Help · Mac storage

How to find and delete old screenshots.

By Grant and Brad, who make Pangalin's apps · Updated 11 October 2026

Every screenshot and screen recording lands on your desktop by default, and they add up, especially screen recordings, which can be hundreds of megabytes each. Here's how to clear them out and stop the pile from growing back.

Find them

• On the desktop: they're named Screenshot or Screen Recording followed by the date and time (older versions of macOS used Screen Shot). Screenshots are .png, recordings .mov.
• Everywhere: in Finder press ⌘F, choose This Mac, and type Screenshot, or Screen Recording for recordings. Switch to list view and sort by Size or Date to see the biggest and oldest first.
• In Photos: if they're synced or imported, open the Screenshots media type in Photos' sidebar.

Delete the ones you don't need

1. Select the old ones (⌘-click, or ⇧-click a range) and move them to the Trash.
2. Keep any that are receipts, confirmations or records you might need: move those into a folder in Documents.
3. Empty the Trash to get the space back. This is permanent. In Photos, delete them and then empty Recently Deleted.

Stop the pile growing on your desktop

1. Press ⇧⌘5 and click Options.
2. Under Save to, choose a folder (or Other Location…), for example a “Screenshots” folder in Documents.

Tip: add Control to any screenshot shortcut (for example ⌃⇧⌘4) to copy it to the clipboard instead of saving a file.