What is group.com.apple.UserNotifications and why is it using 36GB? (can I delete?)

danielfromsan ramon wrote:

Like many out there, I'm running out of space because "System Data" is using 76GB of my 245GB MacBook. Following a suggestion on looking for large cache file in ~Library I found this curious result in "Group Containers." Is it safe to delete this?

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/2dc00b4c-481d-496c-98b0-c2d9d5840d10

Looks like attachments...?

danielfromsan ramon wrote:

Yes, but I don't want to mess anything up

Then don’t mess around with things in the Library folder you don’t understand. Advice found on social media tech sites is generally wrong, misinformed, or intentionally misleading. So much of such advice is woefully outdated and does not pertain to modern versions of macOS.

danielfromsan ramon wrote:

Yes, but I don't want to mess anything up - other sources said not to delete anything in "Group Containers." I did try something though that maybe has the answer. I renamed that Attachments folder to "zAttachments" and created a new empty Attachments folder. Almost immediately after, a couple files showed up in the new folder.

You may want to explore your Notifications Settings more. Do you have iPhone notifications mirroring on? Do you have a lot of widgets installed?

System Data is a catch all that actually includes a lot of storage related to various Applications. And 76 GB is not bad at all -- my Macs have between 50 and 90 GB in System Data. In many cases it includes files from the Application Support folder and can even include Mail storage files.

I expect that if you delete that folder you found related to Notifications (you effectively did that already by renaming it and noticing that a new one was created and started populating again), it will recreate and start filling up with new files again unless you get to the root cause, most likely something installed or a Setting.

The basic problem is that 245 GB is too little storage for a Mac to function well unless all you use it for is web browsing. Or, it can work if you put almost everything into iCloud to avoid using local storage. Those low end 245 GB Macs have an attractive price but are not really very usable for people who actually have storage needs.

You can use iCloud to put Messages (and their attachments) and Photos into cloud storage. And even your user files as well. But that lifestyle is not for everyone. Another approach is to purchase some external storage and use it to store your files instead of on the main internal drive. But you might have been better off buying that additional storage for the Mac itself when it was originally purchased, so maybe that is a "lesson learned" of sorts. It is generally more convenient (especially for a laptop) to have one's files in the laptop itself rather than scattered around on external drives (all of which should be backed up) or in the cloud.

A utility (not free) called Daisy Disk can be very helpful in identifying (a) where all your storage is being used, and (b) finding files that are safe to delete. What you want to find are one-time use files that serve no purpose to keep. Examples can include downloaded updates for iPhones, old iPhone backups that are no longer needed, maps and updates for external devices like Garmin products, and in some cases, old backups of Lightroom catalogs that are no longer needed but take a lot of space.

Things like that folder you found, or snapshots (which are part of the Time Machine process, these can be found and deleted in Disk Utility) tend to slowly recreate themselves over time so deleting them is usually a short term solution but not a long term one.

"Those low end 245 GB Macs have an attractive price but are not really very usable for people who actually have storage needs."

Amen, brother. In my humble opinion Apple should up the minimum storage to 512GB but that would raise the price of course.

lkrupp wrote:

"Those low end 245 GB Macs have an attractive price but are not really very usable for people who actually have storage needs."

Amen, brother. In my humble opinion Apple should up the minimum storage to 512GB but that would raise the price of course.

I can't imagine living with 245 GB. But I have seen posts from users here (not many) who insist that they get along just fine with 245 GB by aggressively using iCloud for virtually EVERYTHING, and choosing whenever possible the option to physically store in iCloud but not physically on the local Mac. Of course, this requires that one download files to use them, requiring an always on internet connection that is fast, which that user said they had. But there will be times when one is on a poor quality hotel WiFi or be on an airplane or some remote location where internet is not available. Also, in the end extensive use of iCloud probably requires a higher level storage plan, which of course has a higher monthly cost that will continue basically forever ... maybe costing more in the long run.