Free Up Space on MacBook Air M2 - 2022

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Free Up Space on MacBook Air M2 - 2022

I need to free up space on my MacBook Air M2-2022. Things are starting to not run, forcing me to quit, and not able to save or even open in some cases. I use iCloud but what I understand is that is a sync not a backup...right? So, if I were to delete my photo library on my computer it will sync and delete the photos in the cloud too. Don't want to do that. I have a lot of iMessages with photos and videos that is probably a big part of my issue. I could do it by going through all of my files, messages, etc. but is there a way to do it faster? Like a systemic approach to figuring out where large chunks of space are being consumed and deal with those rather than picking through little by little and deleting old/unwanted stuff?

MacBook Air, macOS 15.3

Posted on Oct 10, 2025 11:53 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

neuroanatomist

Level 9

54,991 points

Oct 10, 2025 12:31 PM in response to justworkalready

There are two different options:

Syncing iCloud Desktop & Documents Folders is syncing, if you delete files from your Mac they are deleted from iCloud. The setting is the middle one in System Settings > Apple Account > iCloud and that's not the one you want.

The Optimize Mac Storage setting will move your data to iCloud and keep only recently opened documents, low resolution versions of images, etc., on your Mac. That's the one you want, and you can turn it on in the above setting or in System Settings > General > Storage.

Note that letting Apple handle this is 'easy' but gives you less control over what is stored locally. If you're always connected to the Internet, that may be fine. If you work offline frequently, it may be a less desirable option.

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Answer 2

Oct 10, 2025 6:25 PM in response to justworkalready

Free up storage space on Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 3

Oct 10, 2025 4:47 PM in response to neuroanatomist

Thank you, I believe I have already been in the "optimized" storage setting and my photos are low-res, and I am still out of space. I have tried to move some of the videos and photos from my mac over to Google Drive but they save as a filetype that I am afraid will be useless to me if I ever go back and want to open them. Would that be a good option?

I think I am going to focus on the pictures and videos for now. Is there a way, without using an external drive, to get them off of my computer and still know they are safe?

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