Apple Mail Taking Huge Storage?

[Bazzy]

Hello All,

I have a rMBP Mid 2015 - Mojave 10.14.16 & running Mail 12.4.

My rMBP is running out of disk space & really struggles - heats up quickly with fans running at 6000rpm. I knew I was getting low on space so thought maybe freeing some up would help.

I have always had problems & issues with Apple mail - it regularly does not load (not responding) when starting up, produces regular beach-balls, freezes, regularly randomly quits & eats a lot of resources which slows the computer down drastically.

I have a trial version of an App called Daisy Disk - got it to determine where all my storage was being consumed. I noticed that in Users > Library > Containers (218.7GB) there is a file called "com.apple.mail" that is taking up 217.3GB of space.

In Library there is also a file called Mail taking up 72.1GB.

On my MacintoshHD there are also two files called "private" & "hidden space" which are taking up 13GB & 12.8GB respectively.

I am not at all savvy on these things but surely the above suggests something is wrong & both Apple Mail & com.apple.mail should not be taking up so much space? Also I do not know what is taking up the space in the private & hidden space files.

I would dearly like to resolve this issue so can anyone please kindly give me detailed step by step that a noob can understand & follow to sort the above out? It seems as if I am losing around 250GB-300GB+ of disk space to this alone?

Please kindly have a look at the numbered screen-shots attached to show matters better,

Many Kind Thanks,

 

[Ambrosia7177]

Why not buy and install a larger SSD drive?

I have a 2TB SSD in my MBP and it is the same era as yours.

As to email, if you are storing all of your emails on your hard-drive, that can take up lots of space if you have attachments.

Can you leave your emails stored on your email provider's servers instead?

Also, maybe now is a good time to clean out your Inbox?

 

[ovbacon]

Maybe delete mail msgs more often?! How many emails or better how many years of emails have you kept with attachments etc.

 

[HDFan]

You can try rebuilding your mailboxes (Mailbox/Rebuild). If you have less then ~30% disk free then there can be a performance hit.

You might want to consider getting a larger external drive and making that your boot drive.

 

[Bazzy]

Hi All,

Thanks for the input so far - it seems that my rMBP has also been storing emails via "On My Mac" & this is probably taking up so much space?

I am a bit confused as to why my screenshot 2 says Apple Mail is taking up 71.2GB but then on screen-shot 3 "com.apple.mail" is taking up 217.3GB? Is it both of them combined or is the 71.2GB part of the 217.3GB?

1. Are the emails stored via "On My Mac" also on the various email platforms like Gmail, Yahoo etc
2. What would happen if I did not store these via On My Mac anymore? Would they be lost forever or still available via Gmail, Yahoo etc by logging on?
3. Can the email stored on my Mac be transferred to say a portable HD so at least I have a copy of them all & can go through them later to sort out as it will take a very long time - How would I do this?
4. What is all the info on screen-shot 7 please?
5. What is mail "Archive" & why are emails on there?
6. What is the correct way to remove emails - I usually just press Delete but they never seem to clear from my system fully - even though I mass delete a bunches of them - they still appear as Trash & even after deleting the Trash emails, they still appear as Trash?
7. Is there an easy, simple to follow guide on how best to set Mail up so one can just keep the emails they want without taking up unnecessary space on my computer?

What is the Private & Hidden Files folder that are also taking up so much space & how does one know what is in them to determine if they are relevant, can be deleted etc?

Many Thanks!

 

[Ambrosia7177]

Hi All,

Thanks for the input so far - it seems that my rMBP has also been storing emails via "On My Mac" & this is probably taking up so much space?

I am a bit confused as to why my screenshot 2 says Apple Mail is taking up 71.2GB but then on screen-shot 3 "com.apple.mail" is taking up 217.3GB? Is it both of them combined or is the 71.2GB part of the 217.3GB?

1. Are the emails stored via "On My Mac" also on the various email platforms like Gmail, Yahoo etc
2. What would happen if I did not store these via On My Mac anymore? Would they be lost forever or still available via Gmail, Yahoo etc by logging on?
3. Can the email stored on my Mac be transferred to say a portable HD so at least I have a copy of them all & can go through them later to sort out as it will take a very long time - How would I do this?
4. What is all the info on screen-shot 7 please?
5. What is mail "Archive" & why are emails on there?
6. What is the correct way to remove emails - I usually just press Delete but they never seem to clear from my system fully - even though I mass delete a bunches of them - they still appear as Trash & even after deleting the Trash emails, they still appear as Trash?
7. Is there an easy, simple to follow guide on how best to set Mail up so one can just keep the emails they want without taking up unnecessary space on my computer?

What is the Private & Hidden Files folder that are also taking up so much space & how does one know what is in them to determine if they are relevant, can be deleted etc?

Many Thanks!

Lots of questios there!

I would challenge you to do some of your own research on how email works.

Go to Mozilla's Thunderbird website and get comfortable with how an email client works, and it's benefits. For example, I have all of my e-mails mapped to Thunderbird, so I can manage all of my email accounts from one interface.

Read up on the difference between POP3 and IMAP.

If you look on that website or Google your questions above, you will learn that you can manage all of your email from Thunderbird.

Also, come up with a gameplan of where you want your emails to reside.

You should be able to import emails back onto an email server, including Gmail, but you'd have to read up on how.

Finally, a common problem with email being a burden is not the email server or the email client, it is the email itself!

Unless you run a business, most people's email footprint should be relatively small. (Maybe now is a good time to clean out all of the troves of spam you have, and delete (or download) all of those cat pictures/videos you have as email attachments.

If you have 20GB or 200GB or more of email taking up hard-drives pace, you are likely a horder and have more serious issues than technology.

Do these things and your problem will go away.

Also, why not get a larger hard-drive?

 

[Fishrrman]

Basic starting point:
How many email messages do you have?

 

[Bazzy]

Basic starting point:
How many email messages do you have?

Hi,

May I ask, how would I go about finding out exactly - I know that it is probably thousands of them amassed over the years.

Thanks

 

[Bazzy]

Lots of questios there!

I would challenge you to do some of your own research on how email works.

Go to Mozilla's Thunderbird website and get comfortable with how an email client works, and it's benefits. For example, I have all of my e-mails mapped to Thunderbird, so I can manage all of my email accounts from one interface.

OK - I will do this when I get the chance. You say you use Firefox's Thunderbird - does that mean you do not use Apple Mail to manage all your various email accounts? You use Firefox & Thunderbird & not Safari & Mail?

Read up on the difference between POP3 and IMAP.

These have me somewhat confused - again will try & digest the differences between the two but can tell you that some of mine are on POP3 & others IMAP?

If you look on that website or Google your questions above, you will learn that you can manage all of your email from Thunderbird.

Also, come up with a gameplan of where you want your emails to reside.

OK

You should be able to import emails back onto an email server, including Gmail, but you'd have to read up on how.

Am a little worried about this bit

Finally, a common problem with email being a burden is not the email server or the email client, it is the email itself!

Unless you run a business, most people's email footprint should be relatively small. (Maybe now is a good time to clean out all of the troves of spam you have, and delete (or download) all of those cat pictures/videos you have as email attachments.

If you have 20GB or 200GB or more of email taking up hard-drives pace, you are likely a horder and have more serious issues than technology.

Do these things and your problem will go away.

Also, why not get a larger hard-drive?

You are right, I have been an email hoarder - Apple Mail has caused me issues & problems from day one so I rarely ever messed with it in fear of making things worse - as for more serious problems than technology - again, spot on - with tech, if as usual I find my myself lost or lacking, I just usually leave things alone like sticking my head in the sand on tech matters.

As regards getting a larger drive, if I can free up the 250GB-300GB space along with other stuff I plan to deal with, then tbh, I will have about 500-600GB free which is enough.

Many Thanks!

 

[orionquest]

Must have a lot of large attachments. I keep all my emails my mail folder is only 9 gigs. Most attachements are small, anything larger I get through other means.

You might have to re-work your email workflow if large attachments are the case because this will only get worse.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

OK - I will do this when I get the chance. You say you use Firefox's Thunderbird - does that mean you do not use Apple Mail to manage all your various email accounts? You use Firefox & Thunderbird & not Safari & Mail?

These are the basics you need to learn.

In short, there are email servers and email clients.

Email servers do the lifting and send and receive emails.

Email clients are how you view those emails.

Gmail, Yahoo Mail. ProtonMail, etc are web-based email solutions where there is an email server on the back-end, and the email-client is (by default) what you see in your web browser.

Mozilla THunderbird is an email client.

Why choose an email client over a web-based email client?

A lot of people would say things like: flexibility, more power, being able to centralize things, address books, and so on.

You can hook an email client (e.g. Mozilla Thunderbird) to your Gmail account, to Yahoo Mail, to ProtonMail, and to any email provided by telecom companies or ISP's (e.g. AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, etc).

Do yourself a favor and read these links...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla_Thunderbird


You need to have a solid understanding of email servers, email clients, and the difference between IMAP and POP3 and SMTP.

IMAP: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Message_Access_Protocol

POP: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_Office_Protocol

SMTP: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_Mail_Transfer_Protocol


(**NOTE: Just skim these links and don't get lost in the minutiae!!)

These have me somewhat confused - again will try & digest the differences between the two but can tell you that some of mine are on POP3 & others IMAP?

OK

See the links above...

Am a little worried about this bit

Nothing to worry about, if you put in the effort to learn, people at MacRumors can help fill in any gaps!

You are right, I have been an email hoarder - Apple Mail has caused me issues & problems from day one so I rarely ever messed with it in fear of making things worse - as for more serious problems than technology - again, spot on - with tech, if as usual I find my myself lost or lacking, I just usually leave things alone like sticking my head in the sand on tech matters.

Once you learn how email works, and personally I'd advise trying out Mozilla Thunderbird, then you can do more advanced things with an email client like: archiving, email filters, etc. to help you manage things.

As regards getting a larger drive, if I can free up the 250GB-300GB space along with other stuff I plan to deal with, then tbh, I will have about 500-600GB free which is enough.

Many Thanks!

I advise you clean up you junk on your mac before you get a larger drive, but do understand that swapping out your hard-drive is doable too.