were playing around with Disk Utility and found that your disk is more full than you would have expected. Whatever the reason, you have decided to embark on a disk cleanup to give yourself more storage room.<\/p>\r\n<p>One thing that can cause confusion is that when looking at the storage space on your Mac, you may see a value named \u201cOther\u201d which doesn\u2019t tell you what is taking up the space in that section.<\/p>\r\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"what_is_other_storage_on_mac\"><\/span>What is Other Storage on Mac?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p>The standard storage categories on a Mac are Apps, Photos, Documents, Audio, and Video. When a file doesn&#8217;t fit into one of these, it will then go into the Other category.<\/p>\r\n<p>A great way to get a sense of what is on your hard drive is to look at the \u2018About This Mac\u2019 tab. Once we go into the Storage section here, we can see a vague breakdown of what is taking up space on our computer.<\/p>\r\n<p>Here\u2019s how to view the storage currently on your Mac:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Click on the Apple Icon in the upper left of your screen.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Select \u2018About This Mac\u2019.<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-41522 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/finder.jpg\" alt=\"finder\" width=\"554\" height=\"690\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/finder.jpg 554w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/finder-241x300.jpg 241w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/finder-401x500.jpg 401w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 554px) 100vw, 554px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Click on the Storage tab. Allow your system to complete calculating the breakdown of your disk\u2019s storage.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p>You are now presented with a horizontal bar graph that displays the amount of storage currently in use on your hard drive. The graph is broken into segments that represent various types of storage such as Apps, Documents, Photos, and Other.<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-43063 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/viewing-other-storage-in-finder.jpg\" alt=\"viewing other storage in finder\" width=\"1504\" height=\"732\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/viewing-other-storage-in-finder.jpg 1504w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/viewing-other-storage-in-finder-300x146.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/viewing-other-storage-in-finder-500x243.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/viewing-other-storage-in-finder-768x374.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1504px) 100vw, 1504px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>Most of the storage types are fairly self-explanatory. The colored bars for Photos, Apps, Documents, Audio, and Video all tell you exactly what types of files are occupying your storage.<\/p>\r\n<p>But what about that Other category. What exactly is in there?<\/p>\r\n<p>There is no easy answer to that question. Essentially, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imore.com\/what-other-space-my-mac\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">files grouped into the Other category<\/a> are those which do not fit nicely into another classification. It can include system files and caches, browser extensions, media files stored inside other applications, and files that are created by third-party apps. Files that cannot be fully identified and classified by Spotlight are grouped as Other storage.<\/p>\r\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"ways_to_clean_other_storage_on_your_mac\"><\/span>Ways to Clean Other Storage on Your Mac<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p>There are basically two ways to remove Other storage from your Mac or MacBook. You can go about the task manually, which might give you a sense of more control but will take a considerable amount of your time.<\/p>\r\n<p>The other option is to use a third-party software tool to assist you. This is by far the fastest and easiest method to employ. Let\u2019s look at this option first and then we will talk about some others.<\/p>\r\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"way_1_delete_other_storage_on_mac_with_disk_drill_free\"><\/span>Way #1: Delete Other Storage on Mac With Disk Drill (Free)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>Disk Drill software for the Mac is a versatile application that can do much more than restore files that have been inadvertently deleted from your computer. It can be used to view your storage in a variety of ways that allow you to make informed decisions regarding which files you should delete to clear the Other space on your Mac.<\/p>\r\n<p>Here are step-by-step instructions to free up disk space on your Mac\u2019s hard disk:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li><a href=\"\/downloads.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Download<\/a> and install Disk Drill for free onto your Mac.<br \/>\r\n<div class=\"relative bottom download__block\">\r\n            <div class=\"d-flex align-center download__block__inner\">\r\n                <div class=\"download__block__image-wrapper\">\r\n                <div class=\"download__block__image\">\r\n                    <img src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/sidebar-ban-96.png\" srcset=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/sidebar-ban-2x-1.png 2x\" alt=\"Disk Drill\" width=\"96\" height=\"96\">        \r\n                <\/div>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"download__block__announce\">\r\n                    <b>download-block-title<\/b><br>\r\n                    download-block-text\r\n                <\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"download__block__action\">\r\n                    <a href=\"\/\/download.html\" data-href-mac=\/\/disk-drill-mac.html data-href-win=\/\/disk-drill-win.html class=\"button button-green btn-md osreplace\">\r\n<svg width=\"16\" height=\"16\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\r\n<path d=\"M11.9546 7.293C11.8736 7.114 11.6956 7 11.4996 7H9.49957V0.5C9.49957 0.224 9.27557 0 8.99957 0H6.99957C6.72357 0 6.49957 0.224 6.49957 0.5V7H4.49957C4.30357 7 4.12557 7.115 4.04457 7.293C3.96257 7.472 3.99457 7.681 4.12357 7.829L7.62357 11.829C7.71857 11.938 7.85557 12 7.99957 12C8.14357 12 8.28057 11.937 8.37557 11.829L11.8756 7.829C12.0056 7.682 12.0356 7.472 11.9546 7.293Z\" fill=\"white\"\/>\r\n<path d=\"M13.5 11V14H2.5V11H0.5V15C0.5 15.553 0.948 16 1.5 16H14.5C15.053 16 15.5 15.553 15.5 15V11H13.5Z\" fill=\"white\"\/>\r\n<\/svg>\r\ndownload-block-button-text\r\n<\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n        <\/div><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Launch the app and then select \u2018Clean up\u2019 from the main window.<img class=\"wp-image-41604 size-full aligncenter\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/disk-drill-clean-up-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"disk drill clean up\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/disk-drill-clean-up-scaled.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/disk-drill-clean-up-300x217.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/disk-drill-clean-up-500x361.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/disk-drill-clean-up-768x555.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/disk-drill-clean-up-1536x1110.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Choose the disk that you wish to analyze and click \u2018Scan\u2019.<img class=\"wp-image-41605 size-full aligncenter\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/start-scan-disk-drill-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"start scan disk drill\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/start-scan-disk-drill-scaled.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/start-scan-disk-drill-300x217.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/start-scan-disk-drill-500x361.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/start-scan-disk-drill-768x555.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/start-scan-disk-drill-1536x1110.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Allow Disk Drill to fully analyze your disk. This may take several minutes depending on the size of the disk.<img class=\"alignnone wp-image-41606 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/disk-drill-scan-complete-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"disk drill scan complete\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/disk-drill-scan-complete-scaled.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/disk-drill-scan-complete-300x217.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/disk-drill-scan-complete-500x361.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/disk-drill-scan-complete-768x555.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/disk-drill-scan-complete-1536x1110.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Review the results that Disk Drill has displayed to you and remove any that you don\u2019t need to clean up your Mac.\u00a0<img class=\"alignnone wp-image-41609 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/reviewing-files-that-disk-drill-found-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"reviewing files that disk drill found\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/reviewing-files-that-disk-drill-found-scaled.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/reviewing-files-that-disk-drill-found-300x217.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/reviewing-files-that-disk-drill-found-500x361.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/reviewing-files-that-disk-drill-found-768x555.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/reviewing-files-that-disk-drill-found-1536x1110.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>If you are unsure about deleting the file fully from your disk, you can select the \u2018Show in Finder\u2019 option and then move it to the Trash. Disk Drill knows which files cannot be deleted without potentially harming your operating system and will not let you select these files.<img class=\"alignnone wp-image-41608 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/show-in-finder-disk-drill-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"show-in-finder-disk-drill\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/show-in-finder-disk-drill-scaled.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/show-in-finder-disk-drill-300x217.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/show-in-finder-disk-drill-500x361.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/show-in-finder-disk-drill-768x555.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/show-in-finder-disk-drill-1536x1110.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p>Using Disk Drill you can address the issue of your Mac\u2019s Other Storage in a simple and intuitive manner. The app protects you from inadvertently deleting files that could have a negative impact on your computer.<\/p>\r\n<p>Let\u2019s take a look at some other ways to clean up the Other storage on your Mac.<\/p>\r\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"way_2_identify_files_using_finder\"><\/span>Way #2. Identify Files Using Finder<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>Many temporary files that are grouped into the Other category are stored in some specific locations on your Mac. Here\u2019s how to find them.<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Open a Finder Window and press \u2318Cmd + \u21e7Shift + G to open the\u00a0\u2018Go to Folder\u2019 dropdown.<img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-43062 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/go-to-finder.jpg\" alt=\"go to finder\" width=\"1714\" height=\"976\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/go-to-finder.jpg 1714w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/go-to-finder-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/go-to-finder-500x285.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/go-to-finder-768x437.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/go-to-finder-1536x875.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1714px) 100vw, 1714px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Go to these locations:<br \/>\r\n\u2022 ~\/Downloads<br \/>\r\n\u2022 ~\/Library\/Caches<br \/>\r\n\u2022 ~\/Documents\/Logs<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Delete any unnecessary files that you find in these folders. I have found that the Downloads folder can hold a large number of tiles that take up space on your Mac.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"way_3_identify_files_with_a_smart_folder_in_the_finder\"><\/span>Way #3. Identify Files With a Smart Folder in the Finder<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>Within the Finder on macOS, there are Smart Folders. These folders are a tool that can help us organize and find files. They\u2019re basically a search criteria that we set and then search for things that much our parameters.<\/p>\r\n<p>This is another powerful way that we can use to find and remove files that we don\u2019t want on our Mac that take up the Other category when it comes to our storage.<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>\u0421lick \u2318Cmd + F on the desktop.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Click This Mac to use your Mac for the search.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Click the \u2018+\u2019 sign to the far right to identify search parameters.<img class=\"size-full wp-image-41611 aligncenter\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/searching-files-to-clean-up-other-storage.png\" alt=\"searching files to clean up other storage\" width=\"700\" height=\"286\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/searching-files-to-clean-up-other-storage.png 700w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/searching-files-to-clean-up-other-storage-300x123.png 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/searching-files-to-clean-up-other-storage-500x204.png 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Select \u2018Other\u2019 from the first dropdown menu.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Select File Size and File Extension.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Use the Search field to review different types of files such as .txt or .pdf. Identify unwanted files and delete them.<br \/>\r\nIf you\u2019re wanting a more visual way to see the data on your computer, then our next method is the one for you.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"way_4_use_daisydisk_to_remove_files\"><\/span>Way #4. Use DaisyDisk to Remove Files<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/daisydiskapp.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DaisyDisk<\/a> checks &amp; frees up disk space on Mac computers with efficiency and simplicity. This is mainly because it has a beautiful interface, presented in the manner of an interactive wheel for easy and intuitive visualization. It\u2019s awesome for trying to find individual files and just for a way to look at your disk space in visual representation.<\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"size-full wp-image-41612 aligncenter\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/DaisyDisk-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"DaisyDisk\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1527\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/DaisyDisk-scaled.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/DaisyDisk-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/DaisyDisk-500x373.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/DaisyDisk-768x573.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/DaisyDisk-1536x1145.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>DaisyDisk is very fast and shows an overview of all disks connected to the Mac. Changes are updated in real-time, making it ideal for analyzing and making a wise decision on what to delete and what to keep.<\/p>\r\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"way_5_use_the_built-in_manage_storage_option\"><\/span>Way #5. Use the Built-in Manage Storage Option<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>Apple has a built-in Manage Storage option that you can use to find large files and remove them from your Mac. This option is a solid choice as it doesn&#8217;t require you to download anything to use it.<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Click on the Apple logo and then select About This Mac in the upper left-hand corner.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Select Storage from the options.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Once on the Storage tab, select Manage\u2026<img class=\"size-full wp-image-41615 aligncenter\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/manage-storage-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"manage storage\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1404\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/manage-storage-scaled.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/manage-storage-300x206.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/manage-storage-500x343.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/manage-storage-768x527.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/manage-storage-1536x1053.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>There are many options that you can explore here for freeing us space on your Mac. I always recommend going to the Trash and then also checking your Applications for any large applications that may be on your Mac that you\u2019re not using anymore.<img class=\"size-full wp-image-41617 aligncenter\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/reviewing-storage-items-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"reviewing storage items\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1376\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/reviewing-storage-items-scaled.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/reviewing-storage-items-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/reviewing-storage-items-500x336.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/reviewing-storage-items-768x516.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/reviewing-storage-items-1536x1032.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/>\u00a0<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"conclusion\"><\/span>Conclusion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p>Using the methods we have described will help you control the Other storage that is clogging up your Mac, leading to slower performance or reduced disk capacity. With all of these methods assisting you in eliminating unwanted files, there is something for everyone.<\/p>\r\n<p>Use Disk Drill if you free and powerful Clean Up feature, Smart Folders in Finder allow you to take on a more tech savvy approach, DaisyDisk gives you a beautiful visual representation of your data on your Mac, and the Manage function is easy to use and doesn\u2019t require you to download any additional software.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"faq\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<div><section itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/FAQPage\">\r\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 0px solid rgb(213, 217, 217);\" class=\"panel panel-default faq-block\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" role=\"tablist\">\r\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" id=\"headingfaq1\">\r\n                <div class=\"panel-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n                    <a class=\"toggle-link transition-all collapsed\" role=\"button\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-item-faq1\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-item-faq1\"><h3 class=\"panel-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"how_do_i_delete_other_storage_on_mac\"><\/span>How Do I Delete Other Storage on Mac?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>                   \r\n                    \t<svg class=\"transition-all panel-toggle\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\r\n                            <g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\r\n                                <path d=\"M7,7 L7,0 L9,0 L9,7 L16,7 L16,9 L9,9 L9,16 L7,16 L7,9 L0,9 L0,7 L7,7 Z\" fill=\"#000000\"><\/path>\r\n                            <\/g>\r\n                        <\/svg>\r\n                   <\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div id=\"collapse-item-faq1\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"headingfaq1\" aria-expanded=\"false\" style=\"\">\r\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\r\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\r\n                <p><\/p>\r\n<p>Deleting Other storage on Mac is actually quite easy to do. Disk Drill offers a free feature called Clean Up that will allow us to get rid of the Other storage on our Mac.<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li><a href=\"\/downloads.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Download<\/a> and install Disk Drill onto your Mac.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Launch the app and then go to the Clean Up section on the left-hand side.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Choose the disk that you wish to analyze and click \u2018Scan\u2019.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Allow Disk Drill to fully analyze your disk. This may take several minutes depending on the size of the disk.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Review your disk analysis and delete unwanted or duplicate files.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>If you are unsure about deleting the file fully from your disk, you can select the \u2018Show in Finder\u2019 option and then move it to the Trash. Disk Drill knows which files cannot be deleted without potentially harming your operating system and will not let you select these files.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n              <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 0px solid rgb(213, 217, 217);\" class=\"panel panel-default faq-block\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" role=\"tablist\">\r\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" id=\"headingfaq2\">\r\n                <div class=\"panel-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n                    <a class=\"toggle-link transition-all collapsed\" role=\"button\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-item-faq2\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-item-faq2\"><h3 class=\"panel-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"what_causes_other_storage_on_mac\"><\/span>What Causes Other Storage on Mac?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>                   \r\n                    \t<svg class=\"transition-all panel-toggle\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\r\n                            <g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\r\n                                <path d=\"M7,7 L7,0 L9,0 L9,7 L16,7 L16,9 L9,9 L9,16 L7,16 L7,9 L0,9 L0,7 L7,7 Z\" fill=\"#000000\"><\/path>\r\n                            <\/g>\r\n                        <\/svg>\r\n                   <\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div id=\"collapse-item-faq2\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"headingfaq2\" aria-expanded=\"false\" style=\"\">\r\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\r\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\r\n                <p><\/p>\r\n<p>The standard categories on a Mac are Apps, Photos, Documents, Audio, and Video. When a file doesn&#8217;t fit into one of these, it will then go into the Other category which can cause confusion as to what is taking up space on our Mac.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n              <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 01px solid rgb(213, 217, 217);\" class=\"panel panel-default faq-block\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" role=\"tablist\">\r\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" id=\"headingfaq3\">\r\n                <div class=\"panel-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n                    <a class=\"toggle-link transition-all collapsed\" role=\"button\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-item-faq3\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-item-faq3\"><h3 class=\"panel-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"how_do_i_get_rid_of_other_storage_on_mac\"><\/span>How Do I Get Rid of Other Storage on Mac?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>                   \r\n                    \t<svg class=\"transition-all panel-toggle\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\r\n                            <g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\r\n                                <path d=\"M7,7 L7,0 L9,0 L9,7 L16,7 L16,9 L9,9 L9,16 L7,16 L7,9 L0,9 L0,7 L7,7 Z\" fill=\"#000000\"><\/path>\r\n                            <\/g>\r\n                        <\/svg>\r\n                   <\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div id=\"collapse-item-faq3\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"headingfaq3\" aria-expanded=\"false\" style=\"\">\r\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\r\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\r\n                <p><\/p>\r\n<p>You can use DaisyDisk to get rid of the Other storage on your Mac. DaisyDisk checks &amp; frees up disk space on Mac computers and does so by giving us a graphical interface.<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Download and install <a href=\"https:\/\/daisydiskapp.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DaisyDisk<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Launch the app and then scan your Mac so that we can find the Other files.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Search through the results that DaisyDisk has presented to you.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Review and delete the ones that you don\u2019t need anymore.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p>I really love DaisyDisk due to how beautiful and easy to use the interface is and I would recommend that you download it and try it out.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n              <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/section><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The hard drive on your Mac is where all of the files and data required to power the computer are stored. When you started your machine for the first time, you might have been confident that you would never fill&#8230;","protected":false},"author":7885,"featured_media":43063,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2638],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-24289","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mac-os-x-tips-troubleshooting"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What is &#039;Other&#039; in Mac Storage? 5 Ways to Clean It on macOS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This article describes the ways to address problematic Other storage on your Mac computer.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/what-is-other-storage-on-mac.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is &#039;Other&#039; in Mac Storage? 5 Ways to Clean It on macOS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This article describes the ways to address problematic Other storage on your Mac computer.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/what-is-other-storage-on-mac.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Data recovery tips. 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Recover deleted files on Mac, Windows.","og_image":[{"width":1504,"height":732,"url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/viewing-other-storage-in-finder.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Joel Lockard","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"What is 'Other' in Mac Storage? 5 Ways to Clean It on macOS","twitter_description":"This article describes the ways to address problematic Other storage on your Mac computer.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/viewing-other-storage-in-finder.jpg","twitter_creator":"@Cleverfiles","twitter_site":"@Cleverfiles","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Joel Lockard","Est. reading time":"11 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/what-is-other-storage-on-mac.html#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/what-is-other-storage-on-mac.html"},"author":{"name":"Joel Lockard","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#\/schema\/person\/5fdb70916cdba36ad612909141e04668"},"headline":"What is Other Storage on Mac &#038; Ways to Clean It","datePublished":"2020-04-03T00:48:49+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-02T20:12:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/what-is-other-storage-on-mac.html"},"wordCount":1732,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/what-is-other-storage-on-mac.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/viewing-other-storage-in-finder.jpg","articleSection":["Mac OS X Tips &amp; Troubleshooting"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/what-is-other-storage-on-mac.html","url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/what-is-other-storage-on-mac.html","name":"What is 'Other' in Mac Storage? 5 Ways to Clean It on macOS","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/what-is-other-storage-on-mac.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/what-is-other-storage-on-mac.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/viewing-other-storage-in-finder.jpg","datePublished":"2020-04-03T00:48:49+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-02T20:12:51+00:00","description":"This article describes the ways to address problematic Other storage on your Mac computer.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/what-is-other-storage-on-mac.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/what-is-other-storage-on-mac.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/what-is-other-storage-on-mac.html#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/viewing-other-storage-in-finder.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/viewing-other-storage-in-finder.jpg","width":1504,"height":732},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/what-is-other-storage-on-mac.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u0413\u043b\u0430\u0432\u043d\u0430\u044f","item":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What is Other Storage on Mac &#038; Ways to Clean It"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/","name":"Data recovery tips. 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