How to Delete Old iPhone Backups on Mac

Delete old iPhone and iPad backups from your Mac in Finder, find where they are stored, and check what you lose before you remove one.

MacWipe 6 min read

To delete an iPhone backup on a Mac, connect the iPhone, select it in the Finder sidebar, click Manage Backups on the General tab, then right-click the old backup and choose Delete. The backups themselves live in ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/, but Apple’s Finder route is the safer way to remove them.

Each backup is a full copy of a device’s settings and data, so an old phone you no longer own may still be holding a large chunk of your disk. The steps are the same on a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro or desktop Mac. They come from Apple’s current support article, which does not tie them to one macOS version. On macOS 27 Golden Gate, Apple’s Storage guide also lists device backups under iOS Files in System Settings > General > Storage (Apple).

Before you delete: check what you lose

Apple is clear that a deleted backup can’t be recovered. Ask yourself three questions first:

  • Is this the only copy of that device’s data? If the phone was lost, sold or reset and you never moved its data to a new phone, the backup may be the last copy of its photos, messages and settings.
  • Is the device backed up anywhere else? If the same iPhone also backs up to iCloud, deleting the Mac copy leaves the iCloud one in place. Check the date of the iCloud backup before you rely on it (see the iCloud section below).
  • Is it encrypted? Encrypted backups also hold saved passwords, Wi-Fi settings, website history, Health data and call history, according to Apple’s article About encrypted backups. A backup without encryption doesn’t include those.

Deleting a backup on your Mac doesn’t change anything on the iPhone itself. It only removes your ability to restore the device to that point.

Method 1: Delete iPhone backups in Finder

This is Apple’s documented route, from Locate and manage backups of your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. It works the same for iPads.

  1. Connect your iPhone to your Mac with a USB cable.
  2. Open a Finder window.
  3. Click your iPhone in the sidebar.
  4. If prompted, tap Trust on the iPhone and enter your passcode.
  5. Click the General tab, then click Manage Backups.
  6. Right-click the backup you want to remove and choose Delete.
  7. Confirm, then click OK.

The list shows each backup with its device name and the date and time it was made.

Archived backups

The same right-click menu has Archive. Apple describes archiving as a way to keep a backup so that later backups don’t replace it. That is useful before an iOS update, but archived copies stay on your disk until you delete them. If you archived backups years ago, they are often the first thing worth removing.

Encrypted backups

In Manage Backups, a lock next to a device’s name means the backup is encrypted (Apple). You need its password to restore from it, so if you have lost the password, that backup is of little use to you anyway. Apple’s article explains the options when the password is forgotten.

Method 2: Find the backup folder in Finder

You can open the folder where your Mac stores device backups, which helps when you want to see how big each one is. Apple gives this route in its backup article:

  1. In Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder.
  2. Type ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/ and press Return.

Each subfolder is one backup. The folder names are long codes, not device names, so it is hard to tell which is which. Right-clicking a backup in Manage Backups and choosing Show in Finder takes you straight to the right folder.

We recommend deleting backups through Manage Backups rather than dragging folders around here. If you do move a backup folder to the Trash, it keeps using disk space until you empty the Trash. Never move or rename only part of a backup: the whole folder belongs together.

The Terminal route

To check sizes from Terminal, run:

du -sh ~/Library/Application\ Support/MobileSync/Backup/*

When we tried to list this folder in Terminal on a Mac running macOS Sequoia 15.7, macOS answered “Operation not permitted”. The folder is protected, and Terminal needs Full Disk Access to read it. You can grant that in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access. Remove the access again when you are done if you don’t normally need it.

iCloud backups are separate

Backups on your Mac and backups in iCloud are two different things. Deleting one doesn’t delete the other, and Finder’s Manage Backups list only shows the copies on your Mac. To manage iCloud backups, follow Apple’s guide View and manage iCloud device backups.

On the iPhone:

  1. Open Settings, tap your name, then iCloud.
  2. Tap iCloud Backup.
  3. Tap the device’s name, then Turn Off and Delete from iCloud.

On the Mac:

  1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click your name at the top of the sidebar.
  2. Click iCloud, then Manage, then Backups.
  3. Select the device and click Delete.

Apple warns that deleting a device’s iCloud backup also turns off iCloud Backup for that device. Deleting an iCloud backup frees iCloud storage, not space on your Mac.

Other ways to free space on your Mac

If you need more room after removing old backups, try these guides:

The faster way: MacWipe

MacWipe’s Developer tool lists the device backups on your Mac under Device Backups, with the device name, the date of the last backup and the iOS version, so you can tell an old iPad from your current iPhone without plugging anything in. Backups are never pre-selected: MacWipe marks them as data that can’t be recreated once the device is reset or gone, and asks you to confirm. A backup you pick goes to the Trash, so you can put it back until you empty it. To read the backup folder, MacWipe needs Full Disk Access, and it tells you when that is missing. MacWipe runs on macOS 14 Sonoma or later.

Download MacWipe

FAQ

Is it safe to delete old iPhone backups on Mac?

Yes, as long as you don’t need to restore from them. Deleting a backup doesn’t change the iPhone itself. Keep the newest backup of any device you still use, and any backup that is the last copy of a lost phone’s data.

Where are iPhone backups stored on a Mac?

In ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/ in your home folder. Open it with Go > Go to Folder in Finder, or right-click a backup in Manage Backups and choose Show in Finder.

Does deleting an iPhone backup on my Mac delete it from iCloud?

No. Mac backups and iCloud backups are separate. Remove an iCloud backup from Settings on the iPhone or from System Settings > your name > iCloud on the Mac.

Why can’t I see Manage Backups in Finder?

The button appears on the General tab once a device is connected and selected in the Finder sidebar. If the device doesn’t appear, enter its passcode and tap Trust when asked.

Skip the manual steps next time.

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