Mac internal storage

My M1 Mac 1Tb HD had 850Gb of data stored on it. To create room I have moved the 380Gb PhotoLibrary to an external SSD. After the move I now have 828Gb of data on the drive. So I moved 338Gb and saved only 22Gb of space. I wonder what has taken its place?


I note that other users are occupying 310Gb. On checking their individual data they only seem to have 48Gb. Why the large difference?

iMac (M1, 2021)

Posted on Jul 18, 2023 11:59 AM

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Posted on Jul 19, 2023 10:24 AM

If, after doing what Ronasara mentioned you still don't see the freed up space reindex the drive according to this Apple document: How to rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac - Apple Support  


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9 replies

Jul 20, 2023 12:35 PM in response to M0ndayTuesday

The data can still be contained within any hidden APFS snapshots as well until those snapshots are deleted. Time Machine and other backup software now utilize these APFS snapshots. Normally these snapshots are deleted automatically after a short time once the backup has been completely transferred to external media, but maybe one of them may remain longer. You can check if there are any APFS snapshots by using this Apple article:

View APFS snapshots in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support



Jul 19, 2023 10:28 AM in response to M0ndayTuesday

In addition to what has been said already: select the drive and press Command-I to open the Info window.

What does it say, specifically about "available" and "purgeable" space? It is quite possible that a lot of that space is kept as "purgeable" - a nuisance that the last few versions of macOS have impinged on users. The space should be freed as needed, but it not always is, or not speedily enough.

Mac internal storage

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