What are 'Other Volumes in Container' and Can you Delete Them?

If you have recently applied an update to your Mac, you may have noticed that your Mac is showing 'Other Volumes in Container' as something that is draining a lot of disk space. Some users report that it takes a couple of dozen of gigabytes, while others end up seeing hundreds of gigabytes. Needless to say, this can be an annoying issue to deal with if you are limited in terms of disk space.

What do the 'Other Volumes in Container' Store?

You may be wondering what takes so much space on your drive. The 'Other Volumes in Container' comes as a result of the file system that Apple uses since the introduction of High Sierra, APFS. The APFS file system makes it so a physical hard drive could have multiple containers with virtual volumes. APFS containers commonly include:

  • Macintosh HD – the core folder containing the macOS system software.
  • Preboot – a volume that is responsible for managing the boot configuration.
  • Recovery – a volume, which hosts the recovery data, which you can use to fix your Mac.
  • Virtual Machine (VM) – this volume is meant to supplement the RAM your system has. Since it is impossible to store all data on the RAM, the system may sometimes use disk space to host the swapfile, sleepimage, or other large components.

With that said, it is clear that you cannot simply remove 'Other Volumes in Container' – they are important. However, you can somewhat reduce the space they use.

Register a New Account

Surprisingly, using a brand new user account may end up reducing the storage that the 'Other Volumes in Container' take. Not only this, but it may prevent their size from increasing gradually. To do this, head to System Preferences -> Users and Groups­ and click on the Add button. Enter the account credentials, and switch to this account when you restart your Mac.

Disable Content Caching for 'Cache iCloud Content'

Caching iCloud Content is a relatively recent feature in macOS. It can help enhance the speed of updates and other operations. However, it takes a lot of space – disabling it can help reduce the size of the 'Other Volumes in Container.'

  1. Open Apple Menu -> System Preferences -> Sharing -> Content Caching.
  2. Disable Content Caching or disable Cache iCloud.
  3. Confirm the changes.

Alternatively, you could Mac cleanup or backup tools to remove unnecessary data or try to store some of your files on a cloud storage device.

September 17, 2021
Loading...

Cyclonis Backup Details & Terms

The Free Basic Cyclonis Backup plan gives you 2 GB of cloud storage space with full functionality! No credit card required. Need more storage space? Purchase a larger Cyclonis Backup plan today! To learn more about our policies and pricing, see Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Discount Terms and Purchase Page. If you wish to uninstall the app, please visit the Uninstallation Instructions page.

Cyclonis Password Manager Details & Terms

FREE Trial: 30-Day One-Time Offer! No credit card required for Free Trial. Full functionality for the length of the Free Trial. (Full functionality after Free Trial requires subscription purchase.) To learn more about our policies and pricing, see EULA, Privacy Policy, Discount Terms and Purchase Page. If you wish to uninstall the app, please visit the Uninstallation Instructions page.