--- title: "Apple Mail taking up space on Mac: how to shrink it" description: "Apple Mail keeps a local copy of your messages and attachments in ~/Library/Mail. See how big it is, and shrink it from inside Mail without breaking anything." url: https://tidymac.space/guides/apple-mail-taking-up-space-mac/ updated: 2026-10-17 --- [Home](/) [Guides](/guides/) Apple Mail taking up space on Mac # Apple Mail taking up too much space on your Mac: how to shrink it safely Apple Mail keeps a local copy of your messages and attachments in ~/Library/Mail. See how big it is, and shrink it from inside Mail without breaking anything. 5 min readUpdated October 16, 2026By the Tidy Mac team Short answer Apple Mail stores a local copy of your messages and attachments in ~/Library/Mail, often 5–50 GB. Don’t delete that folder directly. Shrink it from inside Mail instead: erase deleted items and junk, delete large old messages, and set Download Attachments to Recent or None for big accounts. Copies of opened attachments in Mail Downloads are safe to clear. The steps 1. Check the size: du -sh ~/Library/Mail (Terminal needs Full Disk Access). 2. In Mail, choose Mailbox › Erase Deleted Items and Mailbox › Erase Junk Mail. 3. Find and delete large old messages with attachments. 4. In Mail › Settings › Accounts › Account Information, set Download Attachments to Recent or None. 5. Clear the Mail Downloads folder of opened attachment copies. ## Why Mail gets big Mail keeps every message it downloads, with attachments, so you can search and read offline. With years of email on several accounts, `~/Library/Mail` reaches tens of gigabytes. It's counted in Storage under **Mail**, and partly in System Data. ## Check the size ``` du -sh ~/Library/Mail ``` If you see "Operation not permitted", give Terminal Full Disk Access in **System Settings › Privacy & Security › Full Disk Access**. [What that is](/glossary/full-disk-access/) Don't delete files inside ~/Library/Mail by hand. Mail's index gets out of step and messages go missing or reappear. Use Mail's own commands below. ## Step 1: Empty Mail's Trash and Junk In Mail, choose **Mailbox › Erase Deleted Items** and **Mailbox › Erase Junk Mail**, for all accounts. ## Step 2: Delete large old messages Search for messages with attachments, sort the list by **Size** (View › Sort By › Size), and delete the big ones you don't need. On IMAP accounts this deletes them on the server too, so archive anything you want to keep elsewhere first. ![](/img/brand/tidy-128.png) ### Let Tidy Mac do this for you See every part of your storage explained, and clear junk to the Trash with Undo. $9.99 once, 2 Macs. [Download](/download/TidyMac.dmg) [Buy for $9.99 once](/buy/) ## Step 3: Download fewer attachments Choose **Mail › Settings › Accounts**, select an account, and open **Account Information**. Set **Download Attachments** to **Recent** or **None**. Mail then fetches attachments only when you open them. The messages stay on your mail server. ## Step 4: Clear Mail Downloads Every attachment you open is copied to a separate Mail Downloads folder and kept. Those copies are safe to remove; the originals stay in your email. [Mail Downloads folder](/learn/mail-downloads-folder/) ## Where Tidy Mac fits Tidy Mac's Clean screen lists the Mail Downloads copies as Safe to clear, and shows how much Mail uses so the numbers add up. It doesn't delete messages; Mail should do that. [Pricing](/#pricing) ## Frequently asked questions Can I delete the ~/Library/Mail folder? No. It holds Mail’s local copies and index. Deleting files there can lose messages that aren’t on a server and confuses Mail. Shrink it from inside Mail. Will removing an account from Mail free space? Yes, Mail removes that account’s local copies. For IMAP and Exchange accounts the mail stays on the server; for POP accounts it may be the only copy, so export it first. Why is Mail so big when I barely use it? Mail downloads every message and, by default, every attachment for each account you add, even ones you never read on this Mac. Is the Mail Downloads folder safe to delete? Yes. It only holds copies of attachments you opened. The originals stay in your emails. [Details](/learn/mail-downloads-folder/) ## Keep reading [Apple Mail “Mail Downloads” folder](/learn/mail-downloads-folder/)[Messages attachments on Mac](/learn/messages-attachments-mac/)[What is Full Disk Access?](/glossary/full-disk-access/)[What’s safe to delete on a Mac (and what isn’t)](/guides/what-is-safe-to-delete-on-mac/)[Chrome’s code\_sign\_clone folder on Mac: what it is, and what it really costs](/guides/chrome-code-sign-clone-mac/)[Why is my Mac running slow, and how do I fix it?](/guides/mac-running-slow/) Share:[X](https://x.com/intent/post?text=Apple%20Mail%20taking%20up%20too%20much%20space%20on%20your%20Mac%3A%20how%20to%20shrink%20it%20safely&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftidymac.space%2Fguides%2Fapple-mail-taking-up-space-mac%2F)[Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftidymac.space%2Fguides%2Fapple-mail-taking-up-space-mac%2F&title=Apple%20Mail%20taking%20up%20too%20much%20space%20on%20your%20Mac%3A%20how%20to%20shrink%20it%20safely)[Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/submitlink?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftidymac.space%2Fguides%2Fapple-mail-taking-up-space-mac%2F&t=Apple%20Mail%20taking%20up%20too%20much%20space%20on%20your%20Mac%3A%20how%20to%20shrink%20it%20safely)[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftidymac.space%2Fguides%2Fapple-mail-taking-up-space-mac%2F) #### On this page [Why Mail gets big](#why-mail-gets-big)[Check the size](#check-the-size)[Step 1: Empty Mail's Trash and Junk](#step-1-empty-mail-s-trash-and-junk)[Step 2: Delete large old messages](#step-2-delete-large-old-messages)[Step 3: Download fewer attachments](#step-3-download-fewer-attachments)[Step 4: Clear Mail Downloads](#step-4-clear-mail-downloads)[Where Tidy Mac fits](#where-tidy-mac-fits)[FAQ](#faq) **Tidy Mac** See this on your own Mac in under a minute. $9.99 once, 2 Macs. [Download](/download/TidyMac.dmg)