Messages and Mail are taking up storage on my Mac

Q: Where does Messages keep attachments?

In ~/Library/Messages/Attachments, next to the conversations' database in ~/Library/Messages. Don't delete files there by hand: the conversations still point to them and show them as missing.

Q: How do I make Messages keep less?

Keep messages: in Messages › Settings › General, choose 30 Days or 1 Year instead of Forever. Older conversations, and their attachments, are then removed automatically. Messages in iCloud: with it on, macOS can keep only recent attachments on the Mac when space is needed, and the rest stays in iCloud.

Q: Where does Mail keep attachments?

~/Library/Mail: your mailboxes and the attachments in them. For iCloud and IMAP accounts this is a copy of what's on the server; mail kept "On My Mac" is the only copy. ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Mail Downloads: copies of attachments you opened. The originals stay in the messages.

Q: How do I make Mail use less space?

In Mail › Settings › General, set Remove unedited downloads to When Mail Quits. Choose Mailbox › Erase Deleted Items and Mailbox › Erase Junk Mail. For a message with a large attachment you've saved elsewhere, select it and choose Message › Remove Attachments. In System Settings › General › Storage, the Optimize Storage recommendation keeps only recent Mail attachments on the Mac, along with removing Apple TV movies and shows you've watched.

Updated November 3, 2026

Every photo and video in your Messages conversations, and every attachment in your mailboxes, is kept on the Mac. After a few years, that's often tens of gigabytes.

The short answer: remove them through the apps, not in Finder. For Messages, use System Settings › General › Storage, click the info button next to Messages, and delete large attachments there; or set Messages › Settings › General › Keep messages to 1 Year or 30 Days. For Mail, set Mail › Settings › General › Remove unedited downloads to When Mail Quits, and erase deleted and junk mail.

Where does Messages keep attachments?

In ~/Library/Messages/Attachments, next to the conversations' database in ~/Library/Messages. Don't delete files there by hand: the conversations still point to them and show them as missing.

How do I delete large Messages attachments?

Choose Apple menu › System Settings, click General, then Storage.
Click the info button next to Messages. Attachments are listed with their size.
Select the ones you don't need and click Delete. This can't be undone.

With Messages in iCloud turned on, deleting a message or attachment on the Mac deletes it on your other devices too.

How do I make Messages keep less?

Keep messages: in Messages › Settings › General, choose 30 Days or 1 Year instead of Forever. Older conversations, and their attachments, are then removed automatically.
Messages in iCloud: with it on, macOS can keep only recent attachments on the Mac when space is needed, and the rest stays in iCloud.

Where does Mail keep attachments?

~/Library/Mail: your mailboxes and the attachments in them. For iCloud and IMAP accounts this is a copy of what's on the server; mail kept "On My Mac" is the only copy.
~/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Mail Downloads: copies of attachments you opened. The originals stay in the messages.

How do I make Mail use less space?

In Mail › Settings › General, set Remove unedited downloads to When Mail Quits.
Choose Mailbox › Erase Deleted Items and Mailbox › Erase Junk Mail.
For a message with a large attachment you've saved elsewhere, select it and choose Message › Remove Attachments.
In System Settings › General › Storage, the Optimize Storage recommendation keeps only recent Mail attachments on the Mac, along with removing Apple TV movies and shows you've watched.