What happened to "Other" storage on Mac?
Short answer. "Other" was the name older versions of macOS gave to the storage that didn't fit any other category. Since macOS Monterey (12), the same catch-all is called System Data, and Apple describes it in almost the same words: logs, caches, virtual machine files, temporary files, fonts, app support files and plug-ins. To see it today, choose Apple menu > System Settings > General > Storage. If it's large, our guide to why System Data gets so large shows how to check each part.
If an old forum answer or video tells you to look for "Other" and you can't find it, nothing is missing. It has a new name, and it moved when System Preferences became System Settings.
Where "Other" went
| macOS version | Where storage is shown | The catch-all is called | Apple's own files are called |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Sur (11) | Apple menu > About This Mac > Storage | Other | System |
| Monterey (12) | Apple menu > About This Mac > Storage, then Manage | System Data | macOS |
| Ventura (13) to macOS 27 | Apple menu > System Settings > General > Storage | System Data | macOS |
Sources: Apple's storage guide for Big Sur and for Monterey, and its current Mac User Guide. Versions before Big Sur also said Other (Macworld).
Don't confuse it with Other Users, which is still there today. That category holds files made by the other accounts on your Mac.
What "Other" held, and what System Data holds now
Apple's description barely changed with the new name. On Big Sur, Other meant files that didn't fall into the listed categories, mostly files the system uses: log files, caches, virtual machine (VM) files and other things macOS needs while it runs, plus temporary files, fonts, app support files and plug-ins. Apple said you couldn't manage it, and that its size changed with the state of your Mac. On Monterey and later, System Data has the same description, with one sentence added: your own data that doesn't fit the other categories can be managed in Finder, or in the apps that created it.
One detail did change. On Big Sur, Apple gave Time Machine local snapshots as an example of what the System category held. Its Monterey description of the new macOS category no longer mentions them. Today, space held by snapshots often shows up in System Data instead, which is one reason System Data can jump after you delete something big.
Both names describe what's left over once everything else is counted. Today's System Data figure is worked out by subtraction: Storage settings adds up the categories it recognises and calls the rest System Data (Eclectic Light). So it isn't one folder you can open and empty, and Other wasn't either.
How to check it today
- Choose Apple menu > System Settings, click General in the sidebar, then click Storage.
- Wait for the bar and the list of categories under it to finish loading.
- Find System Data in the list. You can't open it to see what's inside, because macOS manages it (Apple).
On Monterey, choose Apple menu > About This Mac, click Storage, then Manage.
The figure moves around. It can rise for a while after a macOS update, and part of it may be purgeable space that macOS frees on its own when it needs the room. What purgeable space on a Mac is explains why Finder, Storage settings and Disk Utility can disagree.
If System Data, the old Other, is large
It's usually one or two big things rather than lots of small ones. The usual suspects are:
- Time Machine local snapshots still holding files you deleted
- a virtual machine or Docker disk image
- Xcode simulators, build folders and package caches
- big app caches and logs
- a macOS update that's still settling
- swap files, which a restart clears
Why is my Mac's System Data so large? shows how to check each of these with read-only commands, what's safe to remove, and when to just wait. For developer tools, see how to free up space taken by Xcode, Docker and npm.
Leave the parts macOS manages, such as downloaded updates, swap and anything in /System. Old advice about clearing Other by deleting system folders is as risky now as it was then.
Where DiskFox helps
We make DiskFox. Storage settings shows System Data as one figure with no breakdown. DiskFox measures the locations macOS counts there, such as caches, logs, virtual machines, developer data and backups, and shows the total as an estimate, part by part. Its What Changed view shows which part grew and when, and labels the likely cause. Time Machine snapshots are counted, but macOS doesn't report each one's size, and space DiskFox can't place is shown as such rather than guessed. Some locations can only be measured with Full Disk Access, which is optional.
What DiskFox shows about System Data covers what it measures and what it can do about each part. DiskFox needs macOS 14 or later, so it doesn't run on Big Sur or Monterey, where you'd still see Other. It's a one-time purchase with a 14-day free trial, no card needed.