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As we use desktop and laptop computers, we tend to fill up our hard drives with stuff we've collected over the years. It's like an attic, basement, or garage that slowly fills up over time. Some stuff gets used often, other stuff sits in a box and gets forgotten about. Eventually, though, the clutter becomes too much and you have to start getting rid of things. But how do you sort the import stuff from the trash? That's where Optimized Storage comes in.

Optimized Storage takes files you've been storing in iCloud and moves them off of your computer if your local storage gets too full. It also leaves behind an icon of the item that has been removed so that, when you finally do want to access it again, you don't have to go somewhere different to find it. You can just click on the file and it will download back onto your computer when it's online.

There are four features to Optimized Storage that you can enable separately or all together. You can use Store in iCloud, Optimize Storage, Empty Trash Automatically, and Reduce Clutter.

How to access Optimized Storage

There are two ways to access Optimized Storage. The first is easy. Do nothing until your storage gets full. When it does, you'll get a notification asking if you want to optimize your storage. Click Yes to be directly taken to the Optimized Storage tool window.

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To access Optimized Storage manually:

Click on the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your screen.
Select About this Mac from the drop-down menu.
Source: iMore
Click on the Storage tab in the System Information window.
Click on Manage.
Source: iMore

This opens up the four Optimized Storage tools, which are on the right side of the window.

How to use Store in iCloud

Store in iCloud allows you to store older photos, files, and messages in the cloud, freeing up space on your hard drive. Messages stay on your hard drive until your hard drive starts to get full. When you're running out of room, photos, files, and messages will automatically be stored in iCloud and only recent attachments will stay on your Mac for quick and easy access.

Click on the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your screen.
Select About this Mac from the drop-down menu.
Source: iMore
Click on the Storage tab in the System Information window.
Click on Manage.
Source: iMore
Click on Store in iCloud in the Store in iCloud section of the window.
Click on Store in iCloud again to confirm that you want to enable the feature to automatically store photos, files, and messages in iCloud when your hard drive gets full.
Source: iMore

How to stop syncing Desktop and Documents folders in iCloud on your Mac

If you've tried out Desktop and Documents folder syncing in iCloud but decided you don't like it, you can stop syncing. If you disable syncing, Desktop files will no longer appear on a secondary Mac computer's desktop, but they will still be in a file in iCloud Drive, which you can move them out of. Your Documents folder will also still be visible in iCloud Drive, which you can also move.

Click the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your Mac's screen.
Click System Preferences in the drop-down menu.
Source: iMore
Click on Apple ID.
Click on Options next to iCloud Drive.
Untick the Desktop & Documents Folders box.
Source: iMore

How to use Optimize Storage

Optimize Storage relates to storing media in the cloud that is not necessarily already in your iCloud storage, specifically movies and TV shows you have already watched on iTunes. When you select Optimize Storage, it will remove these files from your computer. If you want to watch them again, you can redownload them from iTunes.

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It also gives you the option to store your email attachments. You can set it up so that recent email attachments are stored on your Mac, or you can store all of your email attachments in the cloud and download files that you need when you need them.

Click on Optimize... in the Optimize Storage section of the window.
Click on Optimize again to confirm that you want to enable the feature to automatically remove iTunes movies and TV shows that you've already watched.
Source: iMore

How to disable Optimize Storage on your Mac

Optimize Storage automatically removes iTunes movies and TV shows that you've already watched from your Mac. It also only keeps recent email attachments on your Mac when your hard drive starts to run out of room. If you want to keep your movies and TV shows on your hard drive so you don't have to re-download them every time you want to watch them, you can disable the feature.

Click the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your Mac's screen.
Select System Preferences from the drop-down menu.
Source: iMore
Click on Apple ID.
Click to uncheck the checkbox at the bottom of the window for Optimize Mac Storage.
Source: iMore

How to use Empty Trash Automatically

It is pretty common for the average computer user to forget to empty the trash bin regularly. Just like a real garbage can, trash can start to add up. Unfortunately, unlike a garbage can, your Mac's trash bin doesn't get full, so you don't realize you've been stocking up digital waste for months and months. Empty Trash Automatically will enable a tool that will erase items that have been in the Trash for more than 30 days. You don't even have to think about it anymore.

Click on Turn On in the Empty Trash Automatically section of the Optimized Storage window.
Click Turn On again to confirm that you want to enable the feature to automatically erase files that have been in the Trash for more than 30 days.
Source: iMore

How to disable Empty Trash Automatically on your Mac

If you worry that you are going to delete something from your Mac and need it back more than 30 days later, you can disable the feature and go back to manually emptying the trash.

Open a Finder window.
Click on Finder in the upper left corner of your Mac's screen.
Click Preferences in the drop-down menu.
Source: iMore
Click on Advanced in the Finder Preferences window.
Click to uncheck the checkbox for Remove items from the Trash after 30 days.
Source: iMore

How to use Reduce Clutter

Reduce Clutter is the one feature in Optimized Storage that requires you to manually clean files on your Mac.

The list of categories on the left side of the Optimized Storage window represents the folders that tend to store files that are older and can be removed from your Mac.

You can either click on Review Files in the Reduce Clutter section of the Optimized Storage window or select a category from the list on the left side of the window.

You can then go through the files individually and decide whether you want to keep or remove them from your Mac.

For example, in the Applications folder, you can view apps on your Mac by type. Older versions of apps you are currently using can sometimes take up dozens of GB of space. You can delete the files right from the Optimized Storage window.

How to optimize your photo storage if you have iCloud Photo Library

Photos on the Mac optimizes storage by letting you store full-resolution photos and videos in iCloud instead of on your internal hard drive. Even if you don't want to store all of your files and documents in iCloud, you can keep your photos safe, while freeing up space on your hard drive.

Your photos will also remain on your Mac's hard drive until it starts to get full, at which point, photos and videos — starting with the oldest — will be removed from your Mac and only stored in iCloud.

Photos and videos tend to take up a lot of space. You may find you don't have enough iCloud storage to keep your entire photo library in iCloud. You can upgrade your iCloud storage to a larger plan if you are running out.

Any questions?

Do you have any questions about what Optimized Storage is or how to use the tools? Let me know and I'll help you out.

Updated December 2019: Updated for macOS Catalina.

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Optimized Storage in macOS Sierra and later* can save 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.

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. This button is available only in macOS Sierra or later.

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, then choose from these options.

Automatically remove watched movies and TV shows. When storage space is needed, movies or TV shows that you purchased from the iTunes Store and already watched are removed from your Mac. Click the download icon next to a movie or TV show to download it again.
Download only recent attachments. Mail automatically downloads only the attachments that you recently received. You can manually download any attachments at any time by opening the email or attachment, or saving the attachment to your Mac.
Don't automatically download attachments. Mail downloads an attachment only when you open the email or attachment, or save 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 to 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.

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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, 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. Then click Options next to iCloud Drive: Store in iCloud turns on the Desktop & Documents Folders setting. To turn off iCloud Drive entirely, deselect iCloud Drive.
In 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, 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 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

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Even without using the Optimized Storage features of Sierra or later, you can take other steps to make more storage space available:

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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, 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.