How to delete Time Machine backups on Mac

Time Machine

Do you have a single Time Machine drive that you use to back up multiple Macs? Or a Time Machine drive you were using before upgrading computers? If these apply to you - or for other reasons - you may risk running out of drive space. Fortunately, there's an extremely easy way to get that space back by deleting these old backups, and you can do it right from within the Time Machine interface. Continue reading and we'll show you how to delete your old Time Machine backup files.

To begin deleting your old Time Machine backups from your drive, perform the following steps:

1. Plug in your external drive containing your Time Machine backups.

2. Open the Finder.

3. Activate Time Machine with the Finder visible by clicking the Time Machine icon in the menu bar and selecting Enter Time Machine (or by launching the Time Machine app from /Applications).

4. Navigate to the drive containing your backups from within the Time Machine interface and open the Backups.db followed by the computer you wish to delete backups for.

5. Select an old backup folder (titled by date of backup).

6. Click the Action (gear) icon in the Finder window, and select "Delete Backup."

When you click this, Time Machine will spring to live, and will begin to delete the old backup files. Keep the drive connected while the old files are removed. Once they are removed, you can unplug the drive.

This will only remove the selected backups, but use caution to delete only the backups that are no longer in use. By doing this, you free up space that Time Machine is currently using. Time Machine will periodically remove old backup files during the backup process, but doing this can help free up space on a shared drive even quicker.

TOPICS
Latest in Software & Services
A man sitting at his desk in the evening and using a desktop computer
Office 2021 vs Office 2024: is it time to upgrade?
Microsoft 365 Business app logos
Office 2024 LTSC vs Microsoft 365 Business: what are the differences?
Windows 11 Start menu layout choices: Grid view
Windows 11 vs Linux for business: which operating system should you embrace?
A phone sitting on a laptop keyboard with the Microsoft Outlook logo on the screen.
Gmail vs Outlook for business: which email system is right for your organization?
Windows 11 logo
Windows 11 Pro vs Windows 11 Home: which version is right for you?
Canva HubSpot
HubSpot and Canva team up to level the creative playing field
Latest in How Tos
Max Verstappen of Red Bull in testing for the 2025 season in Bahrain
Australian Grand Prix 2025: How to watch F1 First Practice race online from anywhere
Lunar eclipse
I'm a pro photographer – here's how I'm shooting the total lunar eclipse blood moon with my camera and phone
Photoshop CC logo on a screen
How to make an image background transparent in Photoshop
Glasgow Rangers' Nigerian forward Cyriel Dessers runs with the ball during a UEFA Europa League round of 16 first-leg football match in March 2025
Rangers vs Fenerbahce live stream: How to watch today's UEFA Europa League match online, team news
Tottenham Hotspur player Lucas Bergvall participates in the match at the AFAS Stadium for the UEFA Europa League
Tottenham vs AZ live stream: How to watch the Europa League online from anywhere today, team news
Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United celebrates after scoring their side's first goal during a Premier League match in March 2025
Man Utd vs Real Sociedad live stream: How to watch the Europa League game online from anywhere today, team news