Deleting downloads on Mac can be a pain because It involves two separate things: cleaning up your Downloads folder and then removing the downloads history from your browser. So, in short, you'll need to: find your Downloads folder, remove your downloads, clear your downloads history in your browser, and (finally) empty your Trash.
How to delete downloads on Mac via Finder
- Apr 21, 2020 To delete an item from your Mac, hover your pointer over the item, click the More options button, then click Remove Download. To delete an item on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, tap Downloaded, swipe left on the item, tap Delete, then Delete Download.
- That is precisely the issue - I want to delete the local copy from my iOS device, but keep the copy on the iCloud drive. Well I don't really need it on the iCloud drive, but I really do need to keep the file and once I move the Documents folder under Sierra to the iCloud drive Deleting/Removing the file will mean no copy 'exists' for my Mac.
Finder is the first place you should look for downloads in on your Mac. If you have a mountain of download files stored, it’d be smart to sort your items and see which of them are the heaviest.
Mac users often find their Downloads folder filled with disk images that they previously downloaded from the internet, files that – having already installed the apps – they forgot to delete after unmounting the image. As you may already know, installer files for macOS come with a DMG file extension – otherwise known as an Apple Disk Image. Find OneDrive app and right-click and then choose Move to Trash. You can also drag the OneDrive icon from the desktop to the trash and enter your Mac credentials when asked. After removing the app itself, you need to also remove all of its related-contents. Press Command+ Shift+ G in Finder.
- Open Finder.
- Press Cmd+Shift+G.
- Type in: ~/
- Open Downloads folder.
- Righ-click anywhere in the window and select Use Groups.
- Finder will then gather your downloads in groups such as Applications, PDF documents, Images, and others, so you can quickly look through them and delete files you don’t need.
Then you can sort downloads by size: right-click in Finder, click Group By pop-up menu and choose Size.
If you want to remove multiple downloads from your Mac at once, you can do that with CleanMyMac X. This app has a Large and Old Files feature that detects all massive files and lets you delete them all. I will explain how to quickly get to downloads on your Mac using CleanMyMac X later in the article. You'd be surprised at how many GB of space you can reclaim!
How to delete downloads from software (e.g. Skype) which are hard to find
It can be a challenge to find the files you downloaded from different apps, such as Skype, on your Mac. By default, all the items you want to save go into the Downloads folder. But, if you have changed these settings, your files would be stored elsewhere. So, how to find those downloads on your Mac.
If you search for Skype downloads, here’s how to locate them:
- Open Skype.
- Go to the Skype menu and choose Preferences.
- Select Messaging from the list on the left.
In the end, there’s “When I receive a file” setting. It’s set to Downloads, which means all files you download from Skype automatically go into this folder. Open it to locate the files Skype saved and delete them. You can change directory to save your Skype files elsewhere.
The pretty similar route applies to all other apps you save files from. For example, to find out the Slack downloads location, I opened the app and then navigated to its Preferences.
To make it easier to find files you saved, choose one download location for all your apps. You will eliminate clutter in lots of folders and will be able to delete many files at once.
Once you’re done deleting your downloads, it’s time to clear the downloads history from the browser you use. Select the section below based on the browser you use.
The easy way to delete large and old files on Mac
However, if you’re looking for a solution that makes clearing out your large downloads (including your Skype downloads history) simple, check out a cleaning utility like CleanMyMac X.
Large and Old Files feature scans your storage for heavy files piling up on your Mac for a long time. It shows how much space each file takes and helps to quickly get rid of all old documents, .dmg files, and archives that clutter your storage.
Large and Old Files helps you clean up your Downloads folder with just a few clicks. Here's how to clear old downloads on your Mac:
- Download the free version of CleanMyMac X.
- Install and launch the app.
- Click Large & Old Files.
- Scan your Mac and then select whatever you wish to remove.
- Click Remove.
And you’re done. As you can see, it’s incredibly easy to remove your downloads on Mac with CleanMyMac X.
But, if you’d still like to clean up your downloads and download history manually, just follow the steps below.
How to delete old .DMG files on Mac
On macOS, the majority of apps you download come in .dmg format. '.dmg' is a disk image that contains a compressed download file. These files work like hard drives: they can be mounted and ejected.
When you open the .dmg file, you’ll see the application you’re about to install. After installing the application (dragging it to the Applications folder), the .dmg file will stay on your Mac until you delete it. Imagine how many .dmg files you may have unintentionally stored on your Mac. Now, let’s see how to delete them.
First, you need to eject those .dmg files that are still open.
- Open Finder.
- Under the Locations you will see the list of all .dmg files.
- Press the Eject icon to eject a disk image.
To delete .dmg files:
- Open Finder.
- Type “.dmg” in the search field and press Return.
- Move the unneeded files to the Trash.
Voila! Now, your Mac is much cleaner.
How to clear downloads history in Chrome
How Do You Delete Downloads On A Macbook Pro
To clear downloads history in Google Chrome browser manually:
- Launch the Chrome browser.
- Type
chrome://history/
in the search field and press Enter. - Select Clear browsing data.
- Select the time range and check the 'Download history' box.
- Click Clear data.
How to clean downloads history in Safari
To clean downloads history in Safari browser:
How Do You Delete Downloads On A Mac Computer
- Launch the Safari browser.
- Click View in the menu bar and select Show Downloads.
- Safari will show you all the files you downloaded. Press Clear to remove downloads history.
You can alternatively press the arrow down button (↓) to see and clear downloads.
Clearing your Mac of downloads once in a while helps to save some space. If you are up to a full spring cleaning of your MacBook, CleanMyMac X has another useful feature — Space Lens. It analyses your storage and shows precisely how much space each folder takes. If your Mac is short on space, Space Lens can help you to locate the heaviest folder and remove it. Download the app for free, to try it yourself!
How to remove downloads history in Firefox
To remove downloads history in Firefox directly:
- Launch the Firefox browser.
- Click History, in the menu bar.
- Select Clear Recent History.
- Select the time range.
- Check the “Browsing & Download History” box.
- Click Clear Now.
Now, your Mac is probably clean of old downloads that used to take space. Keeping your digital space tidy and organized will help you locate files faster and avoid clutter in your folders.
By Nathan E. Malpass, Last updated: August 27, 2019
Quite a few times, I have found some users of Mac devices are confused about such a question: how to delete downloads on Mac device?
e.g. I have a MacBook Air that I use every single day. I use it for both work and recreational purposes. One thing I love to do with my MacBook Air is to download a lot of files. Mostly because I love watching series and movies. Now, I want to know how to properly delete downloads I don’t need anymore. Can you teach me how to properly do it?
Indeed, similar questions are full of different forums and floods of methods are given from friendly netizens. However, it is difficult for Mac users to tell which method is the most suitable one for themseleves. Therefore, this article is going to provide a complete guide on how to delete downloads on Mac devices.
Part I: Why Do You Need to Delete Downloads on Mac?
Apple’s Mac devices are very popular and useful for a lot of users. It has an interface that is user-friendly. Plus, it works fast and smooth.
When we use our Mac devices every single day, we usually accumulate a lot of downloaded files such as applications, music, videos, pictures, and even confidential data.
All of these downloaded files are kept within our hard drive or solid state drive (SDD). Specifically, if not modified, the downloaded file is kept within the Downloads folder.
This can take up a lot of space within your device. Plus, there might be confidential data that when leaked, can cause a lot of trouble for you, your business, or the company you work with.
That's why in this article, we will be showing you different ways or methods of removing your downloaded files.
We will also tell you how to remove your download history within different browsers in your Mac device as well as through a useful application. Hopefully, this will help keep your privacy safe and even free up more space within your device to boost its performance.
Part II: How to Delete Downloads on Mac With FoneDog’s Mac Cleaner
One thing you can actually do is to use FoneDog’s Mac Cleanerto help you clear up your browsers including the downloaded files thereof and even make your Mac work faster. It is the fastest and convenient way for you the Mac users to delete downloads on Mac with the help of a third - party application.
Here’s how to delete downloads on Mac using FoneDog's Mac Cleaner step by step:
Step 01 - Download the tool.
Step 02 - Launch it within your Mac device. The main interface will show a variety of the device’ system status.
Step 03 - Select Privacy, a tool Privacy under the ToolKit module.
Step 04 - Press Scan button. The tool will now do a comprehensive scan on your device.
Step 05 - Once the scanning is complete, click View to check scanned results.
Step 06 - Choose a particular category and the files involved in your downloads on Mac. For instance, Downloaded Files under Google Chrome browser.
Note: Move your mouse to the occupation information on the right side of the files in browsers, you can view more detailed information by clicking the Show button in grey.
Step 07 - Press Clean.
Step 08 - Confirm the cleaning operation.
Step 09 - Wait until the cleaning process is finished.
Part III: Manually Deleting Your Downloads On Mac
Here are the steps to manually delete your downloads within your Mac device:
Step 01 - Go to the Dock.
Step 02 - Finally go towards the fInder.
Step 03 - Go towards the Manage page.
Step 04 - On the left side of the screen, look for Downloads and click it.
Remove Files From Mac
Step 05 - Now, all the downloads will be shown on the pane on the right side.
Step 06 - If you wish to select every single downloaded data, press CMD + A. Or, you can choose specific download files one at a time.
Step 07 - Click the right mouse button.
Daytona championship usa download. Step 08 - Select Move To Trash.
How To Delete Downloads Mac
Step 09 - Go to your Trash Bin and right click on it.
Step 10 - Select Empty Trash.
That’s it. Very easy right? Well, let’s get on with deleting your downloads history within different browsers.
Part IV: Deleting Downloads History Within Different Browsers
There are different steps to deleting your history within different browsers. Let’s check them out one by one.
Chrome: How To Manually Remove Downloads History
Here are the steps to help you manually clear up downloads history within Google Chrome:
Step 01 - Open the browser Chrome.
Step 02 - Press History. This is located within the menu bar.
Step 03 - Press Show Full History.
Step 04 - Choose Clear Browsing Data..
Step 05 - Select the time range you wish to delete. If you want to delete everything, select The Beginning Of Time.
Step 06 - Check the box that states Download History.
Step 07 - Finally, press Clear Browsing Data.
Safari: How To Manually Remove Downloads History Hp 6510b fingerprint sensor drivers for mac.
In order to clear up your history for downloads within the Safari browser, follow the steps below:
Step 01 - Open the browser Safari.
Step 02 - Press History. This is located within the menu bar which is also at the top of the screen.
Step 03 - Choose Clear History And Website Data.
Adobe premiere pro cc 2019 patch. Step 04 - Select All History if you want to clear up everything. Or, you can select a specific time range that you want.
Step 05 - Press Clear History.
Firefox: How To Manually Remove Downloads History
Here are the steps to help you remove history of downloads within Firefox.
Step 01 - Open the said browser on your Mac device.
Step 02 - Go to the menu bar and select History.
Step 03 - Choose Clear Recent History.
Step 04 - Choose Everything if you want to delete everything. Or, select a time range that you want.
Step 05 - Press the arrow labeled Details.
Step 06 - Check the box that states Browsing & Download History.
Step 07 - Press Clear Now.
That’s how to delete downloads on Mac and doenload history from three different browsers manually.
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Part V: Conclusion
FoneDog’s Mac Cleaner virtually excels in the field of how to delete downloads on Mac. Plus, its Privacy tool can help you delete downloads history and browsing history to make information confidential.
If you are serious about deleting data, you can also use the tool’s File Shredder tool. In this way, shredded files cannot be recovered even by advanced data recovery tools.
This all in one tool can help you get the space you need for your Mac device thus helping it perform faster and keeping your data safe as well.