Messages attachments on Mac: what they are, how to delete
You can delete Messages attachments, but they are your own photos, videos and files, not a cache. Delete them from the Messages app or from Storage in System Settings, not by removing the folder in Finder.
Where it is
~/Library/Messages/AttachmentsWhat it is
Every photo, video, voice message and file that passes through the Messages app is saved in ~/Library/Messages/Attachments. The conversations themselves are in a database next to it, which points to these files.
The folder grows for as long as you keep your message history. Years of group chats with videos add up, and nothing is removed unless you delete it or set messages to expire.
If Messages in iCloud is turned on, your Mac, iPhone and iPad share one message history. Deleting an attachment on one device removes it from all of them.
How big it gets
Anywhere from under one GB to tens of GB, depending on how long you have kept your history and how many videos are in it.
How to clear it by hand
- Save anything you want to keep first: open the conversation in Messages and drag the photo or video to a folder, or save it to Photos.
- Open System Settings, choose General, then Storage, and click the info button next to Messages. Attachments are listed by size, and you can select and delete the large ones.
- Or, in Messages, open a conversation, click the info button at the top, scroll to its photos and files, select what you do not need and delete it.
- To stop the folder growing without limit, open Messages, choose Settings, then General, and change Keep messages from Forever to one year or 30 days. Older messages and their attachments are then removed automatically.
What happens afterwards
Deleted attachments are gone from the conversation, and with Messages in iCloud they disappear from your other devices too. Deleting files straight from the folder in Finder leaves broken placeholders in your conversations, which is why the steps above avoid it.
How Diskzy handles it
Diskzy shows the Messages folder and its size on the disk map, and Search can list its files by size or age. Deleting is best done from Messages, so conversations stay consistent.
Related guides
- Mail Downloads~/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Mail Downloads
- Photos Library~/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary
- iPhone and iPad backups~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup
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