What is Other in Mac Storage

Are you facing a “Your startup disk is full” situation, but you have no more files that you can erase from your MacBook or iMac? Don’t despair! You can free up valuable disk space by cleaning the ‘Other’ storage on your Mac.

The files in the ‘Other’ storage, often mysterious and elusive, can accumulate over time and consume a significant portion of your disk space. Taking the time to find and delete these unnecessary files can help you reclaim valuable storage space and ensure that your Mac operates smoothly. Our guide aims to walk you through how to delete all the useless files occupying your precious storage—carry on.

Before we start

 

Managing your Mac’s disk space usage can be challenging if you decide to keep track of all your data and stored files manually. An alternative solution for looking after all your precious items would be to rely on the help of an automatic cleanup tool that’s designed to erase unneeded files quickly. MacKeeper’s Safe Cleanup is the perfect tool for decluttering your storage.

 

Here’s how MacKeeper’s Safe Cleanup works:

1. Download and install MacKeeper.
2. Go to the Safe Cleanup tool.
3. Click Start Scan and tick everything you want MacKeeper to remove.
4. Click Clean Junk Files, and all your unwanted files will be deleted.

What is Other on Mac storage

In essence, the ‘Other’ storage on your Mac refers to a space that encompasses various file types that don't neatly fit into standard categories like videos, photos, music, apps, or mail when stored on your drive. This category often includes miscellaneous files, junk data, and personal files that aren't easily classified elsewhere.

For your clarity, look through the table below to learn the most common types of data sorted as ‘Other’:

The main problem that can arise when files are sorted this way is the significant disk space they demand.  Not to forget, they can be hidden deep in your library, making them difficult to locate let alone clear out.

How to check what's taking up Other storage on Mac

If you’re not completely sure how much space macOS Other storage is using up on your device, then now might be a good time to get familiar with its contents. To check how much ‘Other’ storage is taking up your hard drive, starting with macOS Sierra, follow these steps below:

1. Open System Settings > General > Storage.
2. Look at the chart at the top of your screen and hover over the System Data section.

How to find Other storage on macOS Ventura and later

If you’re looking to manage Other storage on your Mac to optimize your MacBook or iMac’s performance on a device with macOS Ventura or a later model, you’ll first need to know how to find your ‘Other’ storage. We recommend you use the Finder library directory to help find the data files that are old or no longer needed on your Mac.

Use Finder to find your ‘Other’ storage on macOS Ventura or later:

1. Open Finder.
2. Navigate to Go > Go to Folder.
3. In the box, type: ~/Library.
4. Explore the container folders to identify large files or folders contributing to your ‘Other’ storage category.

How to check Other storage on macOS Monterey and earlier

If you're looking to get rid of other storage on a Mac that uses macOS Monterey or earlier, to help you reduce digital clutter, then knowing how to check ‘Other’ storage is also essential.

Here’s how you can check your Other storage on macOS Monterey and earlier:

1. Click the Apple logo in the menu bar.
2. Select About This Mac.
3. Switch to Storage > System Data.

Hint from our experts: 

 

When manually sorting out your Mac disk to free up space, clearing the largest portion of clutter is advice and the accumulation of other storage on Mac is huge. If you’d like support on how to clear up disk space on Mac or if you’re still unsure what files are sorted as ‘Other’ storage, you can refer back to the table we’ve provided to guide you.

How to clear Other Storage on Mac

Managing Other storage on your Mac is essential for maintaining optimal performance and reclaiming valuable space on your Macintosh disk. To help you effectively clear ‘Other’ storage, we'll provide several solutions accompanied by step-by-step instructions to help you delete all unnecessary data hijacking your valuable disk space.

Here are the solutions we’ll guide you through to manage Other storage on Mac:

1. Clear cache
2. Delete old Time Machine backups
3. Get rid of disk images and archives
4. Delete extensions and plugins
5. Get rid of DMG installers
6. Delete downloaded files
7. Get rid of iTunes device backups
8. Remove application logs and support files

1. Clear cache

The Other storage on Mac is huge, with one of the biggest contributors being cache files. As different types of cache files can waste your valuable disk space, clearing them is much advised.

Here's how to manually delete cache files from the 'Other' category:

1. Open Finder and select Go > Go to Folder from the menu bar.
2. Type ~/Library.
3. Find a Caches folder and copy its contents to the desktop for a backup.
4. Move the original Caches folder to Trash.
5. Empty your Trash bin.

2. Delete old Time Machine backups

Old Time Machine backups can accumulate and occupy a substantial amount of space on your Macintosh hard drive. By deleting these outdated backups, you can reclaim valuable storage and ensure efficient use of your Mac’s disk.

To delete old backups via Time Machine, follow these steps:

1. Connect your backup drive to your Mac.
2. Go to System Settings > General > Time Machine > Add Backup Disk.
3. Now, choose your preferred storage.
4. Click on Set Up Disk and finish the preparation process.
5. Now, open your Time Machine.
6. Look through your backups and choose what you want to delete.
7. Click on the Gear icon in the Finder window.
8. Choose Delete Backup.
9. Confirm the action and enter your admin password.

3. Get rid of disk images and archives

Another solution to help you get rid of Other storage on Mac is to remove unnecessary disk images and archive files. These file types can contribute significantly to the ‘Other’ storage category. However, since they're not system files, they must be cleared manually.

Here's how to get rid of disk images and archive files on your Mac device:

1. Open a Finder window and head to the search box on the right-hand side.
2. In the search box, type in .zip or .dmg.
3. Choose Search This Mac.
4. Look through the files and delete the ones you no longer need by selecting Move to Bin.
5. Remember to Empty Bin.

4. Delete extensions and plugins

Streamlining your Mac's functionality can also involve clearing unnecessary extensions and plugins. App plugins and extensions are usually categorized as other storage on Mac, but they would need to be deleted from your browser.

To remove plugins:

1. Open your web browser.
2. Click on Settings… or the preferences menu.
3. Navigate to the section related to plugins.
4. Select the plugin you want to remove.
5. Click on the option to uninstall or remove the plugin.

To delete web browser extensions:

1. In your web browser, navigate to Extensions.
2. Find the extension you want to delete.
3. Click on the option to remove or uninstall the extension.

To erase screensavers:

1. Open System Settings.
2. Click on Screen Saver.
3. Choose the screensavers you want to delete from the list.
4. Click on the - button below the list to remove the screensaver.

Note from our team: 

 

The above steps might look slightly different depending on the browser you use, so if you’d like more help with how to reduce system storage on Mac, this supporting blog article may come in very handy. Also, you can automate the process of removing unnecessary extensions with the help of MacKeeper’s Smart Uninstaller. With its help, you’ll have a cleaner Mac with less digital clutter within minutes.

 

Here’s how to uninstall browser extensions with our app:

1. Download MacKeeper and open the app.
2. Go to the Smart Uninstaller tool.
3. Click Start Scan and wait for the scan results.
4. Look through the necessary extension/plugin and tick the one you want to delete.
5. Click Remove Selected, and all your unwanted files will be deleted.

5. Get rid of DMG installers

Another solution we recommend to clear Other storage on Mac is to declutter your Downloads folder. This space can easily get cluttered with large files. In particular, the numerous DMG files that are left after an app is installed can demand a huge amount of your Macintosh’s available storage space.

Here’s how to get rid of DMG installer files from Mac:

1. Open a Finder window and head to the search box on the right-hand side.
2. In the search box, type in .dmg.
3. Look through the files and delete the ones you no longer need by selecting Move to Bin.
4. Finally, Empty Trash.

Our expert’s advice: 

 

Be careful when you attempt to delete installer files, as you might accidentally erase something important. Removing essential system logs and files could also be a security risk because many files are there to protect your Mac against malicious software or cyberattacks.

 

If you’re ever unsure what’s safe to delete, either hold off on investigating or consider using a third-party app like MacKeeper to scan your device for digital clutter that it can safely remove for you. This will give you the peace of mind that nothing important will be removed, keeping your device’s security and stability intact.

6. Delete downloaded files

Over time, downloaded files can accumulate on your Mac, occupying valuable storage space. Deleting your unnecessary files is essential to help you manage the Other storage on your Mac.  That’s how you can improve your MacBook or iMac’s performance just by maximizing its storage space.

Here’s how to remove unneeded download files using Finder:

1. Open Finder and go to Downloads.
2. Look through the files.
3. Control-click on the documents you don’t need.
4. Choose Move to Bin.

Or you can use the macOS storage management tool instead:

1. Click the Apple logo and go to About This Mac.
2. Go to Storage, then click the Manage button.
3. Navigate to the Documents section and choose Downloads.
4. Mark the files you don’t need and hit the Delete button.

Important: The first method we’ve mentioned is suitable for removing unneeded download files, using Finder, but it’s not a very quick solution. The second method can instantly remove items, for convenience, but ensure you’ve only selected items you want to delete. Once removed, they cannot be recovered once you click that delete button. Furthermore, this quick solution may not also be available with newer macOS versions, like Sonoma, so check it out carefully first.

7. Get rid of iTunes device backups

Device backups are files that also fall under the 'Other' category. If you’ve recently changed to a new iOS device, you might try removing iTunes device backups of your old Apple devices. You’ll be surprised how much storage space can be taken up by such files.

Here’s how to get rid of iTunes backups with macOS Catalina or later:

1. Open Finder and click your device.
2. Under the General tab, click Manage Backups to see a list of your backups. From here, right-click on the backup you want, then select Delete or Archive.
3. Click Delete Backup, then confirm.

8. Remove application logs and support files

By targeting application logs and support files for removal, you can effectively find Other storage on Mac that you can remove to help declutter the ‘Other’ storage category on your MacBook or iMac computer.

To remove application logs and support files, follow these steps:

1. Go to your Dock and click on Finder.
2. Once opened, head to the top menu bar and click on Go > Go to Folder.
3. In the search box, type in ~/Library/Logs to view app logs or /var/log to view your Mac’s system logs.
4. Navigate the container folders for files that end in .log.
5. Control-click the appropriate log files and choose the option Move to Trash.
6. Once moved to your Trash, control-click the Bin icon and select Empty Trash.

How to delete files in Other automatically

Hopefully, you’ve now learned a lot more about how to get back extra storage on your Mac. If you’ve found it a little tricky to clear Other in Mac storage manually, we recommend trying a third-party app like MacKeeper to help.

Here’s how to use MacKeeper’s Smart Uninstaller to delete files in ‘Other’ storage automatically:

1. Open the MacKeeper app.
2. Go to the Smart Uninstaller tool.
3. Click Start Scan and wait for the scan results.
4. Look through the findings before selecting what application, widget, plugin, or leftover files you want MacKeeper to remove.
5. Click Remove Selected, and all your unwanted files will be deleted.

As you can try and be assured yourself, MacKeeper’s Smart Uninstaller feature is the ideal tool for automatically optimizing your web browser, system logs, and leftover files. With just a few clicks, the tool can scan your computer and show you all the things it can delete to improve your overall storage.

If you still need to clear more space on your internal Macintosh disk, then we highly recommend you give our supporting guide a read. In it, we’ve outlined seven additional steps you can implement to show you how to get more storage on Mac.

Streamlining Mac’s storage: Effortless optimization of Other space

When you need some more space on your computer, consider managing your ‘Other’ storage on your Mac first before removing any other files or applications you might have preferred to keep hold of. The allusive ‘Other’ space is known to take up a considerable amount of unnecessary disk space, so we recommend using the above solutions to help you clear all those pesky system logs, installer files, system cache, and old backup files clogging up your device.

Is manual decluttering not your thing? We’ve got that covered too. For those looking for a more automated approach, third-party apps like MacKeeper provide a plethora of handy solutions. Our Smart Uninstaller and Safe Cleanup tools work well together to efficiently clear ‘Other’ storage whilst still offering comprehensive Mac optimization. With MacKeeper by your side, maintaining a clutter-free and optimized Mac is easier than ever.

FAQ

Why does the Other take up so much storage on Mac?

The 'Other' storage on Mac accumulates various file types that don't fit into standard categories like photos or videos. These files include cached data, system files, and miscellaneous data, which can collectively occupy significant space on your Mac's storage. To address this, clearing Other on Mac storage regularly is highly recommended.

What is considered Other in Mac storage?

The Other storage on Mac is huge as it includes a wide range of file types that aren’t so easily sorted. These include everything from sheets, documents, and Mac screensavers that are recognized by your system as PDFs, .psd, .doc, .EPUB, and .txt files. Backup and temporary macOS system files are also considered to be ‘Other” storage. These file types would include browser cookies, device cache, and system logs.

Additionally, 'Other' storage may contain logs, images, and files for all your installed apps as well as your web browsers. While these files are essential for various system functions, they can consume significant disk space on your MacBook, affecting your overall user experience. Not only that, if you do decide to delete them, they can be challenging to locate and clear out from your library. Nonetheless, efficient management of your Mac’s 'Other' storage is crucial for optimizing disk space and maintaining system performance.

Is it safe to delete Other files on Mac?

Yes, it's generally safe to reduce unnecessary files in the 'Other' storage category on your Mac. However, it's essential to exercise caution and avoid deleting critical system files or files associated with active applications. Utilizing built-in macOS tools and regularly clearing Other in Mac storage can help ensure safe and efficient file management.

You might also want to consider utilizing third-party applications, like MacKeeper, to help assist in automating the process of clearing ‘Other’ storage on your Mac. The Smart Uninstaller and Safe Cleanup tools offer efficient solutions for identifying and removing unnecessary files while still ensuring that critical system files remain intact.

How to decrease other storage on Mac?

To decrease 'Other' storage on your Mac, you can start by thinking about all the files you don’t want to delete and make a copy of them before deleting other storage on your Mac. This ensures anything you delete is only unnecessary files, cache, or old backup logs; not your important stuff.

Then you can manually go through your Mac libraries, browser extensions, and apps to decide what you want to clear to optimize your storage usage. You can also rely on MacKeeper to decrease your ‘Other’ storage for you, safely removing clutter to keep your device’s security and stability intact.