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How do I delete mail storage safely?

Hi there,


Mail is taking up 8GB of storage on my macbook air, and I'm not even using it!


I intend to delete the contents within Library/Mail. However, when I look in there I see there are emails from IMAP which is my Gmail account. I want to delete this folder as it's causing the storage issues, however, I am concerned that if I delete here, it will also delete in my Gmail account! These are important messages which I need to keep safe. I just want to remove it locally off my mac.


Any advice is much appreciated!


Thanks,


Abi

MacBook Air 13", macOS 10.14

Posted on Apr 27, 2020 12:28 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Apr 27, 2020 2:51 AM

Hello!


Based on the fact that you said that you don't use the built in Mail application I would recommend removing the account in question from your computer and thus the application. This process will simply remove the account and associated data from your computer without touching anything in your account online. Check out the link below for details about how to do this:


Add or Remove Mail Accounts On Mac: https://support.apple.com/guide/mail/add-or-remove-email-accounts-mail35803/mac


Free up storage space for email accounts in Mail on Mac (for reference): https://support.apple.com/guide/mail/free-up-storage-space-mail14059/13.0/mac/10.15


Let me know if this helps!

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Apr 27, 2020 2:51 AM in response to absticles

Hello!


Based on the fact that you said that you don't use the built in Mail application I would recommend removing the account in question from your computer and thus the application. This process will simply remove the account and associated data from your computer without touching anything in your account online. Check out the link below for details about how to do this:


Add or Remove Mail Accounts On Mac: https://support.apple.com/guide/mail/add-or-remove-email-accounts-mail35803/mac


Free up storage space for email accounts in Mail on Mac (for reference): https://support.apple.com/guide/mail/free-up-storage-space-mail14059/13.0/mac/10.15


Let me know if this helps!

How do I delete mail storage safely?

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