How to Permanently Delete Download Files on Mac to Free Up Space [macOS Ventura/Monterey/Big Sur]

When your Mac is running low on storage, it helps to know how to permanently delete download files on a Mac. Forgotten downloads often linger on your device, taking up valuable space and eventually slowing down your Mac.

Learning how to delete downloads on your Mac, especially removing them precisely and permanently from the Mac Finder, Safari, and Google Chrome, can improve your device's performance. Here's a comprehensive guide on how to do it.

First Aid: How to Recover Deleted Download Files on Your Mac

By default, your Mac saves files you download from the Internet in the “Downloads” folder. In this folder, you can find images you grabbed from Google Images, files downloaded from cloud storage, emails, and so on. It's worth noting that Mac users can change the default save location for downloads with various apps. When cleaning up your Mac, you might accidentally and permanently delete important files on Mac without knowing it.

When you want to permanently delete files and make sure that no one can recover Trash data on Mac, you can empty the Trash. The deletion also leads to data loss. How to recover permanently deleted files on Mac, including the ones from the Download folder?

In this case, we use the Data Recovery Wizard for Mac tool. If you are a beginner or have never done file recovery by yourself, don't worry.

Having decided to download the program for your Mac, proceed with the recovery as soon as possible following these instructions.

Step 1: Select the hard drive, external drive, or SSD from which you lost important data and files, and then click “Search Lost Files.”

Step 2: The software will perform a quick and deep scan to find as many deleted files as possible on the selected volume. Filter the required files using the "Type" and "Path" options.

Step 3. Preview the deleted files by double-clicking them, and then click the “Recover” button to get them back.

Tip 1: How to Permanently Remove Download Files on a Mac from Finder On a Mac, you can permanently delete downloaded files through the Finder. Here's how: 1. Open Finder: Click on the Apple menu in the top left corner of the screen and choose "Finder." 2. Go to the "Downloads" folder: In the sidebar of the Finder, locate and click on "Downloads." 3. Select the files to delete: In the main window on the right, find the file or folder you want to delete and click on it to select. Hold down the Command key (⌘) to choose multiple items. 4. Permanently delete the files: Click on "File" in the menu bar at the top, then select "Move to Trash." Alternatively, you can directly press the Delete key on your keyboard. 5. Empty the Trash: The deleted files will be moved to the Trash. To permanently remove them, right-click on the Trash icon and choose "Empty Trash." Or, you can click and drag the Trash icon to the trash can in the bottom right corner of the screen. Please note that once you empty the Trash, the files cannot be recovered unless you use a data recovery tool.

Now you can delete the downloaded file to free up storage space on your Mac. Unless you chose a different location, the “Downloads” folder is where all downloaded files and apps go on your Mac by default.

Downloading content can take up space and slow your computer down. The fastest and easiest way to remove downloads from your Mac is to delete them from the “Downloads” folder in Finder.

Step 1: Launch the “Finder” app from your Mac's Dock.

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Step 2. In the left-hand menu of the Finder window, select “Downloads.” You can also open this folder with the keyboard shortcut: Option + Command + L.

Step 3: Right-click one of the files and use your mouse to select "Move to Trash" to delete it. You can also select all downloaded files by pressing "Command + A" on your keyboard.

Step 4. To completely remove them from your Mac, Empty the Trash on your Mac.

Note: Finder is the always-running app on a Mac that houses the desktop and all of its icons.

Please share this article on social media to help others learn how to permanently delete downloaded content with three solutions.

Tip 2: How to Permanently Delete Safari Downloads

You've effectively deleted them by moving the downloads to the Trash and emptying the Trash. Removing downloads from your browser is another way to delete them on a Mac. However, they still leave traces behind. To free up more memory on your Mac, you can delete your download history from the browser.

1. Delete downloaded files from Safari

Here's how to delete Safari downloads on a Mac:

Step 1: Open Safari.

Step Two: Choose Preferences from the Safari menu.

Step 3. Under the “General” tab, select the Download location option.

Step 4: Change your download save folder to clear out your downloads.

2. Clear Download History in Safari

Though the actual files might be gone, their traces could still be there. If you downloaded the files through a web browser, that information would be saved in your browser's history. So, you can try clearing the Safari download history on your Mac.

Step 1: Open Safari.

Step 2. Your browsing history is accessible by clicking on "History" in the menu bar.

Step 3: Tap Clear History at the bottom of the screen to delete your download history.

4. In the pop-up window, select all history to delete completely, or choose other options for selective deletion. Repeat the clearing process for the desired history types.

Technique 3: How to Permanently Delete Download History in Google Chrome Permanently deleting your download history in Google Chrome might require some extra steps, as the browser doesn't offer this option by default. Here's one method: 1. **Open Google Chrome**: First, make sure you have launched the Google Chrome browser. 2. **Access Download History**: Click on the three vertical dots in the top-right corner (More options), and from the dropdown menu, select "History" > "History" again. 3. **Find and Delete Download Items**: On the left-hand side of the history page, click on the "Downloads" tab. This will display your download history. Locate the download entry you want to remove and click the trashcan icon next to it to delete it. 4. **Clear Browsing Data**: To thoroughly remove all download records, use Chrome's "Clear browsing data" feature. Click on the three vertical dots again, choose "Settings," then scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Advanced." 5. **Select the Clearing Range**: Under the "Privacy and security" section, click "Clear browsing data." 6. **Choose a Time Range**: In the popup, select a time range, such as "All time," to delete all download records. 7. **Select Content to Clear**: Make sure the checkbox next to "Download history" is checked. You can also choose to clear other browsing data. 8. **Confirm Clearing**: Click "Clear data" to delete all records within the selected range. Please note that this will not only remove your download history but also clear other browsing data, such as cookies and cached images and files. If you only want to delete the download history without affecting other data, step 3 is the most direct approach. However, keep in mind that Chrome doesn't provide an option for permanently deleting individual download records; they will automatically disappear from the history after a certain period.

Web browsers like Safari and Google Chrome keep track of every file you download, making it easy to locate where the files are saved. As such, you can delete downloaded items by checking your downloads folder and history.

1. How to delete downloaded files from Google Chrome? 2. How to clear browsing history in Mozilla Firefox?

These instructions will guide you through viewing your download history in the Chrome browser:

Step 1: Launch the Google Chrome web browser.

Step 2: From the Chrome menu, choose Window – Downloads.

Step 3: You can see a list of all your downloads in a new tab.

Step 4. To see your downloaded files, click Show in Finder. Deleted files from the disk appear with a strikethrough.

How do I clear the download history from Google Chrome?

This will only remove the record of the file, not the file itself, which will remain on your Mac unless you clear your Google Chrome history. To delete the actual file from your Mac, follow the steps here.

Step 1: Click the Chrome icon in your Dock to open it.

Step 2: Select “Clear browsing data” from the drop-down menu. You'll then see a pop-up window appear on a new page.

Step 3: In the downloads page that appears, tap the three dots in the top-right corner, and select Clear all to delete your browsing history in Google Chrome.

Final Thoughts

If you frequently use your computer for online activity, you might have a lot of files accumulating in your “Downloads” folder that are no longer needed and taking up valuable hard drive space. This article will show you three ways to clear out your downloads on a Mac.

Also, if you accidentally delete a file that shouldn't have gone to the Trash, you can turn to a third-party data-recovery utility, such as Disk Drill for Mac.

Frequently Asked Questions on How to Delete Download Files on a Mac

To learn more about deleting downloads on a Mac, read here.

**Why can't I delete downloaded files on my Mac?**

You can try these methods to delete a file that won't delete on Mac.

1. Force quit the application using the file to delete it.
2. Change the read-only permission to read and write.
3. Remove an undeletable file using a terminal command line.

How do I delete downloads on my Mac without a mouse?

You can use the keyboard shortcut Option-Command-Delete while a file is highlighted, or in the Finder, go to the File menu and hold down the Option key. If you're experienced with the command line, you can also use Terminal to delete downloads from a specific folder.

3. How do I find my downloads on a Mac?

You can find the Downloads folder on a Mac in the Finder – Downloads. You can also locate the files by checking the download destination path in your browser and searching for them manually.

How do I remove an app that won't delete on my Mac?

You can remove them by deleting unnecessary apps from Launchpad or the Finder. You can also use the Terminal to delete apps that can't be removed from Launchpad. However, in the Terminal, apps will be permanently deleted with no option to undo.

How do I delete downloaded content on my iPhone?

First, find the file you want to delete. Since you can't directly access a downloads folder on your iPhone, you'll need to find the app that manages the file you want to get rid of. To clear your downloads, access the downloaded file through its app, then choose “Remove” or “Delete.”