Macbook air's memory is being consistently consumed by the system

I am having an issue where something on the system is consuming my MacBook Air M1's memory/storage, and I can't figure out why. This is getting ridiculous. When the laptop is idle, I can see the available storage go down and the system data go up in the setting menu. I am on version 15.6. How do I fix this?


I noticed it yesterday when WhatsApp told me I need more than 50mb free to use the app. When I restart I have about 65gb free so it is trickling down from that.



Posted on Aug 11, 2025 11:39 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Aug 14, 2025 08:20 AM

Ther is another diagnostic tool that may be more helpfuiil here. If you want a data-driven evaluation in this setting where we can neither see nor touch your computer, please post an EtreCheck report. We can quickly and within the limitations of these forums help you determine what issues are at play without our playing a protracted game of "20 Questions" with you that could go on for days. 


EtreCheck Pro is available here:


https://etrecheck.com/index


The free version will do nicely for this purpose, although the app is worthy of our financial support.


We can see hard data about drive performance, software issues and interferences, and RAM usage. Etrecheck is the development of a long-serving and trusted ASC contributor. It is a reporting app, not a "fix-it” app, expressly for displaying information in these forums to help us help you remotely. It will not reveal any personal or secure information.


Please see this excellent user tip on how to post long text reports like EtreCheck's into a forum response:


How to use the Add Text Feature When Post… - Apple Community


Please post the entire report. What seems insignificant to a new Etrecheck user can hold answers for those of us who have reviewed thousands of those reports.


5 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 14, 2025 08:20 AM in response to blokkies_48

Ther is another diagnostic tool that may be more helpfuiil here. If you want a data-driven evaluation in this setting where we can neither see nor touch your computer, please post an EtreCheck report. We can quickly and within the limitations of these forums help you determine what issues are at play without our playing a protracted game of "20 Questions" with you that could go on for days. 


EtreCheck Pro is available here:


https://etrecheck.com/index


The free version will do nicely for this purpose, although the app is worthy of our financial support.


We can see hard data about drive performance, software issues and interferences, and RAM usage. Etrecheck is the development of a long-serving and trusted ASC contributor. It is a reporting app, not a "fix-it” app, expressly for displaying information in these forums to help us help you remotely. It will not reveal any personal or secure information.


Please see this excellent user tip on how to post long text reports like EtreCheck's into a forum response:


How to use the Add Text Feature When Post… - Apple Community


Please post the entire report. What seems insignificant to a new Etrecheck user can hold answers for those of us who have reviewed thousands of those reports.


Aug 12, 2025 12:00 AM in response to blokkies_48

If you have any antivirus software installed, then remove it A.S.A.P. as they interfere with the system operations and performance.


If you don’t have anything like that installed, then try the following:


First, let’s see if this issue happens in Safe Mode:


  1. Shut down your Mac.
  2. Press and hold the power button on your Mac. As you continue to hold the power button, your Mac turns on and loads startup options. When you see Options, release the power button.
  3. Select your startup disk. It's named Macintosh HD, unless you changed its name.
  4. Press and hold the Shift key, then click the “Continue in Safe Mode” button below your startup disk.
  5. Log in to your Mac. You might be asked to log in again.


If the strange behaviors do not occur, then it may possibly be a software issue.


If the issue doesn't continue in safe mode:

Leave safe mode by restarting your Mac normally, then try to reproduce the issue.


If the issue doesn't return, it might have been resolved by the other things that safe mode did at startup, such as checking your disk and clearing caches.


If the problem persists, then let’s try this:


Need more help?


Good luck! 👋🏼😉

Macbook air's memory is being consistently consumed by the system

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