What Is Other in Mac Storage and How to Clear Other?

Sue Wayne

Aug 04, 2023 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions

There is no doubt that labels are quite helpful as they make you understand things easily. When you look at your ever-decreasing storage usage on your Mac, you'll get to see several labels, such as Apps, Photos, Backups, and Movies. Then, it comes to confusing label i.e. "Other" storage and you see it is taking up quite large storage capacity on your Mac. If you are wondering what Other storage is and how to get rid of Other on Mac, then you have come to the right place.

Here, you will get to learn everything you need to know about "Other", what it contains, and how you can delete it from your Mac.

Part 1. What Does Other Mean in Mac Storage?

The "Other" category is a blend of files that aren't recognized as one of the other file categories (Apps, Music, Photos, etc). Similar to "Other" on iOS devices, it stores different types of files. It takes a lot of storage space and that's why the majority of Mac users want to know how to delete other storage on Mac? It is also known as home to numerous files, temporary files, cached data, and junk files you probably want to remove from your Mac.

So, files present under this category may seem useless and redundant and can be removed. However, we recommended that you should first have a look at what type of files Another category contains.

The label "Other" can be quite misleading as it doesn't only include junk files, but also crucial personal files. Thus, it is better that you should have a glance at what it contains to avoid the accidental deletion of some important data.

Part 2. How to Fix "Microsoft Word Not Opening Mac"?

Well, you now got an idea about what "Others" storage on Mac is all about. You might be probably wondering to know about what type of specific files is in there? It contains:

• Common file and document types, which include doc, PSD, PDF, and many more.
• Files in the OS X system folder, which include temporary files, voices, swap, and much more.
• Any type of disk images and archives, which include zips, tar, dmg, iso, etc.
• Your personal information and data.
• Application support, screensavers, iCloud files, etc.
• Fonts, application plugins, app extensions, app accessories.
• Numerous file types that aren't identified by Spotlight, for instance, a Windows Boot Camp partitions, virtual machine hard drive, and much more.
• Cache files, which include browser cache, system cache, and user cache.
• Non-time machine backups by apps, which include iTunes-created iOS device backup files.
• Files in the download folders.
• User and preferences settings.
• Third-party applications and Apple files
• Other system files such as catalogs, the File system event store, the disk directory, etc.

These files are present in Others category and thus, it is no surprise at all that the size of your "Other'" storage will normally come out so large.

Now, the main concern after knowing MacBook Pro/Air other storage you'll have is how to clear up Other space on Mac. So, continue reading this article to know how to do it.

Part 3. How to Delete Other Storage on Mac?

The truth is that you can't wholly delete Other storage on Mac. However, you can try to minimize how much storage capacity it takes up. Here, we are going to tell you different types of Other files, how you can get rid of them from your Mac and empty trash on Mac. So, let's begin.

1. Check the Other Storage Status

The first step to removing Other storage on Mac starts by knowing how to check the Mac storage usage. Well, here are the simple steps you need to follow:

1. To begin with, tap on your Finder or desktop icon from the Dock.
2. Next, choose the Apple Menu icon located at the upper-left of your computer screen.
3. After that, tap on About This Mac
4. Now, you need to select the Storage tab.

Finally, you get to see that each bar segment providing you with the estimation of the storage space being used by a different type of files. You can move your pointer or cursor over each segment to get more information about how storage capacity is being used on your Mac by different categories, which include Other too.

2. Get Rid of Cache Files

Now, you know how much storage space the "Other" category is taking up on your Mac, it's time to get rid of it. You can begin by deleting files you don't need any more, which include caches for web browser, photo previews, and much more like that.

1. Go to the new Finder window.
2. Here, select "Go">" Go to Folder" or you can use "Shift + Cmd + G" shortcut.
3. When the window appears, you need to enter "~/Library/caches" into the text field.

   

4. After that, choose the app folder you want to get rid of it. Next, drag it to trash to delete them from your Mac.

   

5. Again, using the "Shift + Cmd + G" keyboard shortcut, move to the folder, and now, enter "/Library/caches " (rather than "~/Library/caches"). Next, you need to repeat all the above steps to delete the cache folders and files.

That's how you can delete cache files manually on your Mac.

3. Delete Downloaded Files

Possibilities are, your Mac Downloads folder contains Other-type items, which include documents, folders, installer packages, and other folders for which you've already copied in somewhere location. Thus, if you want to free up space on your Mac, then it's time to delete your downloaded files.

1. From the dock, go to Finder, and tap on it.
2. Once you enter the manage page, look for the Downloads.
3. Once you locate it, tap on it to view all downloaded files on the right pane.
4. Now, you can choose all the downloaded files you want to delete by using "Command + A". After that, right-click on the selected files, and choose "Move to Trash".
5. Finally, you can empty the Trash folder on your Mac.

   

4. Remove Temporary Files

When your Mac is running currently, it creates system files known as logs and these files are crucial for your system to work normally, but only on a particular time span. After some time these items become outdated, resulting in taking up a large amount of your disk space. These files also come under the "Other" storage category. Generally, these files are known as temporary files.

Sometimes, you need to delete temporary files manually and so, here are the steps on how to clean Other storage on Mac:

1. To start with, move to "~/Users/User/Library/Application Support/".

   

2. Here, you will get to view applications that taking up a lot of storage space on your Mac with their temporary files.
3. You can delete them manually by dragging them to the Trash folder.

5. Clear Plug-ins and Backups

While apps on Mac storage bar labels as Apps, and their plug-ins or add-ons comes under the Other category. As compared to other file types, app plug-ins and extensions don't take up much storage space of your Mac. But, every bit matters and that's why it is better that you should clear plug-ins from your Mac in order to save some storage space.

Here, we are going to show how you can delete extensions and plug-ins from various browsers, which include Chrome, Safari, and Firefox:

To clear extensions from Chrome:

1. Launch Chrome and tap on the three-dot icon located at the top=right corner.
2. Next, tap on More tools and then, choose Extensions.
3. Finally, remove or disable as you want.

   

To clear extensions from Safari:

1. Run Safari and tap on Preferences.
2. Next, tap on the Extensions tab.
3. Finally, choose the extension you like to remove and tap "Uninstall" to clear or make it Enable to Disable.

   

To clear extensions from Firefox:

1. Run the Mozilla Firefox browser and tap on the burger menu located at the top-right corner.
2. Next, select Add-ons.
3. Finally, go to the Extensions and Plugins tab to clear whatever plug-ins you want to.

   

Besides plug-ins, do you back up your iOS device using iTunes on a regular basis? Is so, then you may have lots of old unwanted backups too. Each backup can take up nearly 5GB, and that's why it is better that you should get rid of unnecessary backups. It is also another way for clearing Other storage on Mac. So, here are steps on how to do it:

1. Run iTunes on your Mac.
2. Tap the iTunes menu and choose Preferences.

   

3. Next, choose Devices.
4. Here, choose the backup you want to remove and tap on 'Delete Backup".

   

Part 4. Tips for Deleting Other Files on Mac

If you're searching for effective tips on deleting Other files on Mac so that you don't end up deleting important files, then here are ones you're looking for:

• When you're deleting cache files, remember that you only need to remove old and unwanted files because current cache items save your preferences. That's why we firmly recommend that you should only remove cache items from old applications.
• When you are removing plug-ins and extensions, if you are not sure what an extension or plug-in does, then try to disable it first, and check if your system and apps work normally. You can delete that later.
• There is no doubt that you can delete temporary and cache files manually. However, if you want a much faster and safer method to do this, then you can use a cleaning app for Mac.
• When you've deleted old iOS backup from iTunes application to clean Other on Mac, make sure that you don't delete the latest backup version.
• Last but not the least tip is that delete only those items for which you have a clear idea that removing them won't create problems in the functioning of your system and apps.

Part 5. Bonus Tip: How to Recover Accidentally Deleted Files on Mac?

While you are trying to repair the drive and word files, it is common that the solutions don't work as expected and the files get deleted from Mac. Here is the perfect solution if getting stuck in such circumstances without any recovery option.

1. Recoverit - The Best Software to Recover Word Files:

The best tool available for data recovery on the internet is Recoverit Data Recovery Mac. This software is capable of recovering various kinds of deleted or lost data. It is a faster, easier, and more reliable recovery tool with a high recovery rate.

Recoverit - The Best Mac File Recovery Software

• Recover files from all storage devices like Mac.
• Recover 1000+ types and formats of data in all situations.
• Scan and preview the files before you recover them on Mac.

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2. How to Recover Lost Word Files on Mac:

Step 1: Select a Location

Launch the software and select the drive from where the data files are lost. If you don't know which drive to search, tap on the "I can't find my partition" option, and hit the Start button.

Step 2: Scan the Location

Typically, the software will run an All-Around Recovery scan and search for the lost and deleted files on the entire drive.

Step 3: Preview and Recover

When the scan completes, the files will be listed on the screen. The software will sort out the files according to format to make the search easier. You can select multiple files at a time and have a preview at them.

Video Tutorial on How to Recover Deleted Files on Mac Even Emptied Trash?

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Conclusion

That's all on what is Other storage on Mac, how to find Other files on Mac, and how to get rid of them to free up storage space. If you end up deleting some important files by mistake while trying to delete Other files, then Recoverit can help you to get back your deleted files with ease.