Where iPhone backups are stored on Mac and how to delete them
iPhone backups are stored on Mac inside your home folder, each takes from a few to tens of gigabytes, and backups of phones you no longer have stay there until you delete them. This guide shows where to find them, how to delete old iPhone and iPad backups safely and what to know first: a deleted backup can’t be brought back, but your iPhone and its iCloud backup aren’t touched.
Where are iPhone backups stored on Mac?
Finder backs up iPhones and iPads to one folder, with a subfolder for each device. The subfolders have long names made of letters and numbers. To open the folder:
- In Finder, choose Go › Go to Folder (Shift-Command-G).
- Type
~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backupand press Return.
Don’t rename, edit or move anything inside: a backup changed by hand may no longer restore. Apps other than Finder, Terminal included, can look inside only with Full Disk Access.
How to delete iPhone backups on Mac in Finder
- Connect your iPhone or iPad with a cable and select it in the Finder sidebar. If the device asks, tap Trust.
- On the General tab, click Manage Backups.
- Control-click a backup you don’t need, choose Delete and confirm.
The list shows each device’s name and the date of its backup. The same menu has Archive, which keeps a backup from being replaced by the next one, and Show in Finder, which opens its folder.
Delete backups without connecting the iPhone
- Choose Apple menu › System Settings, click General in the sidebar, then click Storage.
- Click the (i) button — Show Detail — next to iOS Files. It lists iPhone and iPad backups and software files for them.
- Select a backup you don’t need and click Delete.
Before you delete a backup
- A deleted backup can’t be restored. If it’s the only copy of a phone’s data — a phone that was lost, sold or erased — keep it.
- An encrypted backup (Encrypt local backup on the General tab) also holds saved passwords, Wi-Fi settings, website history, Health data and call history. Without its password, it can’t be used.
- Archived backups stay until you delete them, so check older dates too.
Apple doesn’t describe a way to make Finder back up to an external drive. To keep an old backup but free the space, copy its folder to an external drive in Finder, check the copy, then delete the backup on the Mac. To restore from it later, copy it back into the Backup folder.
Keep your Mac tidy
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Questions and answers
Where are iPhone backups stored on Mac?
In ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup, one subfolder per device. The Manage Backups list in Finder shows the same backups by device name and date.
Is it safe to delete old iPhone backups?
Yes, if you won’t restore from them. Deleting a backup on the Mac doesn’t touch the iPhone itself or its iCloud backup, but the deleted backup can’t be brought back.
Why did a new backup appear after I deleted one?
Finder backs up the iPhone to this Mac each time you sync them, if backups to the Mac are turned on. On the General tab you can choose iCloud backups instead.