Why Everyone Needs a Cleaning Plan for MacOS Computers

Almost every day I read a post on Reddit or another blog asking about the best Mac cleaner on the market. And the comments that rise to the top always seem to say one of two things:

• I've been developing on Macs for 20 years and no person should ever need a cleaner
• Most Mac cleaners are borderline malware or viruses

Two False Assumptions

I think these hold two false assumptions.

People who leave these comments assume that because one person uses a Mac a certain way, that therefore everyone must use their Mac the same way. Yet it's highly likely that a power user or developer working on a Mac has very different patterns and habits than a casual or even a professional, but non-technical, user.

The second comment, while possibly valid for some cleaners, assumes that people create tools with underlying malice. Given the number of powerful tools and apps that we all use every day, this is just not the case.

The Growing Problem

By default, macOS does a fairly good job at moderating a device's drive, contents, and general free space. The growing offender is not macOS, but rather the developers that choose to pepper the hard drive with random folders, extra data, and large data chunks. When coupled with the inclusion of AI models, video games, media clips and varied caching strategies by applications, it can leave the user's hard drive an absolute mess. Especially when that user doesn't already have an organizational strategy or cleaning regimen.

In response to these comments or the original post, many users will suggest that a person just uses a program like DaisyDisk or GrandPerspective. While both of these are great tools, they don't help inform a novice or moderate user about what is safe to delete. Sure, it will help them find that family video that is 10GB inside their downloads folder or some other obvious data hog, but these tools overlook the folders that just accumulate small files and gradually get bigger, eating away at system storage space.

The Knowledge Gap

Many Mac users choose to use a Mac for its simplicity; they don't need to be a computer expert to run it effectively. By this measure then, they also have no interest in scanning through folders or running complicated software looking for the culprits eating away at their disk space. They don't have the knowledge of the OS to know if they can delete from /Library, /Users or any other directory that isn't in their home folder. As a result, they often just ignore the piling up of data until it becomes a much bigger problem.

Most Mac users don't really realize that they can probably delete their entire ~/Library/Caches folder and nothing bad will happen. That isn't 100% true though, depending on what items a user has installed, and which developers have chosen to save important files in directory locations that are intended to only hold temporary items.

So now, the user is left with throwing their hands up in the air and determining that it's probably just easier to delete that extra photo album or downloaded movie instead of folders upon folders of data that have no value to them hiding in System Data.

A Developer's Perspective

I give myself as an example. I've developed on multiple machines and architecture. I went to school for computer science, worked in the IT sector and generally think I'm pretty good around just about any operating system going back to Windows 95 and my original Apple IIGS.

I built TrashPanda because this is a problem that doesn't go away; I don't care how good you are with a computer. I found this to be true even in the process of building TrashPanda: on the FOURTH iteration of improving the code for TrashPanda, I found over 50GB on my hard drive being held by an old program, Crossover, which is for Mac Gaming. I hadn't used it in a year. I didn't see it with other tools because the contents spanned multiple directories. The first few versions of TrashPanda focused on directories and scripts that didn't find this particular program. So I extended TrashPanda with an Orphaned Apps scanner to find these types of files for the user to select by hand for manual deletion. Now, users can target exactly this type of bloat and data use without needing to go digging for buried treasure (or trash).

Real Results

Before I began developing TrashPanda, I routinely had about 5-10GB on my hard drive free (I have a 256GB HD). Now, with daily automated (scheduled) runs of TrashPanda on the categories I care about, I have 70GB free. I haven't changed my habits; I haven't deleted programs. TrashPanda just runs a scheduled clean every morning at 2AM and cleans up excess caches, scripts, and the categories I choose.

Different Users, Different Needs

Ultimately, Mac users of any level and profile will benefit from a process to clean out their hard drives. It doesn't need to be TrashPanda. After all, your profile is unique:

• Perhaps you never install anything and just browse the web. Great. Clean your browser caches and you'll probably be fine.
• Maybe you have your phone backed up to your Mac. You store lots of photos and videos and you somehow always run out of space. Either take fewer photos, get a bigger hard drive or maybe try a tool like Onyx. TrashPanda might help; it also might not.
• Or, you love trying all sorts of apps. You don't properly uninstall apps and you generally pay no attention to your Mac operating system. You should try one of the many cleaners. TrashPanda could definitely help.

User Feedback

Most people who have purchased and downloaded TrashPanda have fallen into one of three categories:

• They said nothing and provided no feedback. This likely means the tool worked and they had no complaint, or they haven't gotten around to trying it.
• Several have provided recommendations on how I can make the product better; but they liked it from first impressions. I've appreciated the dialogue with these users and continue to actively solicit feedback through the TrashPanda website.
• Many provided direct positive feedback. They love the tool and it does what it needs; they have more space on their Mac with no adverse effect.

The Mission

I created TrashPanda to solve a problem I had and create a solution that improved on what I could otherwise find on the market. In the process, I both applied my years of expertise and built new skills; I've chosen to sell it at a ridiculously low price because it's a tool that I know I needed, and I'm sure many others will, too. The price point allows me to cover some expenses, while making it affordable to interested users worldwide.