Items stuck in iCloud Trash. How can I permanently delete them?

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Level 1

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Items stuck in iCloud Trash. How can I permanently delete them?

I have 9 empty folders in the trash on all of my devices that are signed into my iCloud account. Threy're on all 3 of my Macs, and in the "recently Deleted" items in the Fles App on my iPad and both iPhones.

Whenever I empty trash, they disappear but almost immediately return.
If I sign out of iCloud on a device, they go away, but as soon as I log back into iCloud, they return.
Removing them from the trash into an iCloud folder removes them from the trash.
Removing them from the trash into a local folder causes them to re-appear in the trash, causing duplicates. I am then able to place the set that's on the desktop into the trash and delete one of the two sets, but the second set remains.
I'm able to rename the folders and I placed all but one of them inside the last one.
I tried starting my Mac in Safe mode to delete them - didn't fix the issue.

Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Items stuck in trash on all devices

Mac Studio, macOS 15.5

Posted on Jun 19, 2025 1:54 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

zinacef

Level 10

88,798 points

Jun 20, 2025 9:56 PM in response to phkc070408

Step-by-Step Troubleshooting

1. Check for 3rd-party sync conflicts

If you use any apps that hook into iCloud Drive (like Hazel, Dropbox extensions, backup tools), temporarily disable or uninstall them to rule out interference.

2. Try Deleting via iCloud Web

Go to iCloud.com:

Open iCloud Drive
Go to the Recently Deleted section (in the lower right)
Permanently delete the folders from there
Wait a few minutes and see if they stay gone across all devices

Sometimes deletion from the web version sticks better than doing it locally.

3. Clean Up from a Clean Slate Mac

Pick one Mac and do the following:

Sign out of iCloud
Delete any local traces of the folders in:

- ~/Library/Mobile Documents/ (this is the local representation of iCloud Drive)
- Also check ~/Library/CloudStorage/ on newer macOS versions

Empty Trash
Restart the Mac
Sign back in to iCloud

Monitor whether the folders reappear. If they do not, repeat the process on your other Macs.

4. Reset iCloud Drive Sync Cache (macOS only)

This is a bit more advanced:

Open Terminal and run:

bash
CopyEdit
brctl log --wait --shorten

Let this run while you delete the folders again. It may show logs of what's recreating them.
To reset iCloud Drive cache (not officially recommended, but can work):

- rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/CloudDocs
- Then restart and re-enable iCloud Drive

Warning: This will trigger a full re-download of your iCloud Drive, so ensure you're backed up and on fast, stable internet.

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Answer 2

phkc070408 Author

Level 1

30 points

Jun 21, 2025 9:42 PM in response to zinacef

Thanks for the reply. 1, 2, and 3 didn't work. No. 4 is beyond my abilities.

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Items stuck in iCloud Trash. How can I permanently delete them?

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