How to Delete Downloads on Mac

To delete downloads on Mac, open your Downloads folder from the Finder section, select files you want to remove, then right-click and choose Move to Trash. After that, right-click on the Trash icon on the Dock and select Empty Trash to permanently delete them. Alternatively, go to System Settings > General > Storage > Documents > Downloads to immediately clear downloads on Mac without moving them to Trash.

Videos, images, audio files, and app installers can occupy lots of your MacBook’s free space. So if you need to free up disk space, cleaning up your downloads folder on Mac is a great place to start. If you’re finding it difficult to locate and organize your Downloads folder, stay tuned, and we’ll show the quickest and easiest way to manage your downloads and save yourself some gigabytes.

What happens if you delete downloads on MacBook

If you delete downloads on your Mac through Finder, they’ll be moved to your Trash folder. Trash allows you to recover any files you accidentally deleted, so if you want to permanently delete files—you’ll have to open Trash and empty it.

A note from our experts:  

 

We claim that there’s a better way to get rid of downloads on Mac, as even after clearing your downloads, you may still not have enough free disk space. This can be annoying, especially when your Mac won't let you download new files. So, the solution is to use MacKeeper’s Safe Cleanup to free up disk space purely by deleting useless junk files.

 

Here’s how to free up junk space without losing any personal files:

1. Download and install MacKeeper.
2. Select Safe Cleanup from the side menu.
3. Click Start Scan, and MacKeeper will automatically identify the junk files on your Mac.
4. Tick the items you want to remove (e.g. Caches, Logs etc.) and then hit Clean Junk Files.

How to find downloads on Mac

You can find your downloads folder on Mac by either selecting Downloads in your Dock next to the Trash Can, or by opening Finder and selecting Downloads from the Favorites section of the side menu.  

Our pro-tip:

 

If your downloads aren’t ending up in the Downloads folder, this could be due to your web browser’s settings. To change or check the destination of your downloaded files, see our instructions below.

 

If you use Safari, you’ll manage your downloads this way:

1. Open Safari, then select Safari from the top toolbar.
2. Select Preferences from the drop-down menu.
3. In the General tab, check the File Download Location to find out where your downloads are saved. Click the folder if you’d like to update it, and select a new location.

If you use Google Chrome, do the following:

1. Open the Chrome app, and then select Chrome from the menu bar.
2. In the Chrome menu, select Preferences.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the Preferences page, and select Advanced.
4. In the Downloads section, you can find where your downloads are saved. Click Change if you want to update it.

How to organize your downloads

If you’re looking to clear out your downloads on Mac, it’s helpful to sort them in Finder. This way, you can find old downloads that you no longer require or larger files which could be taking up the most storage space.

Sort the downloads by size

If you want to empty your downloads folder on Mac to free up disk space, it’s much easier to organize your downloads by size, so you can locate large files and delete them. To organize your downloads by size, follow the steps below:

1. Open your Downloads folder in Finder.
2. Right-click inside the Downloads folder.
3. Select Sort By from the drop-down menu, and then select Size.

Organize your downloads using a list view

It’s much easier to see how much space each file takes up in your Downloads folder when you view the folder as a list. The list view will show you file size information quickly without needing to open another menu. To update your folder view to a list:

1. Open the Downloads folder.
2. Right-click inside your Downloads folder.
3. Select View, and then click As List.

Sort the downloaded date by a date

If you’ve already removed your larger downloads by sorting by size, we suggest then organizing them by date. This means you can see your most recent downloads and remove unwanted files. To sort your downloads by date:

1. Open Finder and go to the Downloads folder.
2. Right-click inside your Downloads folder.
3. Select Sort By, then click Date Added.

How to clear downloads on Mac

After locating your large downloads, and other downloaded files that you no longer need, you can then trash your downloads on Mac.

Important: We’d like to remind you that when you move files to Trash, they aren’t completely deleted from your Mac. So, if you’re sure you want to do this, drag and drop each file you don’t want to the Trash icon in your Dock. However, there’s a much faster way if you need to delete multiple downloads on Mac at once—see it below.

1. Remove downloads manually

To manually remove downloads from your Mac by emptying the Bin or Trash, follow our guide below:

1. Open your Downloads folder.
2. Hold down cmd and click on each file you want to delete.
3. Then, right-click and select Move to Trash.
4. To permanently delete these files, click the Trash icon in your dock, and click Empty in the top right corner of the window.

If you also want to clear the downloads history on a Mac, after removing the files from the Downloads folder, you need to open each web browser, such as Safari or Google Chrome, and remove the download list. In Safari, click the Downloads icon and then click the Clear button. In Google Chrome, click the three dots icon, select Downloads, and then click Clear all.

2. Empty downloads automatically

To permanently delete downloads on Mac without needing to empty your Trash, you can speed up the process by using your Mac’s built-in Storage tool. Please note that if you delete any files here, they will not be recoverable. This method is especially useful when you need to mass delete downloads on Mac. Here’s how to do it:

1. Click the Apple logo in the top left corner of your screen, and select About this Mac.
2. Open the Storage tab and then select Manage.
3. Select Documents from the side menu, and then click on the Downloads tab to view downloaded files.
4. Select a file you want to delete, and then click Delete in the bottom right corner to delete it.

Pro tip: You can delete Downloads on Mac without a mouse by using keyboard shortcuts only. Press Command+Space bar to open the Spotlight search, type Downloads, and press Enter. Once in the Downloads folder, use the arrow keys to select the file (Shift+arrow key to select multiple, Command+A to select all) and press Command+Delete to move them to Trash. 

More space gives your Mac more pace

If you’ve followed our guide, you should hopefully have managed to erase your downloads on Mac. Though freeing up disk space is great so you can download more files, you may be unaware that having more disk space also helps to speed up your MacBook.

Meanwhile, you can also achieve the same by freeing up RAM with MacKeeper’s Memory Cleaner:

1. Open MacKeeper.
2. Select Memory Cleaner from the side menu, and then click Open.
3. Click Clean Memory and wait a few seconds. MacKeeper will then remove junk from your RAM, which will make your apps run quicker.