If you want to reduce the amount of space Dropbox uses to the absolute minimum, you should also clear out its cache. How to clear the Dropbox application cache The other way to reduce the amount of space Dropbox uses on your computer is to remove files and folders you don’t need regular access to from your Dropbox and archive them on an external hard drive or USB stick.

Paid-for plans have their own tool called Smart Sync that does a similar job. Selective Sync is available on free versions of Dropbox.

Uncheck the box next to the folders you don’t want to be saved locally.ĭropbox will remove the folders you unchecked, saving space on your Mac.

Click on the double arrow at the bottom of the sidebar.

Launch the Dropbox app from your Applications folder.

The files will still be visible on your Mac, but you’ll have to download them if you want to use them. One way to cut down the amount of space Dropbox takes up is to use a tool in its Preferences called Selective Sync, which allows you to choose which folders in your Dropbox sync with your Mac and which don’t. So, if you have 2GB of files stored in Dropbox, you will also have 2GB taken up by those files on your Mac. Every file on your Dropbox account is mirrored on your hard drive or SSD, meaning that a version of the file is stored on your Mac as well as in the cloud. Lots of people think that by storing files in Dropbox you free up space on your computer.

On the Mac, when you install the Dropbox application and connect it to your account, every file you place in the Dropbox folder in the Finder is synced with Dropbox’s servers and available on other devices on which you are signed into your account. There’s also a business version that includes a collaboration tool called Spaces. There is a free version that provides 2GB of space, and paid-for versions that provide more space and additional features. What is Dropbox?ĭropbox is a cloud storage storage service that allows you to store files on its servers and access them from lots of different devices including Mac, PC, iPhone, and iPad. But as well as being convenient, there are a few things that most people don’t realize about Dropbox. But to help you do it all by yourself, we’ve gathered our best ideas and solutions below.įeatures described in this article refer to the MacPaw site version of CleanMyMac X.ĭropbox was one of the first cloud storage services and is a super-convenient way to share files or just store them so you can access them from any devices. So here's a tip for you: Download CleanMyMac to quickly solve some of the issues mentioned in this article.

Dropbox on mac taking up space