What Are iOS Files on Mac? How to View and Delete Them

iOS files are taking up more and more space on your Mac. But what are they? Can you delete them to free up space?

This guide is ready to help. Here, you will learn what iOS files are on Mac and get practical ways to view and delete them. Just keep reading!

What Are iOS Files on Mac?

Apple Official explains that iOS files contain iOS backups and firmware. That is to say, each time you use Finder/iTunes to back up your iPhone/iPad, the backup files will leave on your Mac as one part of the iOS files. So does the firmware.

Now that you know what iOS files are on Mac, let's check how much space they take up. Just follow these steps:

System Settings＞ General＞Storage＞iOS Files.

Or, you can get to the iOS files by:

About This Mac＞More Info＞Storage Settings＞iOS Files.

• Files below Device Backups are generated by your iPhone/iPad backup.
• Files below iOS Installers are firmware for your iPhone/iPad update.

Do You Need to Delete iOS Files on Mac?

Is it OK to delete iOS files? It depends on whether you need the backup files and firmware or not.

In the case that you back up your iPhone/iPad on your Mac with iTunes/Finder and you restore it later, it's OK to delete them since you already restored your data.

In the case that you haven't restored the backup to your iPhone/iPad, you'd better keep these iOS files on your Mac.

It's worth noting that if you back up your iPhone/iPad to your Mac in iTunes/Finder several times, there may be several backup files.

So if you don't make great changes in your iPhone/iPad, it is recommended that you delete the old backups and firmware and keep the most recent one. Each backup has a Last Accessed date that helps you determine which ones are old and which ones you might want to delete.

How to Delete iOS Files on Mac

In addition, iOS files may take up a lot of space. And every time you back up or update, it accumulates. With time, you may receive a Your startup disk is almost full message. So it's necessary to delete them.

Here is how to delete iOS files on Mac:

1. Click the Apple Menu＞System Settings＞ General.
2. Click Storage＞Info button next to iOS Files.
3. Select the backup or update files you want to delete＞Delete.
4. Click the Delete button in the pop-up to confirm.

However, if you want to move iOS files to an external hard drive, rather than delete them, simply find them in Finder and copy or cut them to the external hard drive.

Here is how to find iOS files in Finder:

1. Open Finder＞Go Menu＞Go to Folder.
2. Enter ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup.

   

3. Drag the Backup files to your external hard drive.

   

4. Once you copy the backup to your external hard drive, you can delete the backup files on your Mac.

Also, you can access iOS files via Spotlight. Simply enter ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup into Spotlight, and double-click the Backup below Folders.

In addition, moving iOS files to iCloud is also achievable. Just perform the above actions to find iOS files in Finder and then click the update icon＞Collaborate＞ Open iCloud Drive＞move Backup to iCloud.

Extra Ways to Free Up Space on Mac

Besides deleting iOS files, there are many other ways to free up space on Mac.

As you can see, the colored bar in Storage shows the categories taking up space in your storage. The longer the section a category occupies, the more space it takes up. To reclaim space, browse through the large categories, find the files contained within them, and delete the ones you don't need.

1. Do What Recommendations List

Below the storage bar, you may notice some recommendations. By following them, you can always keep your Mac optimized.

2. Free Up Space Using BuhoCleaner

Since cleaning your Mac can be time-consuming, you may want a quicker and more efficient way to free up space. This is where Buhocleaner, one of the best Mac cleaners, comes in.

BuhoCleaner is designed to help Mac users better clean, manage, and monitor their Mac. With it, you can quickly delete large files, duplicate files, junk files, and uninstall several unused apps at once, etc. Click the button below to try it out yourself.

Final Words

In this post, we detailed what iOS files are, whether you should delete them, and how to do that. As a bonus, we mentioned BuhoCleaner, an ideal tool to keep your Mac clean and optimized.

We hope this article covers everything you want to know and solves your problems. In addition, you can also back up the iOS files to iCloud so that you can save more space on your Mac.

FAQs

1. Can I Delete iOS Files on Mac?

   The answer depends on your actual situation. Since you already know that iOS files on Mac contain backups and update files, delete the ones you don't need.

   However, if you haven't restored the backup to your iPhone/iPad and it contains important data, it's recommended to either restore the backup to your device or move it to an external hard drive before deleting it.

2. Can I Access iOS Files on Mac?

   The answer is yes. To view the space they take up, go to System Settings＞General＞Storage＞iOS Files. If you want to delete them to free up space, go to Finder＞Go Menu ＞ Go to Folder＞~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup.

3. Why Are iOS Files So Big?

   For many users, iOS files take up a significant portion of the storage shown on the colorful bar. Each time you use iTunes or Finder to back up or update your iPhone/iPad, these backups are stored on your Mac. Since iPhone/iPad backups are usually large, they contribute to the large size of your iOS files.