How Do I Clear My Downloads On A Mac

As you browse the Web, Firefox remembers lots of information for you – sites you've visited, files you've downloaded and more. All of this information is called your history. However, if you are using a public computer or share a computer with someone, you may not want others to see these kinds of things.

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This article explains what information is stored in your Firefox history and gives you step-by-step ways to clear all or part of it.

To temporarily stop Firefox from storing history, see Private Browsing - Use Firefox without saving history.

Open System Information for me. Choose Apple menu About This Mac, click Storage, then click Manage. Click a category in the sidebar: Applications, Music, TV, Messages, and Books: These categories list files individually. To delete an item, select the file, then click Delete. Note: If you delete an item that you got from the iTunes Store, the. At this time, I would suggest you to 'sweep up' your Mac like the way you free up storage of your iPhone. In the article, let me show you how to delete iTunes backup and unwanted software update packages so as to free up storage and speed up. You should know that Mac will not clear up such files for you, so you have to do it yourself at regular. It means that your Mac checks each download for safety issues, so you don’t unknowingly download a virus (although it could still happen.) Viewing the download history in Terminal.

How to Delete Download History on Mac with MacClean: Step 1. Run MacClean and choose Internet Junk. Select a browser with download history or junk files you want to clear. After the scan is over, choose the browser you need to find the download history. Delete Download History on Mac with MacClean-1. To quickly find and safely remove cache files on your Mac, you can use a special software tool: MacCleaner Pro. The app scans your hard drive and automatically finds all the cache files in just a few seconds. Then, all you need to do to remove caches is to select them from the Clean up Mac section and click the Clean Up button.

Browsing & Download History: Browsing history is the list of sites you've visited that are shown in the History menu, the Library window's History list and the address bar autocomplete list. Download history is the list of files you've downloaded that are shown in the Downloads window.
Form & Search History: Form history includes the items you've entered into web page forms for Form autocomplete. Search history includes items you've entered into the search field on the New Tab page or into Firefox's Search bar.
Cookies: Cookies store information about websites you visit, such as site preferences or login status. Cookies can also be used by third parties to track you across sites. For more info about tracking, see How do I turn on the Do Not Track feature?.
Cache: The cache stores temporary files, such as web pages and other online media, that Firefox downloaded from the Internet to speed up loading of pages and sites you've already seen.
Active Logins: If you have logged in to a website that uses HTTP authentication since you most recently opened Firefox, that site is considered 'active'. Clearing this logs you out of those sites.
Offline Website Data: If you've allowed it, a website can store files on your computer so that you can continue to use it when you are not connected to the Internet.
Site Preferences: Site-specific preferences, including the saved zoom level for sites, character encoding, and the permissions for sites (like pop-up blocker exceptions) described in the Page Info window.

Click on the menu button to open the menu panel.Click the Library button on your toolbar. (If you don't see it, click the menu button, then click Libraryclick the menu button.)
Click History and select Clear Recent History….
Select how much history you want to clear:
- Click the drop-down menu next to Time range to clear to choose how much of your history Firefox will clear (the last hour, the last two hours, the last four hours, the current day or everything).
- Use the check boxes to select what information you want to clear from your history. Your choices are described in the What things are included in my history? section above.
Click the button. The window will close and the items you've selected will be cleared from your history.

If you need to clear your history every time you use Firefox, you can set it to happen automatically on exit so you don’t forget.

In the Menu bar at the top of the screen, click Firefox and select Preferences.Click the menu button and select OptionsPreferences.Click the menu button and select Settings.
Select the Privacy & Security panel and go to the History section.
In the drop-down menu next to Firefox will, choose Use custom settings for history.
Check the box for Clear history when Firefox closes.
To specify what types of history should be cleared, click the button next to Clear history when Firefox closes.
In the Settings for Clearing History window, check the items that you want to have cleared automatically each time you quit Firefox.
After selecting the history to be cleared, click to close the Settings for Clearing History window.
Close the about:preferences page. Any changes you've made will automatically be saved.

Note: Under certain circumstances, this function will not run:

Firefox did not shut down normally. If Firefox crashes, you will need to start Firefox and exit/quit normally to ensure that this function runs.
Firefox is set to use automatic private browsing. History retained from regular sessions can only be cleared from a regular window. To change between regular mode and automatic private browsing, see: Private Browsing - Use Firefox without saving history.

See Clear cookies and site data in Firefox.

Click on the menu button to open the menu panel.Click the Library button on your toolbar. (If you don't see it, click the menu button, then click Libraryclick the menu button.) Click History and then click the Show All HistoryManage History bar at the bottom to open the Library window.
Search for the website you want to remove from your history by typing its name in the Search History field in the top-right corner and then pressing EnterReturn.
Then, in the search results, right-clickhold down the Ctrl key while you click on the site you want to remove, and select Forget About This Site.
All history items (browsing and download history, cookies, cache, active logins, passwords, saved form data, exceptions for cookies, images, pop-ups) for that site will be removed.
Finally, close the Library window.

Just like any day-to-day item, your Mac needs a good cleaning once in a while. Getting rid of all the unnecessary files will help your Mac return to its factory excellence and speed up to match your needs. However, you might find yourself clueless as to where to start your Mac clean up: what can be deleted and what should be left on drive? Don’t worry. You might be a little bit lost right now but, as usual, we have some bulletproof tips and tools to help you clean your Mac and speed it up.

4 steps to Mac cleanup

The good news is that in four (or even less) steps you can get a cleaner Mac and boost your Mac’s performance.

If your Mac is out of storage space or starts running slow, you’re up for a cleaning game. And you don’t have to do it alone. We’ve prepared the smartest memory-boosting hacks and practices to speed of your Mac safely. Time for an easy Mac cleanup!

Clean up your Mac’s Desktop

This might seem like an obvious step to take, but you’d be surprised how many Mac users believe the Desktop is the perfect place to store files and docs, handy and always on tap. However, that’s a rookie mistake. Fortunately, you can fix it. That’s why you should clean your Mac starting from the Desktop before you go any deeper. Be honest, can you even see your desktop background clearly now or is it obscured because of the icon-riddled mess?

The fact is, that the Finder treats any folder or file on your desktop as a window. A couple of items on the desktop cause no problem, but if the clutter persists, your Finder will soon slow down and get on your nerves. So better sort it all out to separate folders and let us quickly take you to number two.

Free up your Mac’s hard drive

When it comes to storage, there are items you know about (like your photos and videos) and many hidden entities (like cache files, logs, and app junk). These deep-seated junk files may start off small, but over time they will begin to weigh your Mac down.

Tip: According to one test conducted by MacWorld, nearly full hard drives perform 17.5% slower than the cleaner ones. That’s why it’s so important to refresh your hard drive every now and then. Your system will convert the newly-released free space into virtual memory to ensure your apps are running smoothly. Otherwise, if you’re low on space, your Mac will slow down.

One folder you should regularly clean up for a faster Mac is the Downloads folder. This is where junk piles up little by little, resulting in a total mess. For a complete Mac clean up, make sure to also ditch any unnecessary widgets or apps. Wait, but you think you might need them one day? Truth is, if you haven’t used them so far, you won’t use them in the future. So gather all your courage and hit Delete.

If your Mac is still running slow, then it could be due to old hardware. A new SSD or more RAM is the easiest way to boost your hardware performance without having to spend too much.

How do I know what to delete?

What’s really annoying is that some massive folders on your Mac remain invisible. Each app or website visit leaves behind its own archive of data, which keeps growing over time. To hack this, you can use CleanMyMac X app by MacPaw. It uncovers large redundant files you can delete. And this application is notarized by Apple.

broken downloads
remains of old apps
outdated cache

It found 5.81 GB on our computer, but it may detect even more on your Mac.

Take control of startup and login items

When your Mac boots up, the macOS will launch various startup items. Some you do need, but nearly half of them can be safely switched off. Otherwise, they’ll sit in the background using up your system resources and slowing your Mac down.

To remove startup and login items manually, go to System Preferences > Users & Groups and click on your username. Next up, click on “Login Items” and select all the apps you don’t need running at startup. Then click the “-” button below and you’re done. By disabling the startup programs, you’ll have a speedier Mac next time you boot up.

Repair disk permissions

Disk permissions act like doorkeepers preventing third-party apps from meddling with your system. But disk permissions can get broken, which limits your Mac ability to find the right files.

If you’re on El Capitan or older OS X versions, you can repair disk permissions using the following command in the Terminal window:

sudo /usr/libexec/repair_packages --verify --standard-pkgs /

It will now check the validity of your disk permissions. If you get anything saying “permissions differ”, then you can fix it with this command:

sudo /usr/libexec/repair_packages --repair --standard-pkgs -- volume /

If you are a mere mortal, uneasy with using Terminal, a Mac cleaning utility like CleanMyMac X, can do a better, risk-free job. A single click in Maintenance > Repair Disk Permissions solves it without fuss. With your disk permissions fixed and verified you can enjoy a smoother overall Mac experience.

The free version of this tool is available for download here.

Once you’ve finished to clean up your Mac, make sure to reboot your machine for a fresh start.

Delete System Junk and browser cache

System Junk can account for significant amount of disk space. It’s a broad term that describes temporary files created by your OS itself and all your apps. Since we mostly use our Macs to go online, the internet-related junk takes up the most space.

How to clean up your browser cache:

For Safari, click Develop in the top menu
Then, click Empty caches

For Chrome, click the “hamburger” icon in the top right corner
Then click More tools > Clear browsing data

Find hidden files on your drive

You probably know that a lot of files are purposely made invisible on your Mac. Not necessarily with bad intentions. Such files could be crucial system components and thus protected from accidental deletion. Quite often, however, you’ll encounter remains of old apps, invisible adware, and extensions.

There is a shortcut key combination to reveal the unseen files.

Go to your Documents, or any other directory
Click Shift +Command + Period key

Do you see any grayed out files? Check what these files are and delete them if they look suspicious.

Remove old backups (and Time Machine backups)

There are several layers of backups built in your macOS. Local Time Machine snapshots, iOS, and iCloud backups, etc. If we’re talking about a clean Mac, that’s free from old baggage, you should look into removing them too.

Here is how to remove local Time Machine backups (a.k.a snapshots)

Click Launchpad and type in Time Machine

Your backups will be broken by locations, like Desktop. You can use arrows to the right to navigate between past states of that location.

Now, click on the gear icon in the menu above.

Select “Delete All Backups” in the menu.

Delete the iCloud backups stored on your Mac

Open System Preferences > iCloud.

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Click Manage... at the bottom the pane.

Look through the list of iCloud backups in the sidebar.

iCloud photos will probably occupy the most space. If you’re ready to say goodbye to them, click Delete.

Build the map of your storage

Any computer is ultimately a tree of folders. What if you could draw the map of all folders you have on your Mac and see how large these folders are?

Apparently, there is an ultra simple way to do it. Some applications like Daisy Disk or CleanMyMac will build such “folder tree” for you and it’s really fascinating to look at.

For example, this is the Space Lens tool from CleanMyMac X:

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The blue bubbles stand represent my folders big and small. You can dive into each folder exploring your drive in a completely new way, much more informative than using the Finder. You can find your long lost folders and locate your biggest space wasters.