TrailSiftWhat a backup holds
A backup made in Finder, or in iTunes on older Macs, holds nearly everything on the device: messages and their attachments, photos not kept in iCloud, notes, settings and app data. An encrypted backup also holds saved passwords, Wi-Fi settings, website history, call history and health data, all protected by the backup's password. One that isn't encrypted has no password at all.
Backups are kept in ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup, one folder per device, named with a long code rather than the device's name. macOS protects the folder, so only apps with Full Disk Access can look inside.
Why it matters
A backup is a copy of a phone as it was on the day it was made, kept on your Mac indefinitely. Old ones are often the largest files on a Mac that nobody remembers, and they hold years of private messages.
Backups in iCloud are separate: they don't use space on your Mac, and you manage them in System Settings > your name > iCloud > Manage, then Backups.
Find and delete them yourself
- Connect any iPhone or iPad with a cable and select it in the Finder sidebar.
- Click Manage Backups. The list shows every backup on this Mac, for every device, with its name and date. A padlock means it's encrypted.
- Control-click a backup and choose Show in Finder to see its folder and size, or select it and click Delete Backup.
Keep the latest backup of any device you still use, unless it also backs up to iCloud.
Without a device to connect
Turn on Full Disk Access for Terminal in System Settings > Privacy & Security, then see how much space each backup takes:
du -sh ~/Library/Application\ Support/MobileSync/Backup/*
Each folder's Info.plist names the device and the date of the backup:
plutil -extract "Device Name" raw ~/Library/Application\ Support/MobileSync/Backup/FOLDER/Info.plist
To delete one, move its folder to the Trash in Finder (Go > Go to Folder, and paste the path), then empty the Trash.
The easier way
TrailSift's free audit lists every backup on your Mac with the device's name, the date, its size and whether it's encrypted, without a device connected (it needs Full Disk Access, like Terminal). TrailSift Pro moves the ones you choose to the Trash, so you can still put one back until you empty it.
Updated 14 October 2026. More guides: all TrailSift guides.