Why are Messages attachments taking up so much space on my Mac?
Keep it. Messages keeps every photo, video, voice message and file from your conversations on the Mac. Don’t delete the folder in Finder; remove large items or old conversations in Messages, or let Messages keep less history.
At a glance
| Owner app | Messages |
|---|---|
| Typical size | 1–50 GB |
| Safe to delete? | Keep |
| Comes back? | No. What you delete is gone; new attachments arrive as you chat |
| What you lose | The photos, videos and files themselves. Conversations that pointed to them show missing attachments. |
| Where it is | ~/ |
What it is
Every photo, video, voice message, sticker and document sent or received in Messages is saved in ~/Library/Messages/Attachments. The conversations themselves live next to it, in the Messages folder, and point to these files.
The folder grows quietly. Messages keeps history forever by default, group chats bring a steady stream of photos and videos, and an iPhone with Messages in iCloud brings its attachments to the Mac too. Years of chats can add up to tens of gigabytes.
These files are yours, and often the only copy. Gigabroom shows the folder so you know how much space it takes, but marks it Keep and never removes it. The right place to free the space is Messages, or Storage in System Settings, where you can see what each item is before deleting it.
Delete it by hand
- Open System Settings › General › Storage and click the Info button next to Messages to see the largest attachments. Select the ones you don’t need and delete them.
- Or, in Messages, delete conversations you no longer need, or single photos and files inside a conversation.
- To keep less history, choose Messages › Settings › General and set Keep messages to One Year or 30 Days.
With Gigabroom
- Open Gigabroom and wait for the scan.
- In Clean Up, open Messages & Media. Messages attachments are listed as Keep, with their size, and can’t be ticked.
- Select the row to see what it holds and click Show in Finder if you want to look. Free the space in Messages or in Storage settings.
Before you delete
These are your photos and documents, not temporary files, and many exist nowhere else. If Messages in iCloud is on, deleting a message or changing Keep messages removes it from your other devices too. Moving files out of the Attachments folder by hand leaves broken conversations.
Related folders
| Folder | Safe to delete? | Typical size |
|---|---|---|
~/ | Keep | — |
~/ | Check first | 1–20 GB; more with busy group chats |
~/ | Rebuilds itself | 1–20 GB; more with busy groups and channels |
~/ | Check first | Tens of MB to a few GB |
~/ | Check first | Several GB to over 100 GB per device |
Questions
Can I delete the Attachments folder in Finder?
It frees the space, but Messages still lists every photo and file and can no longer show them. Delete items inside Messages or Storage settings instead, so conversation and files go together.
Does Messages in iCloud save space on the Mac?
It can. With Messages in iCloud on, macOS can keep only recent attachments on the Mac when space runs low and download older ones when you open them. You turn it on in Messages › Settings › iMessage.
What does Keep messages actually delete?
Every message older than the period you choose, with its attachments. Messages asks before deleting, and the change is permanent.
Why does the folder look like random letters?
Messages stores each attachment in short, coded folders. The names don’t tell you which chat a file came from, which is another reason to manage attachments from Messages itself.
Last checked on macOS 27.0.1 · 2026-11-10