Tidy Maccom.apple.mediaanalysisd is the macOS service that analyses your photos and videos for faces, objects and text search. Its cache normally stays small, but on some macOS versions it has grown to tens of gigabytes. The cache is rebuilt on demand, so clearing it is safe; your photos are never stored here.
Location: ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.mediaanalysisd/Data/Library/Caches
What’s inside
- Analysis caches for Photos search (faces, scenes, text in images)
- Temporary model files used during analysis
- No original photos or videos
Clear the cache
- Quit Photos.
- In Finder, choose Go › Go to Folder and open
~/Library/Containers/com.apple.mediaanalysisd/Data/Library/Caches. - Move the contents of that folder to the Trash (leave the folder itself), then restart your Mac.
macOS rebuilds what it needs in the background; Photos search may be slower for a day while it re-analyses.
If it fills up again
Make sure macOS is up to date: the runaway growth was a bug that Apple fixed in later updates. You can check its size any time in Tidy Mac’s Space Map.
Find every folder like this on your Mac
Tidy Mac’s Space Map shows every big folder at its real size, and Apps › Leftovers finds folders left by apps you already deleted.
Frequently asked questions
Can I delete com.apple.mediaanalysisd?
Check first: This may be the only copy of something. Look at the details before removing. com.apple.mediaanalysisd is the macOS service that analyses your photos and videos for faces, objects and text search. Its cache normally stays small, but on some macOS versions it has grown to tens of gigabytes. The cache is rebuilt on demand, so clearing it is safe; your photos are never stored here.
Where is com.apple.mediaanalysisd on my Mac?
~/Library/Containers/com.apple.mediaanalysisd/Data/Library/Caches. In Finder choose Go › Go to Folder and paste the path.
How big does com.apple.mediaanalysisd get?
Usually 50 MB normally; 10–100 GB+ when it misbehaves.