Do I need to keep the .ipa files on my MBP?

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Level 1

5 points

Do I need to keep the .ipa files on my MBP?

I have a ton of .ipa files in the Mobile Applications folder on my MacBook Pro. The folder is gargantuan in size eating up most of my storage capacity. Since my iPhone and iPads store the applications locally, why do I need to keep these .ipa files? Can they be tossed in the bucket and dumped?

MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.2), iPad,iPod,iPhone,aTV,AirPortExtreme

Posted on Nov 7, 2017 4:00 PM

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Answer 1

Rysz

Level 8

44,531 points

Nov 7, 2017 4:16 PM in response to Chris N,

You can delete them, especially now that iTunes no longer manages apps for iOS devices.

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-12291

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Answer 2

Niel

Community+ 2026

Level 10

747,173 points

Nov 7, 2017 4:20 PM in response to Chris N,

No, they can’t. They might be removed from the iTunes Store at any time; a copy stored on a device running iOS 9 or newer can’t be transferred to a computer.

If needed, the ipa files can be manually dragged to an iOS device in the iTunes sidebar.

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