How to Delete Mail Attachments on Mac: 3 Ways to Follow

Mail attachments on your Mac can take up significant storage space without ringing the bell. Unlike text context, Mail attachments are often larger data, typically including documents, images, video/audio files, compressed folders, etc. Over time, you’ll be shocked at how much space these attachments occupy.

No need to be concerned about this issue, though. This guide will walk you through two major questions regarding Mail attachments on Mac:

• Where are mail attachments stored on Mac?
• How to delete mail attachments on Mac?

Let’s dive in!

Where Are Mail Attachments Stored on Mac?

~/Library/Mail/Vx/MailData/

That’s it. This folder path is where you can find all Mail attachments. By default, Mail attachments are stored within the Mail app’s data folder on your Mac’s system drive. It’s worth noting that these attachments are often cached, meaning there are multiple cached versions scattered here and there on the system.

To access the folder and check your Mail attachments:

1. Open Finder. In the top menu bar, click on Go.
2. From the dropdown, select Go to Folder… or press Shift + Command + G.
3. Enter the folder path and press Enter: ~/Library/Mail/Vx/MailData/.

1. Deleting Attachments from the Mail App Directly

There are several methods you can use to delete Mail attachments on your Mac, depending on whether you want to delete individual attachments or clean up all of them at once. The no-brainer way to delete Mail attachments on Mac is through the app itself:

1. Open the Mail app on your Mac.
2. Find the email that contains the attachment you want to delete.
3. Click on the Message from the top menu bar.
4. You’ll see an option to Remove Attachment. Select it, and the attachment will be deleted from the email, but not from your email server, say, if you’re using services like iCloud.

This method is quick, but the downside is pretty obvious - when you have tons of Mail attachments to delete, what to do?

2. Using Finder to Delete Mail Attachments on Mac

If you have loads of Mail attachments to delete, or you prefer to get rid of them all at once, the folder path we mentioned above comes in handy. Follow these steps to remove Mail attachments via Finder:

1. Open Finder and navigate to the target folder: ~/Library/Mail/Vx/MailData/

   

2. Inside the Attachments folder, you'll find subfolders containing the attachments.
3. Browse through Mail attachments you don’t want to keep. Right-click on them and choose Move to Trash. Alternatively, you can use the Search bar in Finder to locate all attachment-named files in the folder and delete the ones you don't need.
4. For a thorough cleanup, you can also check the Mail Downloads folder for any downloaded files that you want to remove.

3. Deleting Mail Attachments by BuhoCleaner (Mail, Gmail, Outlook)

While the above two methods can help clear up Mail attachments, they might not completely eliminate all traces of them. As we mentioned previously, some Mail attachments are often cached on your Mac, leaving behind residual files that continue to take up storage. These leftover cache files are not always visible and can remain even after you've deleted the original attachment from the Mail app.

For a more thorough clean-up, we recommend using BuhoCleaner, a professional Mac cleaner designed to deeply remove mail attachments from Apple Mail, Gmail, Outlook, etc., and any other unnecessary data on your Mac. Here’s how to delete mail attachments on Mac using BuhoCleaner:

1. Download, install, and launch one of the best Mac cleaners, BuhoCleaner.
2. Locate Flash Scan and start scanning your Mac.
3. Once the scanning is completed, click View Details to better locate Mail attachments.
4. Under User Cache Files, check for Mail-related data and hit the Remove button.

In addition to cleaning mail attachments, BuhoCleaner offers a wide range of features to optimize your Mac's performance. As a professional Mac cleaner, it can help you:

• Remove duplicate files that unnecessarily consume storage space.
• Uninstall unwanted apps completely, ensuring no leftover files or data.
• Clear junk files, including system caches, logs, and temporary files that slow down your system.

How to Prevent Mail Attachments from Taking Up Space

The Mail app automatically downloads attachments. Fortunately, you can set it to only download attachments when you open the email or manually choose to download them. This way, you can prevent Mail attachments from taking up too much space.

1. Open Mail on your Mac.
2. Go to the Mail menu in the top bar and select Preferences.
3. Click on the Accounts tab.
4. Under Account Information, look for the Download Attachments option.
5. Set it to None to prevent the automatic downloading of attachments. You will need to manually download attachments when needed. Depending on your needs, you can also select Recent.

Wrap Up

Mail attachments on your Mac can accumulate quickly and consume valuable storage space. To delete Mail attachments on Mac, you can remove them individually from the Mail app or use Finder to manage bulk attachments. However, either way, it leaves certain cache data behind. For a deep clean-up, using a powerful Mac cleaner tool like BuhoCleaner is highly recommended. Give it a try and let it be your Mac storage optimizer!