other user data

Question

Jiveshkoli Author

Level 1

4 points

other user data

so there is some unnessary data which is stored in the laptop which is the other user data

i dont know who is this other user

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 13.5

Posted on Aug 3, 2023 5:45 AM

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Answer 1

PRP_53

Level 10

91,465 points

Aug 3, 2023 7:22 AM in response to Jiveshkoli

Jiveshkoli wrote:

i just recently bought macbook air with 256 gb storage and other user occupied 90 gb

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/efb337e3-8334-493a-aa3b-c79027a87b7e

Bought as Brand New and never been used by anyone before you ?

If No - What to do before you sell, give away, trade in, or recycle your Mac - Apple Support (CA) that is what previous Owner should have done before selling it

If Yes, to you have Sharing enabled on your account

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Answer 2

Old Toad

Level 10

210,539 points

Aug 3, 2023 9:59 AM in response to Jiveshkoli

The Other category is a potpourri of files which can include:

• System temporary files

• macOS system folders

• Archives and disk images (.zip, .iso, etc. - often found in the Downloads folder)

• Personal user data

• Files from the user’s library (Application Support, iCloud files, screensavers, etc.)

• Cache files: browser, Mail

• Mail messages & attachments

• Fonts, plugins, extensions

• Safari reading list

• iTunes backups

• Crud resulting from jailbreaking your iDevice

• Game data

• Saved data files

• Call history

• Notes

• Media

• Voice memos

• Other files that are not recognized by a Spotlight search

• Media files that cannot be classified by Spotlight as a media file because they are located inside of a package

• Files created and modified by other user accounts on your Mac.

They can be located anywhere on your hard drive.

The files that you have control over are located in the Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Music and Movies folders. You can use this free app, GrandPerspective, to find the largest files on your drive so you can determine if they can be deleted or moved to an external HD for storage.

Note: you can empty the Downloads folder after the apps and/or updates that were downloaded have been installed or applied. Some users have found a couple of Gigabytes of files in their Downloads folder which are no longer needed.