- CCleaner for Mac! Clean up your Mac and keep your browsing behaviour private with CCleaner, the world's favourite computer cleaning tool.
- This Free Mac cleaner is a multifunction utility tool that can help you clean up the browsing catch, system junk and optimize the speed of your Mac. It is also known as one of the best Mac cleaning tools for professionals as it has a little difficult UI than others.
The Optimized Storage features of your Mac help you save storage space by storing your content in iCloud and making it available on demand:
- When storage space is needed, files, photos, movies, email attachments, and other files that you seldom use are stored in iCloud automatically.
- Each file stays right where you last saved it, and downloads when you open it.
- Files that you’ve used recently remain on your Mac, along with optimized versions of your photos.
If you haven't yet upgraded to macOS Sierra or later, learn about other ways to free up storage space.
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Find out how much storage is available on your Mac
Choose Apple menu > About This Mac, then click Storage. Each segment of the bar is an estimate of the storage space used by a category of files. Move your pointer over each segment for more detail.
Click the Manage button to open the Storage Management window, pictured below.
Manage storage on your Mac
The Storage Management window offers recommendations for optimizing your storage. If some recommendations are already turned on, you will see fewer recommendations.
Store in iCloud
Click the Store in iCloud button, then choose from these options:
- Desktop and Documents. Store all files from these two locations in iCloud Drive. When storage space is needed, only the files you recently opened are kept on your Mac, so that you can easily work offline. Files stored only in iCloud show a download icon , which you can double-click to download the original file. Learn more about this feature.
- Photos. Store all original, full-resolution photos and videos in iCloud Photos. When storage space is needed, only space-saving (optimized) versions of photos are kept on your Mac. To download the original photo or video, just open it.
- Messages. Store all messages and attachments in iCloud. When storage space is needed, only the messages and attachments you recently opened are kept on your Mac. Learn more about Messages in iCloud.
Storing files in iCloud uses the storage space in your iCloud storage plan. If you reach or exceed your iCloud storage limit, you can either buy more iCloud storage or make more iCloud storage available. iCloud storage starts at 50GB for $0.99 (USD) a month, and you can purchase additional storage directly from your Apple device. Learn more about prices in your region.
Optimize Storage
Click the Optimize button to save space by automatically removing watched movies and TV shows. When storage space is needed, movies or TV shows that you purchased from Apple and already watched are removed from your Mac. Click the download icon next to a movie or TV show to download it again.
Your Mac will also save space by keeping only recent email attachments on this Mac when storage space is needed. You can manually download any attachments at any time by opening the email or attachment, or saving the attachment to your Mac.
Optimizing storage for movies, TV shows, and email attachments doesn't require iCloud storage space.
Empty Trash Automatically
Empty Trash Automatically permanently deletes files that have been in the Trash for more than 30 days.
Reduce Clutter
Reduce Clutter helps you identify large files and files you might no longer need. Click the Review Files button, then choose any of the file categories in the sidebar, such as Applications, Documents, Music Creation, or Trash.
You can delete the files in some categories directly from this window. Other categories show the total storage space used by the files in each app. You can then open the app and decide whether to delete files from within it.
Learn how to redownload apps, music, movies, TV shows, and books.
Where to find the settings for each feature
The button for each recommendation in the Storage Management window affects one or more settings in other apps. You can also control those settings directly within each app.
- If you're using macOS Catalina or later, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Apple ID, then select iCloud in the sidebar: Store in iCloud turns on the Optimize Mac Storage setting on the right. To turn off iCloud Drive entirely, deselect iCloud Drive.
- If you're using macOS Mojave or earlier, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click iCloud, then click Options next to iCloud Drive. Store in iCloud turns on the Desktop & Documents Folders and Optimize Mac Storage settings.
- In Photos, choose Photos > Preferences, then click iCloud. Store in iCloud selects iCloud Photos and Optimize Mac Storage.
- In Messages, choose Messages > Preferences, then click iMessage. Store in iCloud selects Enable Messages in iCloud.
- If you're using macOS Catalina or later, open the Apple TV app, choose TV > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Files. Optimize Storage selects “Automatically delete watched movies and TV shows.”
- In you're using macOS Mojave or earlier, open iTunes, choose iTunes > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Advanced. Optimize Storage selects “Automatically delete watched movies and TV shows.”
- In Mail, choose Mail > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Accounts. In the Account Information section on the right, Optimize Storage sets the Download Attachments menu to either Recent or None.
Empty Trash Automatically: From the Finder, choose Finder > Preferences, then click Advanced. Empty Trash Automatically selects “Remove items from the Trash after 30 days.”
Other ways that macOS helps automatically save space
With macOS Sierra or later, your Mac automatically takes these additional steps to save storage space:
- Detects duplicate downloads in Safari, keeping only the most recent version of the download
- Reminds you to delete used app installers
- Removes old fonts, languages, and dictionaries that aren't being used
- Clears caches, logs, and other unnecessary data when storage space is needed
How to free up storage space manually
Even without using the Optimized Storage features described in this article, you can take other steps to make more storage space available:
- Music, movies, and other media can use a lot of storage space. Learn how to delete music, movies, and TV shows from your device.
- Delete other files that you no longer need by moving them to the Trash, then emptying the Trash. The Downloads folder is good place to look for files that you might no longer need.
- Move files to an external storage device.
- Compress files.
- Delete unneeded email: In the Mail app, choose Mailbox > Erase Junk Mail. If you no longer need the email in your Trash mailbox, choose Mailbox > Erase Deleted Items.
Learn more
- The Storage pane of About This Mac is the best way to determine the amount of storage space available on your Mac. Disk Utility and other apps might show storage categories such as Not Mounted, VM, Recovery, Other Volumes, Other, Free, or Purgeable. Don't rely on these categories to understand how to free up storage space or how much storage space is available for your data.
- When you duplicate a file on an APFS-formatted volume, that file doesn't use additional storage space on the volume. Deleting a duplicate file frees up only the space required by any data you might have added to the duplicate. If you no longer need any copies of the file, you can recover all of the storage space by deleting both the duplicate and the original file.
- If you're using a pro app and Optimize Mac Storage, learn how to make sure that your projects are always on your Mac and able to access their files.
Cleaning up anything seems a very laborious task.
I remember how my mother used to bellow at me to clean my room.
But...
...I always had some lame excuse to keep this task at bay.
But unlike then, now it’s totally opposite with me.
Now that I use MacBook, I’m in constant scour for good cleaners for my device.
Keeping the computers and phones clean are not only important to free up space, but it also keeps them safe from Malware and viruses.
Read: Do You Need Virus Protection For Mac?
5 FREE Mac Cleaning Software
Being an Apple products aficionado, and to keep them in good condition, I’ve been using many cleaning apps for my iPhone and MacBook.
I’m listing some of the free Mac Cleaning Softwares and applications for you guys out there who have clogged up PCs and need some memory.
#1: AppCleaner
One of the easiest to use Cleaner of all is AppCleaner.
What you have to do in this application is to just to drag and drop the app that you want to uninstall.
AppCleaner waves its magic wand in two ways.
You can either drop the files manually into the app’s window
or...
...just use the smart delete feature of the app and it will automatically find the files or the data of the deleted files from the trash.
#2: Dr. Cleaner
If you want to speed up and optimize your Mac with just a click then this great app named Dr. Cleaner is just for you.
It cleans your Mac’s disk and frees up a lot of space thus enhancing its performance.
It not only deletes the unwanted files but also eradicates the cache files that are building over a period.
This app is a boon for the amateur Mac users and what else can one ask for but a free app and here you’re served with one.
#3: CCleaner
Want to give your Mac a new kick?
Then you should give a chance to CCleaner.
It’s an effective and simple to use app that makes the Macs fast without touching the privacy of your files.
In fact, it is designed to make the device more secure.
It has three elements - Cleaner, Tools and Options.
These elements remove the junk files, uninstall the programs and fixes or deletes the cookies respectively.
Its paid version has lots of other features
but...
if you just want the basics, then you should go for the free one.
#4: MacClean 3
Why do you let your pretty Mac get cluttered with junk?
MacClean 3 cleans and frees your Mac’s hard drive with zero effort.
It works on the rule of three - Select, Scan and Clean.
It deletes all types of junk, for instance, Internet Junk, System junk, Development Junk etc.
It provides 10 different tools to clean your Mac’s unwanted things totally.
#5: Magican
If you think that buying a Mac frees you from every responsibility of making efforts in maintaining it, then you’re wrong my friend.
Just because the device seems to be working fine doesn’t mean that it don’t need any repair or maintenance.
An optimizer tool, Magican cleans the hard drive of the device from every unnecessary caches and data.
It keeps a check on the status of the system by showing CPU usage and Disk info.
It goes deeply into the stats, which is according to me an efficient feature.
Best Paid Solutions
Now that we’ve discussed the things for freeloaders let me also tell you about the applications, which are paid
but...
...are favorite of Pro Mac users and in which people don’t hesitate while spending, or let me say investing.
#1: CleanMyMac 3
This is my personal favorite and I’d like my readers to give this app a chance.
CleanMyMac 3 cleans gigabytes from the system in a matter of seconds.
It has been a very successful app since much time and now can also be supported by OS X 10.10 Yosemite.
There are many features on the app that helps you to clean the whole system in one click or choosing options from cleaning photo, iTunes, trash or other junk.
It is available for $39.95 per Mac license and in my view the cost is worth this beauty.
You can read the detailed review of CleanMyMac 3 here.
#2: Gemini 2
Free Mac Cleaner 2016 Porsche
Gemini 2, that doesn’t actually clean the device but deletes the duplicate or much similar looking files is already a favorite of many users.
Based on an exclusive algorithm, it scans and removes the files that are alike and unnecessary.
It just requires a simple process - Drag and Drop.
Free Mac Cleaning Software
Available at $19.95, this app is definitely one of its kinds.
You can read the detailed review of Gemini 2 here.
Absolutely Free Cleaner For Mac
Final Words
I’m sure you also want your device to be absolutely cleaned and work without any lagging.
So, go in the world of these awesome Mac Cleaner apps and get awestruck by their features.