How to delete old iPhone backups on your Mac

Short answer. Your Mac keeps iPhone and iPad backups in ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup, with one folder per backup. The simplest way to delete old ones is Apple menu > System Settings > General > Storage, then the (i) next to iOS Files: select a backup and click Delete. With a device connected, you can also use Finder: select the device, then click Manage Backups on the General tab. Keep the newest backup of any device you still use unless it also backs up to iCloud, and never edit or remove files inside a backup folder.

Backups are easy to forget because Finder makes them quietly whenever you back up, and an old phone's backup can sit on your Mac for years. Here's how to find them, work out which is which, and remove the ones you don't need.

Where iPhone and iPad backups are stored

Apple's guide to locating backups gives the folder:

1. In Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder.
2. Type ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/ and press Return.

Each folder inside is one backup. The folder names are long strings of letters and numbers, not device names. Each is the device's identifier, so you can't tell which phone it belongs to from the name alone. The next section shows how.

Storage settings counts these backups under iOS Files, together with iPhone and iPad software update files. They aren't part of System Data.

Delete old backups the Apple way

Option 1: Storage settings (no device needed)

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, click General in the sidebar, then click Storage.
2. Wait for the list to load, then click the (i) next to iOS Files.
3. Select the backup you don't need and click Delete.

This is the easiest route for backups of phones and tablets you no longer have. Deleting here can remove the backup straight away rather than moving it to the Trash, so be sure first.

Option 2: Finder's Manage Backups

1. Connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac and select it in the Finder sidebar.
2. Click the General tab, then click Manage Backups.
3. Control-click (or right-click) a backup and choose Delete. You can also choose Archive or Show in Finder.
4. Click OK when you're done.

The list shows each backup's device name and the date and time it was made. A lock next to the name means the backup is encrypted (Apple: about encrypted backups). Treat Delete as permanent.

On macOS Mojave and earlier, backups are managed in iTunes instead of Finder.

How to tell which device and date a backup belongs to

Both Apple routes above show the device name, which is usually enough. If you're looking at the folders in Finder:

• The folder's Date Modified is roughly when that backup last changed. In Finder, choose View > as List to see it.
• The device name and last backup date are written in a small file called Info.plist inside each backup folder. Select it and press the Space bar to view it with Quick Look, which only reads it. Look for "Device Name", "Product Type" and "Last Backup Date". Don't open it in an editor.
• The size: select the folder and choose File > Get Info. A backup is thousands of small files, which is why a search for large files never finds it (more on that).

How big do backups get?

A backup made on a Mac holds "almost all" of the device's data and settings, according to Apple's comparison of iCloud and computer backups. It leaves out:

• apps, music and films from Apple's stores
• content synced from your Mac
• data already in iCloud, such as iCloud Photos and Messages in iCloud
• Face ID, Touch ID and Apple Pay settings
• Mail data
• Health, Activity and Keychain data, unless the backup is encrypted

So the size roughly follows how much data is on the device, minus those. A phone that keeps its photos and videos only on the device, not in iCloud Photos, makes a much bigger backup than one that uses iCloud Photos. Backups of tens of gigabytes are common. Several devices, or a few archived copies, multiply that.

Archived backups

Finder keeps one current backup per device and updates it each time you back up. Archive, in Manage Backups, saves a copy that later backups leave alone. People often archive before an iOS update or a repair and then forget about it.

That's how old backups pile up: an archive is a full backup in its own right. If you see several entries for the same device, the older ones are usually archives. Delete the ones you no longer need, the same way as any other backup.

Encrypted backups

When you tick Encrypt local backup in Finder, your backups are protected by a password. Apple says they can include things an unencrypted backup doesn't, such as saved passwords, Wi-Fi settings, website history, Health data and call history (Apple).

Encryption makes no difference to deleting. One thing to know, though: if you've forgotten the password, you can't use those old encrypted backups at all. Apple says you can reset the backup password, which gives up the old backups and starts new ones. If that's your situation, an old encrypted backup is taking space for nothing.

Do you need them if you use iCloud Backup?

Often not. iCloud and a Mac backup are two ways to protect the same device.

1. On the iPhone or iPad, open Settings, tap your name, tap iCloud, then tap iCloud Backup.
2. Check iCloud Backup is on and the last successful backup is recent.

If it is, a backup on your Mac is a second copy: nice to have, but not essential. You can also see which devices back up to iCloud on your Mac in System Settings > your name > iCloud > Manage > Backups (Apple).

Keep a backup on your Mac when:

• the device doesn't back up to iCloud, or its last iCloud backup is old
• you're about to update, repair, reset or replace the device
• your iCloud storage is too small for a full backup

Backups of devices you've sold, given away or lost track of are usually safe to delete, as long as you've already moved to a new device.

Can you move backups to an external drive?

Not in any way Apple supports. Finder has no setting to choose where backups go, and Apple's current backup guide and locate and manage page don't describe one. Online tips that replace the Backup folder with a "symbolic link" (a shortcut that points to another drive) are unofficial. If the drive isn't connected, backups can fail. We don't recommend them.

If you want to keep an old backup but free the space:

1. Copy (don't move) the whole backup folder to an external drive.
2. Check the copy is the same size as the original.
3. Delete the backup from your Mac using Storage settings or Manage Backups.

Finder won't list a backup while it's on the external drive. To use it again, you'd copy the whole folder back into the Backup folder. Apple doesn't document restoring this way, so treat it as a spare, not your main backup.

What not to do

• Don't edit, rename or remove files inside a backup folder. A backup is a set of thousands of files that refer to each other. Change one and the whole backup may not restore.
• Don't delete the whole MobileSync or Backup folder. Delete backups one at a time, so you choose what goes.
• Don't delete the only backup of a device you still use unless iCloud Backup is on and recent.
• Don't remove part of a backup to save space. It's all or nothing.

Where DiskFox helps

We make DiskFox. With Full Disk Access turned on (it's optional), it measures your iPhone and iPad backups and shows them as their own line on its System Data page, explaining that macOS counts them under iOS Files. If a new backup makes up most of a jump in storage, What Changed says a device was backed up to this Mac.

On the Clean Up page, backups appear under More options as "Remove old device backups". It's never ticked for you. Expand it to see each backup folder with its size and a button to reveal it in Finder. Nothing moves until you review and confirm, and the backups go to the Trash, where you can put them back until you empty it.

What it doesn't do: it doesn't read device names or dates, so it shows folder names rather than "Sam's iPhone". It also treats all the backups it finds as one item, so it can't keep one and remove another. To choose backup by backup, use Storage settings or Finder as above. DiskFox is a one-time purchase, with a 14-day free trial and no card needed.

What to do next

• If you're clearing space more widely, start with how to free up space on your Mac.
• To see which other folders are large, read what's taking up space on your Mac.
• If System Data is still big after removing backups, see why System Data gets so large.

Anything moved to the Trash only frees space once you empty it.