Mac Photos Library Delete Photos Did Not Reclaim Space
- Mac Photos Library Delete Photos Did Not Reclaim Space From Space
- Delete Photos Yahoo
- Delete Photos From Email
- Delete My Photos
Deleting photos from Mac is easy, but there are some confusions. For example, does deleting photos in Photos or iPhoto removes the photos from hard drive space on Mac? Is there a convenient way to delete photos to release disk space on Mac?
This post will explain everything you want to know about deleting photos on Mac and introduce a convenient way to clean up Mac hard drive to release sapce - FonePaw MacMaster, which can delete photos cache, duplicate photos, photos or videos of large size and more to free up Mac space.
Oct 07, 2019 When storage space is needed, only space-saving (optimized) versions of photos are kept on your Mac. To download the original photo or video, just open it. Store all messages and attachments in iCloud. When storage space is needed, only the messages and attachments you recently opened are kept on your Mac. Learn more about Messages in iCloud. You delete all the photos and videos that you do not need in the hopes of getting back some storage on your iPhone only to find that your memory has not moved an inch. Many people have found themselves in this situation, and it can be very frustrating!
- May 07, 2015 Gauging The Size Of Your Mac’s Problem. If you’re not sure just how much space your photo collection is consuming on your Mac, there are two ways to figure it out. The simplest technique is to open a Finder window and right-click the Pictures folder under Favorites, choosing Get Info.
- Delete Photos library on Mac When MacBook Air/Pro is having low disk space, some users choose to delete the Photos library to reclaim disk space. If the photos are important to you, make sure you have uploaded the photos to iCloud Photos Library or saved them in a external hard drive before cleaning up the entire library.
- Feb 04, 2011 Three general causes for space not being reclaimed when files are deleted on Mac OS X are: In general FileVault will offer to reclaim space when it detects enough space to do so. In your case 312M of free space on the disk means there is absolutely no room for normal maintenance.
- In iPhoto, you don’t need 13 different versions of every vacation photo—save the best shot or two of each scene and delete the rest. If your laptop is not your main Mac, make sure your main.
How to Delete Photos from Photos/iPhoto on Mac

Apple discontinued iPhoto for Mac OS X since 2014. Most users have migrated from iPhoto to Photos app. After importing your photos into the Photos app, don't forget to delete the old iPhoto library to regain your storage space.
Deleting photos from Photos on Mac is similar to deleting them from iPhoto. Since there are more users using Photos app on macOS, here is how to delete photos from Photos on Mac.
Delete photo(s) on Mac
Step 1 Open Photos.
Step 2 Select the photo(s) you want to delete. To delete multiple photos, press Shift and select the photos.
Step 3 To delete the selected pictures/videos, press the Delete button on the keyboard or right click Select XX Photos.
Download icloud photo library to pc. Step 4 Click Delete to confirm the deletion.
How to import photos from icloud photo library to mac free. Click 'Show iCloud Photo' button.Click 'Use iCloud' button.
Note: Select photos and press Command + Delete. This will enable macOS to directly delete the photos without asking for your confirmation.
Another point to note is that deleting photos or videos from Albums doesn't necessarily mean that the photos are deleted from Photos library or the Mac hard drive. When you select a image in a album and press Delete button, the photo is merely removed from the album but still remain in the Photos library. To delete a photo from both the album and the Photos library, use Command + Delete or the Delete option in the right-click menu.
Permanently delete photos on Mac
Photos for macOS has Recently Deleted library to save the deleted photos for 30 days before the photos are permanently deleted. This is thoughtful and allows you to undelete the deleted photos if you are regret. But if you need to regain the free disk space from the deleted photos right away, you don't want to wait 30 days. Here is how to permanently delete photos on Photos from Mac.
Step 1 On Photos, go to Recently Deleted.
Step 2 Tick the photos you want to delete for good.
Step 3 Click Delete XX Items.
Delete Photos library on Mac
When MacBook Air/Pro is having low disk space, some users choose to delete the Photos library to reclaim disk space. If the photos are important to you, make sure you have uploaded the photos to iCloud Photos Library or saved them in a external hard drive before cleaning up the entire library. To delete Photos library on Mac:
Step 1 Go to Finder.
Step 2 Open your system disk > Users > Pictures.
Step 3 Drag the Photos Library you want to delete to the Trash.
Step 4 Empty the Trash.
Some users reported after deleting the Photos library, there is no significant change in the storage when checking About this Mac. If this happen to you, too, don't worry. It takes time for the macOS to delete the entire Photos library. Give it some time and check the storage later. You'll see the free space is regained.
How to Delete Photos from Mac Hard Drive
Deleting pictures from Photos only remove the pictures in the Masters folder of Photos Library. There are more pictures in the disk drive that are not imported into Photos. To delete photos from Mac, you can go through all the folders that have images and videos and delete those that you don't need. Or you can use FonePaw MacMaster, which can detect duplicate images and large photos/videos on Mac to free up your disk space. If you need more free space, MacMaster can also clean system junks such as cache, logs, mail attchments, app data, etc. to give you more free space.
Remove duplicate photos on Mac
Step 1 Run MacMaster.
Step 2 Select Similar Image Finder.
Step 3 Select a location to search for duplicate photos. To delete duplicate photos in the whole hard drive, select your system drive.
Step 4 Click Scan. After scanning, select all the duplicated photos you want to delete and click Clean.
Step 5 The photos will be deleted from the disk.
Delete photos/videos of large size
One of the most effective way to free up space on Mac is to delete photos or videos that are large in size. MacMaster can help you with that.
Step 1 Click Large & Old Files.
Step 2 Click Scan.
Step 3 All the large files on your Mac, including photos and videos will be found.
Step 4 Select those you don't need and click Clean to remove them.
Clean photo cache of Photos/iPhoto Library
Photos or iPhoto library create caches over time. You can delete the photo cache with MacMaster.
Step 1 Open MacMaster.
Step 2 Click Photo Cache > Scan.
Step 3 Select all items and click Clean.
That's how to delete photos on Mac. If you have any question, let us know in the comments.
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Optimized Storage in macOS Sierra and later* can save space by storing your content in iCloud and making it available on demand. When storage space is needed, files, photos, movies, email attachments, and other files that you seldom use are stored in iCloud automatically. Each file stays right where you last saved it, and downloads when you open it. Files that you’ve used recently remain on your Mac, along with optimized versions of your photos.
* If you haven't yet upgraded to macOS Sierra or later, learn about other ways to free up storage space.
Find out how much storage is available on your Mac
Choose Apple menu > About This Mac, then click Storage. This is an overview of available storage space on your Mac, as well as the space used by different categories of files:
Click the Manage button to open the Storage Management window, pictured below. (The Manage button is available only in macOS Sierra or later.)
Manage storage on your Mac
The Storage Management window offers recommendations for optimizing your storage. If some recommendations are already turned on, you will see fewer recommendations.
Store in iCloud
Click the Store in iCloud button, then choose from these options:
- Desktop and Documents. Store all files from these two locations in iCloud Drive. When storage space is needed, only the files you recently opened are kept on your Mac, so that you can easily work offline. Files stored only in iCloud show a download icon , which you can double-click to download the original file. Learn more about this feature.
- Photos. Store all original, full-resolution photos and videos in iCloud Photos. When storage space is needed, only space-saving (optimized) versions of photos are kept on your Mac. To download the original photo or video, just open it.
- Messages. Store all messages and attachments in iCloud. When storage space is needed, only the messages and attachments you recently opened are kept on your Mac. Learn more about Messages in iCloud.
Storing files in iCloud uses the storage space in your iCloud storage plan. If you reach or exceed your iCloud storage limit, you can either buy more iCloud storage or make more iCloud storage available. iCloud storage starts at 50GB for $0.99 (USD) a month, and you can purchase additional storage directly from your Apple device. Learn more about prices in your region.
Optimize Storage
Click the Optimize button, then choose from these options.
- Automatically remove watched movies and TV shows. When storage space is needed, movies or TV shows that you purchased from the iTunes Store and already watched are removed from your Mac. Click the download icon next to a movie or TV show to download it again.
- Download only recent attachments. Mail automatically downloads only the attachments that you recently received. You can manually download any attachments at any time by opening the email or attachment, or saving the attachment to your Mac.
- Don't automatically download attachments. Mail downloads an attachment only when you open the email or attachment, or save the attachment to your Mac.
Optimizing storage for movies, TV shows, and email attachments doesn't require iCloud storage space.
Empty Trash Automatically
Mac Photos Library Delete Photos Did Not Reclaim Space From Space
Empty Trash Automatically permanently deletes files that have been in the Trash for more than 30 days.

Reduce Clutter
Reduce Clutter helps you to identify large files and files you might no longer need. Click the Review Files button, then choose any of the file categories in the sidebar, such as Applications, Documents, Music Creation, or Trash.
You can delete the files in some categories directly from this window. Other categories show the total storage space used by the files in each app. You can then open the app and decide whether to delete files from within it.
Learn how to redownload apps, music, movies, TV shows, and books.
Where to find the settings for each feature
The button for each recommendation in the Storage Management window affects one or more settings in other apps. You can also control those settings directly within each app.
- If you're using macOS Catalina, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Apple ID, then select iCloud in the sidebar: Store in iCloud turns on the Optimize Mac Storage setting on the right. Then click Options next to iCloud Drive: Store in iCloud turns on the Desktop & Documents Folders setting. To turn off iCloud Drive entirely, deselect iCloud Drive.
In macOS Mojave or earlier, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click iCloud, then click Options next to iCloud Drive. Store in iCloud turns on the Desktop & Documents Folders and Optimize Mac Storage settings. - In Photos, choose Photos > Preferences, then click iCloud. Store in iCloud selects iCloud Photos and Optimize Mac Storage.
- In Messages, choose Messages > Preferences, then click iMessage. Store in iCloud selects Enable Messages in iCloud.
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- If you're using macOS Catalina, open the Apple TV app, choose TV > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Files. Optimize Storage selects “Automatically delete watched movies and TV shows.”
In macOS Mojave or earlier, open iTunes, choose iTunes > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Advanced. Optimize Storage selects “Automatically delete watched movies and TV shows.” - In Mail, choose Mail > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Accounts. In the Account Information section on the right, Optimize Storage sets the Download Attachments menu to either Recent or None.
Empty Trash Automatically: From the Finder, choose Finder > Preferences, then click Advanced. Empty Trash Automatically selects “Remove items from the Trash after 30 days.”
Other ways that macOS helps automatically save space
With macOS Sierra or later, your Mac automatically takes these additional steps to save storage space:
- Detects duplicate downloads in Safari, keeping only the most recent version of the download
- Reminds you to delete used app installers
- Removes old fonts, languages, and dictionaries that aren't being used
- Clears caches, logs, and other unnecessary data when storage space is needed
How to free up storage space manually
Even without using the Optimized Storage features of Sierra or later, you can take other steps to make more storage space available:
- Music, movies, and other media can use a lot of storage space. Learn how to delete music, movies, and TV shows from your device.
- Delete other files that you no longer need by moving them to the Trash, then emptying the Trash. The Downloads folder is good place to look for files that you might no longer need.
- Move files to an external storage device.
- Compress files.
- Delete unneeded email: In the Mail app, choose Mailbox > Erase Junk Mail. If you no longer need the email in your Trash mailbox, choose Mailbox > Erase Deleted Items.
Delete Photos From Email
Learn more
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- When you duplicate a file on an APFS-formatted volume, that file doesn't use additional storage space on the volume. Deleting a duplicate file frees up only the space required by any data you might have added to the duplicate. If you no longer need any copies of the file, you can recover all of the storage space by deleting both the duplicate and the original file.
- If you're using a pro app and Optimize Mac Storage, learn how to make sure that your projects are always on your Mac and able to access their files.