“Other” in Mac storage often remains a mysterious and sizable portion occupying valuable disk space. Understanding this enigmatic category and learning effective methods to clear it is crucial for optimizing storage and maintaining a streamlined macOS experience.
Exploring these techniques allows users to reclaim disk space, enhance system performance, and ensure efficient utilization of their Mac’s storage capacity.
What is “Other” in Mac Storage?
Well all files which can not be categorized into the standard shown by Apple is considered into the Other of the Storage. These file types generally are of Browser cookies, System logs, Document versions, App Cache, Plugins, disk images and archives, system and temporary files. You can clean other storage on Mac after checking what it is, read on.
How to Check Other Storage on Mac?
Fortunately Apple provides a great feature ‘Optimized Storage’ to keep track of your Disk Space and Optimize it with various tools.
- Select the Apple menu on the top right corner.
- Select About This Mac and then Click on the Storage tab.
- Click on the Manage button at the corner.
- Here you can check all the apps, documents, etc taking up how much Storage on your Mac.
Can I Delete Other Storage on Mac?
The ‘Other’ Storage contains few of the very necessary supporting files for system and apps on your Mac. So no you can not completely delete ‘Other’ Storage but you can reduce it by considerable margin by removing unwanted System logs, temporary file, system cache and app cache.
6 Ways to Delete Other Storage on Mac
You can only reduce a large portion of ‘Other’ Storage but can not completely remove it all together. Below are methods you can follow to clean Mac Other Storage.
Method 1: Clear Documents from ‘Other’ Storage Volume.
Strangely many text documents and other document files tend to acquire a large space on ‘Other’ disk over a period of time. To clean up these Documents from Other Storage do below steps :
1. On your Mac desktop, Press Command + F, Click on ‘This Mac’.
2. Click on the First dropdown menu field and Select ‘Other’.
3. On the Search Attributes section, Select tick File Size and File Extension.
4. Here you can provide different document file types (.pdf, .pages etc) and File Sizes to locate large document files.
5. From the list of tiles, identify the items you want to remove and then move them to Trash.
You can perform the above procedure easily using a third party clean up tool like CleanMyMac X with just a click of a button.
Method 2: Remove System and Temporary files in ‘Other’ Space
As you use your Mac over a time period, it tends to create lots of System and Temporary files for various functionality.
To remove manually you need to visit the ‘~/Library/Application Support’ folder, and search for various system and temporary files and move them to Trash. But there is an easy way also through third party app CleanMyMac X to remove all junk faster.
Method 3: Delete Cache files from ‘Other’ Storage section.
Cache files are the major junk taking up quite a bit of ‘Other’ disk space, cache can be of browser, user and system. To manually delete Cache files on your Mac :
- Open Finder and Go > Go To Finder.
- Type the following locations
‘~/Library/Caches/’
‘/Library/Caches/’
‘~/Library/Logs/’
And Click on ‘Go’ Button.
- When the folders are open, search and identify all the cache files and move them to Trash.
- Finally don’t forget to Empty Trash.
Method 4: Clear App Plugins and Extensions in ‘Other’ Section
Although all the Apps are under the ‘Apps’ Storage section on the graph, their plugins and extensions come under ‘Other’ Storage Section. It’s better to remove them after uninstalling apps to get back lost space.
Open all the web browsers on your Mac and identify all the unwanted Extensions to remove them.
Method 5: Remove Disk Images and Archives from ‘Other’ Space.
Usually Archives and Disk Images are created for safe keeping but sometimes they are just lying on your Disk after the reason is over. It is better to clear them out for disk space.
- Go to Finder, Type DMG/ZIP in the Search box.
- Select Search: ‘This Mac’.
- Sort the result list by File Size.
- Identify the files you have archived and images not needed anymore and delete them.
You can also delete these Archives and Disk Images easily using CleanMyMax X app. Its dedicated System Junk Module lets you identify file formats and size to remove them after review.
Method 6: Delete Application Logs and Support files
Even after uninstalling apps, their logs and support files stay behind occupying space on your Mac. Remove these junk from your Mac to regain Disk Space following the steps below.
1. Go to Finder and Press Command + Shift + G then in search type : ~/Library/Application Support.
2. Look for the app folders you have removed with the same name and move those to Trash.
3. Do the same to remove other app support files from below locations :
~/Library/Logs
~/Library/Containers
Frequently asked questions –
Q1. How do I clear other storage on my Mac?
You can clear Other Storage on Mac manually by looking and identifying these junk files such as large documents, system logs, temporary files etc and move them to trash. Follow the above article for more elaborate information.
Q2. What is the other on Mac storage?
The ‘Other’ Storage Section shown in the Mac Storage graph generally includes all necessary documents and supporting files of system and apps. But they also include a lot of system junk and app caches which take up a large chunk of disk space.
Q3. Why is other storage so high on Mac?
Over a period of time using Mac, it tends to accumulate large cache files, system logs and temporary files which all come under ‘Other’ Storage.
Q4. How do I get rid of other storage?
You can get rid of ‘Other’ Storage to some extent by manually looking for them and moving to Trash. But you can not completely remove it, as it contains some system temporary files and app support files.
Conclusion On Ways to Clear Other Storage On Mac
In conclusion, clearing the enigmatic “Other” storage on a Mac involves employing diverse and effective techniques to reclaim valuable disk space. By implementing these methods, users can optimize storage usage, improve system performance, and ensure a smoother experience within the macOS environment.
Regular maintenance and selective deletion of unnecessary files help manage “Other” storage, contributing to a more streamlined and efficient Mac experience overall.
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