How to Clear Other Storage on Mac: 8 Best Ways

Written by

Ojash

Reviewed by

Hashir Ibrahim

Last updated: July 27, 2024

Expert verified

Your Mac’s “Other” storage category can be a bit of a mystery. It’s a catch-all for all sorts of files that don’t fit into other categories, such as cache files, system logs, and temporary files. Over time, these files can build up and take up a lot of space on your Mac.

If you’re running low on storage, clearing Other storage on Mac can be a great way to free up some space. In this article, I’ll show you how to clear other storage on Mac manually and using third-party tools.

What Is Other in Mac Storage?

The “Other” storage category on Mac refers to files that don’t fit into any of the other categories, such as Applications, Documents, Movies, Music, and Photos. This category can include a variety of files, such as:

• 🗄️ Cache files: These are temporary files created by apps to speed up your Mac performance.
• 📊 System logs: These files track system events and errors.
• 🗂️ Temporary files: These files are created by apps when they’re running.
• ⬇️ Downloads: These are files that you’ve downloaded from the internet.
• 💻 Installers: These include installers, like .dmg, .pkg, used to install apps.
• 📂 Other miscellaneous files: This category can include any other files that don’t fit into any of the other categories.

As you can see, the “Other” storage category on your Mac can contain a wide variety of files, from redundant installer files that you should have deleted a long time ago to important PDF documents you never want to lose. This makes it difficult to manage this storage effectively.

However, I know a great way to do it. Continue reading to learn more!

How to Check Storage on Mac

Before you clear Other storage on Mac, you must know where to look for this type of storage container. You can find it in your System Settings by following these steps:

1. Open System Settings by clicking the Apple menu and selecting System Settings.

2. Click General and select Storage.

3. In the Storage section, you will see a breakdown of how your storage is being used. The Other Users color represents the Other storage on your Mac.

How to Delete Other Storage on Mac: The Best Method

Depending on your Mac usage and applications, the Other storage category might occupy a significant amount of space, which you can easily free up with MacKeeper.

This app is essential for any Mac user as it efficiently manages files, folders, apps, extensions, updates, mail attachments, and the Trash. Its primary function, however, is to optimize your Mac’s performance.

MacKeeper has different features you can use to clear the Other storage items, like cache files, temp files, duplicates, and system logs. Below, I’ve shared the step-by-step instructions for MacBook Other storage cleanup using MacKeeper:

a. Clean Cache Files Using Safe Cleanup

Here’s how to clean cache files on your Mac with MacKeeper:

1. Download and install MacKeeper on your Mac.
2. Open MacKeeper and click Safe Cleanup in the left sidebar.

3. Click Start Scan.

4. Wait for the scan to complete, and select the junk files you want to delete. You can also click Check All to select all.

5. Click Clean Junk Files.

6. A Cleaning Completed notification will appear with the size of junk files removed. Click Rescan to run the scan again.

b. Remove Duplicate Files Using Duplicates Finder

Follow these steps to remove duplicate files on your Mac using Duplicates Finder:

1. Download and install MacKeeper on your Mac.
2. Open MacKeeper on your Mac and click Duplicates Finder in the left sidebar.

3. Click Start Scan.

4. Select a folder in the left menu to review duplicate files before deletion.

5. Alternatively, you can click Check All and tap the Remove Selected button to remove all duplicate files simultaneously.

6. Tap the Remove button on the pop-up to confirm the deletion.

7. This will remove the selected files, and you’ll get a Removal Completed message. Click Finish to end the process.

c. Delete System Logs Using Safe Cleanup

Here’s how to delete system data on your Mac with MacKeeper:

1. Download and install MacKeeper on your Mac.
2. Open MacKeeper and click Safe Cleanup in the left sidebar.

3. Click Start Scan.

4. When the scan completes, select Logs in the left panel and check System Logs in the right pane.

5. Select the System Logs you want to delete and click the Clean Junk Files button.

6. A Cleaning Completed notification will appear with the size of the System Log files removed. Click Rescan to run the scan again.

How to Clear Other Storage on Mac

If you don’t have MacKeeper, you can manually remove unnecessary files from the Other storage. However, it’s not as simple as going to Apple’s Manage menu (About This Mac > Storage > Manage). You can only view how much space Other storage occupies on your Mac, but you cannot access the files.

So, how to get rid of Other storage on Mac? Below, I explain it in detail.

1. Clear the Cache on Your Mac

Although the quickest and safest way to clear the cache files on your Mac is with MacKeeper, you can do it manually, too. Here are the steps on how to clear the cache on your Mac manually:

1. Open the Finder on your Mac.

2. Click Go in the menu bar and select Go to Folder.

2. Type the following path into the search bar and press Enter:

~/Library/Caches/

3. This will open the Caches folder. Select the folder for the system data you want to clear.
4. Right-click the files and select Move to Bin.

5. Permanently delete the cache from your Mac by right-clicking the Bin icon and selecting Empty Bin.

2. Delete System Logs on Mac

System logs are files that track system events and errors on your Mac. They can be helpful for troubleshooting problems, but they can also take up a lot of space. If you’re running low on storage, you may want to delete some of your system logs.

You can manually delete system log files on your Mac by following these steps:

1. Open Finder from your Dock.

2. Click Go in the menu bar and select Go to Folder.

3. Type the following path in the search bar and press Enter:

~/Library/Logs

4. You’ll see a list of log files. To remove a file, select and delete the folder contents instead of dragging the folder to the Bin.

5. After moving the files to the Bin, right-click the Bin icon in your Dock and click Empty Bin to delete the log files permanently.

3. Delete Application Support Files

Apps use application support files to store data and settings. They can be helpful for the app to run smoothly, but they can also take up a lot of space on your system even after uninstalling the apps on your Mac. Think of these like app leftovers.

You can delete application support files manually by following these steps:

1. Open the Finder.

2. Click the Go menu and select Go to Folder.

3. Type the following path and press Enter:

~/Library/Application Support

4. This will open the Application Support folder. Select the files you want to delete.

5. Right-click the selected files and click Move to Bin.

6. Empty the Bin by right-clicking its icon and selecting Empty Bin.

4. Delete Old Time Machine Backups

One way to easily delete system data on a Mac to clear Other storage is by removing Time Machine backups. Although Time Machine backups are typically stored on external or network drives, macOS also keeps a duplicate backup copy on the startup drive.

Follow these steps to delete old Time Machine backups on your Mac:

1. Open the Terminal application located in the Utilities folder within Applications.

2. In the Terminal window, enter the following command and press Enter:

sudo tmutil delete /path/to/backup

Replace /path/to/backup with the actual path to the Time Machine backup you want to delete. For instance, if the backup is stored on an external hard drive called BackupDrive, the command would become:

sudo tmutil delete /Volumes/BackupDrive/Backups.backupdb/ComputerName/YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS

Replace ComputerName with your Mac’s name and YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS with the specific backup date and time.

3. You will be prompted to enter your admin password. Type it in and press Enter.
4. Terminal will initiate the deletion of the Time Machine backup. The duration of this process will depend on the size of the backup and may take some time.

5. Remove Extensions from Other Storage  

Apps have their own sit in your Mac’s storage — but not their add-ons (plugins and extensions). The latter usually falls into the Other category. If you know which plugins and extensions may be removed, you can free up a good chunk of storage by deleting them.

MacKeeper has a one-click option for this, but you can also do it manually. You can delete plugins via Library: Finder > Go > Go to Folder > ~/Library/Internet Plug-Ins.

To remove browser extensions, you should follow a set of instructions that are specific to your browser. Here are the most common ones. 

a. Remove Extensions from Safari

You can remove browser extensions on Mac from Safari by following these steps:

1. Open Safari on your Mac, click Safari in the menu bar and select Settings from the drop-down menu.

2. Click the Extensions tab to view all the installed extensions.

3. Find the extension you want to remove and click it.

4. Click the Uninstall button to confirm you want to remove the extension.

b. Remove Extensions from Chrome

Here’s how to remove extensions from Google Chrome on your Mac: 

1. Click the Google Chrome icon in your Dock or search for it in the Applications folder.

2. Click the three-dot icon in the top right corner of the Chrome window. Hover your mouse over More Tools and select Extensions from the submenu.

3. Find the extension you want to remove from the list. You can also use the search bar to find it quickly.
4. Click the Remove button next to the extension you want to uninstall. Confirm the removal when prompted.

To temporarily disable an extension without removing it, toggle off the switch next to it. If you have trouble removing an extension, check the developer’s website, or contact Chrome support. 

c. Remove Extensions from Firefox

Follow these steps to remove extensions on Firefox:

1. Open Firefox on your Mac by clicking its icon in your Dock or Applications folder.

2. Click Firefox in the menu bar and select Settings from the drop-down menu.

4. Click Extensions & Themes in the left-hand menu to view all the extensions installed in Firefox.

5. Find the extension you want to remove and click the three dots icon. Tap Remove in the drop-down menu.

6. Click Remove again to confirm that you want to remove the extension.

6. Delete Disk Images

Disk images (.dmg files) are often used to install software or to share files. They can be a good way to keep your files organized but can also take up a lot of space. Deleting unnecessary .dmg files can free up storage space on your Mac.

Here are the steps to delete disk images on a Mac: 

1. Open Finder from your Dock.

2. Click the small magnifying glass icon in the top right corner of the Finder window.
3. Type dmg in the search bar to show all files with the same extension in their name.

4. Select the .dmg files you no longer need, right-click them, and select Move to Bin.

5. Finally, empty the Bin by right-clicking it and selecting Empty Bin to remove the files from your Mac permanently.

Clear Other Storage on Mac to Optimize Its Performance

Clearing other storage on Mac can be a great way to free up space and improve your Mac’s performance. If you’re interested in further optimizing your Mac’s performance, here are a few more tips for you:

• Regularly clean up your Mac to avoid performance issues, as junk files can pile up, causing your system to become slow and crash often.
• Make sure you regularly delete junk files on your Mac to avoid unnecessary items hogging precious storage space on your hard drive.
• If you’re getting the ‘Your Disk Is Almost Full’ on Mac error, it means your hard drive is full. So, it’s time to clear your Mac’s hard drive.

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