What Is Other on Mac Storage and How to Clean Up Useless Other Files

October 11, 2019Nicole Jones
Mac Cleanup

After drinking your first cup of coffee, it is time to start your day with your computer. However, the popping-up message says “Your disk is almost full”. You need to optimize storage to save space on Mac. The dreadful Mac storage is almost full message make you realize that how much stuff stored on your Mac. Well, you may get shocked that “Other” takes up the most storage space.

Clean Up Useless Other Files

What is Other on Mac storage? It is easy to understand about “Audio”, “Movies”, “Photos”, “Apps” and “Backups”. But what does “Other” mean in Mac storage? Is there any way to clean up Other storage on Mac? Luckily, you can figure out what is Other storage on Mac and how to remove files from Other storage in details here.

Part 1: What You Need to Know about Other Storage on Mac

Let’s solve the first question together. What is Other storage space in Mac OS X? Which category should Other belong to? Just read and get your answer.

What Is Other on Mac Storage

Generally speaking, all Mac files that cannot be divided into “Apps”, “Photos” and other categories are Other files. These are some data types that are stored in Other storage on Mac.

  • System and temporary files about macOS, like logs, preferences files and more.
  • Cache data from browser, apps, photos, system, etc.
  • Documents in pdf, doc, psd, csv, etc.
  • Personal information.
  • Browser history, cache, downloads and more.
  • Archives and disk images in zips, dmg, iso, tar, etc.
  • App support, app accessories, iCloud files, screen saver, fonts, updates and other file types not recognized by Spotlight.

How to Check Other Storage on Mac

Step 1:
Unfold the “Apple” menu.
Step 2:
Choose “About This Mac”.
Step 3:
Click “Storage” to check the Other storage space on Mac.
Check Other Storage

Part 2: How to Delete Other Storage to Free Up Disk Space on Mac

After knowing what is Other on Mac storage, you need to take measures to delete Other storage on Mac. It is impossible to entirely get rid of Other on Mac. But you can clean up your Mac Other storage in multiple aspects. It is true that you can find and delete each Other file manually. If you want to get a quicker way to clear Other storage on Mac, Aiseesoft Mac Cleaner is your first choice. You can download the free version from its official site.

1. Remove Unwanted Documents to Free Up Other Storage on Mac

Way 1: Manually Delete Other Documents on Mac

Step 1:
Close all windows. Press “Command” and “F” keys on the desktop.
Step 2:
Click “This Mac” on the top.
Step 3:
From the first drop-down menu, replace “Kind” with “Other”.
Step 4:
Choose “File Size” and “File Extension” in the popping-up “Search Attributes” window.
Step 5:
Input different document file types and file sizes to access large documents.
Step 6:
Check and delete the files you don’t need.
Manually Delete

Way 2: Quickly Delete Large and Old Files from Other

Step 1:
Free download, install and run Mac Cleaner.
Step 2:
Click “Cleaner” to access all Mac cleaning tools. Then choose “Large & Old Files” in the main interface.
Cleaner
Step 3:
Click “Scan” to start the scanning process.
Step 4:
Click “View” to review the classified files via “> 100MB”, “5 MB to 10 MB”, “> 1 Year” and “> 30 Days”.
Scan
Step 5:
Click “Clean” to delete the selected files and delete Other files on Mac.

2. Delete Cache Files in Other Mac Storage

Way 1: Manually Delete Cache files from Other Data Storage

Step 1:
Choose “Go to Folder” from the “Go” drop-down list in the Finder.
Step 2:
Type “~/Library/Caches” and press “Enter” to locate the “Caches” folder.
Step 3:
Make a copy of the Caches folder with your external hard drive if necessary.
Step 4:
Drag and drop all files within the Cache folder to Trash. Empty Trash on Mac.
Step 5:
Repeat the above steps with “/Library/Caches” and “~/Library/Logs” to clean up Other storage on Mac.
Delete Cache

Way 2: Quickly Delete User Cache Files to Free Up More Space

Step 1:
Launch Aiseesoft Mac Cleaner.
Step 2:
In the “Cleaner” section, click “System Junk” in the first place.
Step 3:
Click “Scan” to find system cache, application cache and more junk files.
Scan
Step 4:
Choose “View” to have a check. You can preview and select the system cache and application cache you want to delete.
Step 5:
Click “Clean” to remove cache files from Other on Mac storage.
Clean

3. Clear Large Files and Folders to Clean Up Mac Other Files

Way 1: Manually Delete System and Temporary Files from Other on Mac

Step 1:
Open Finder. Unfold the “Go” list. Then choose “Go To Folder”.
Step 2:
Type “~/Users/User/Library/Application Support/” or “~/Library/Application Support”. Later, click “Go” to go to the destination folder.
Step 3:
Open the certain folder to find and delete useless system files.
Manually Delete

Way 2: Quickly Clean System Files and Logs from Other Storage Space

Step 1:
Open Mac Cleaner. Choose “System Junk” in the “Cleaner” section.
Interface
Step 2:
Click “Scan” to scan for all system junk files in a short time.
Step 3:
Click “View” to access system cache, application cache, system logs, user logs and localization. You can see how many Other storage those files use.
Step 4:
Select and preview the outdated system files.
Step 5:
Click “Clean” to delete Other on Mac flexibly.
Clean

4. Clean Up App Plugins and Extensions from Other on Mac Storage

Way 1: Remove Extensions and Plugins from Safari

Step 1:
Open Safari. Choose “Preferences” from the list.
Step 2:
Click “Extensions” to access all Safari extensions.
Step 3:
Click “Uninstall” to uninstall a Safari extension.
Uninstall

Way 2: Remove Extensions and Plugins from Google Chrome

Step 1:
Run Google Chrome.
Step 2:
Find and click the three-dot “More Tools” on the top right corner.
Step 3:
Choose “Extensions” from its submenu.
Step 4:
Disable any Chrome extension or plugin you do not want to use anymore.
Remove Extensions

Furthermore, you can also use the built-in app uninstaller, duplicate finder, file manager, unarchiver, file hider, system performance monitor and more here. In a word, you can delete Other on Mac and speed up Mac in clicks. Mac Cleaner is 100% safe to use. You can preview, filter, organize and select any Mac file before cleanup. The whole process will not cause data overwritten. You will never know how fast your Mac computer can be before running Aiseesoft Mac Cleaner. Well, why not free download the program to have a try right now!

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