Wallpaper/Screensavers take up 26gb, how to delete?

[bd700pilot]

Was doing some housekeeping, wondering why i had so little SSD space available... stumbled on this folder: Mac/Library/App Support/com.apple.idleassetsd

It is 26gb, appears to be all the neat screensavers and wallpapers. I deleted them all, but they keep re-downloading / re-appearing moments later. I have gone to Sys Settings and confirmed that I have none of the wallpapers or screensavers selected (its not very obvious how to manage them from this page, as well). You cannot right-click on them and "delete".

Can anybody confirm if these are indeed "non-deletable" files? Very annoying to be carrying around 26gb of data I dont want. thats like 6% of my SSD space.

 

[LinMac]

The information here suggests that space isn't taken into account and those are removed when space runs out. Your mileage may vary, but removal information also seems scattered in that thread.

 

[HDFan]

wondering why i had so little SSD space available.

Do you have the recommended 30% free space?

 

[CrushRoller]

These Dynamic wallpapers are totally useless... Since they are videos they take quite some space on your ssd and consume resources for no benefit...

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"Was doing some housekeeping, wondering why i had so little SSD space available... stumbled on this folder: Mac/Library/App Support/com.apple.idleassetsd
It is 26gb, appears to be all the neat screensavers and wallpapers. I deleted them all, but they keep re-downloading / re-appearing moments later."

A thought.
I have no idea if this will work.
I don't think it will actually hurt anything to try.

1. You need to create a new folder.
Give it the same name as the problem foldler:
com.apple.idleassetsd

3. Bring up the "get info" box for this folder.
Now, put a checkmark into the "locked" checkbox.
The folder should now be locked -- and not changeable.

4. Next, try this:
Navigate to:
Mac/Library/App Support/com.apple.idleassetsd
... so that the "problem folder" is visible in the open window.

5. Now, drag your "phony locked folder with the same name" into the same window as the problem file.
If the finder wants a password to replace it, enter it.

6. Now, the new, "phony" folder is where the problem original used to be.
But... it IS LOCKED and [hopefully] "unchangeable".

7. Let things go for a while, and see what happens.

Again, NO PROMISES that this will work.
But I'm thinking that whatever "mechanism" that is working behind the scenes to "re-create" the "com.apple.idleassetsd" file will STOP WORKING when it finds that folder is "locked".

If you try this, could you let us know if it works?

 

[Grumpus]

According to this apple insider article you need to restart the Wallpaper and Wallpaper (System Settings) processes after deleting the wallpaper files.

 

[orbital~debris]

These Dynamic wallpapers are totally useless... Since they are videos they take quite some space on your ssd and consume resources for no benefit...

The benefit they have to me is a serene moment when signing-in to my Mac.
And they are useful as inspiration to visit these wonderful places our planet has to offer (applies to both the static images as well as the dynamic versions, but the latter seems to have a greater 'daydream' effect on me).

 

[auxbuss]

Was doing some housekeeping, wondering why i had so little SSD space available... stumbled on this folder: Mac/Library/App Support/com.apple.idleassetsd

It is 26gb, appears to be all the neat screensavers and wallpapers. I deleted them all, but they keep re-downloading / re-appearing moments later. I have gone to Sys Settings and confirmed that I have none of the wallpapers or screensavers selected (its not very obvious how to manage them from this page, as well). You cannot right-click on them and "delete".

fwiw, that directory is 13.6 Mb on my system. Note that I don't use a "screensaver", and I use my own image for the desktop.

 

[Queen6]

According to this apple insider article you need to restart the Wallpaper and Wallpaper (System Settings) processes after deleting the wallpaper files.

Have used the same article myself to remove the wallpapers. I just prefer the static images. Those that want have a look at what they offer just search on YT is a lot than dredge the files out system.

Q-6

 

[mijail]

Just another thing to take into account: in addition to the local space, those screensavers are backed up by Time Machine too! I just added them to my privacy exclusions list.