To delete podcasts from your Mac, open the Podcasts app, click Downloaded in the sidebar, click the More button at the top right and choose Remove All Downloads. Apple says episodes you remove there are deleted from your Mac, freeing storage space. The shows stay in your library, and episodes stream or download again whenever you want them.
To stop the space filling up again, change two settings in Podcasts › Settings › General: set Automatically Download to off or to fewer episodes, and turn on Remove Played Downloads, which deletes episodes 24 hours after you play them.
The Apple TV app works the same way for movies and TV shows. Click Downloaded in its sidebar, move the pointer over an item, click the More button and choose Delete from Library. Purchases can be downloaded again from your library at any time.
For hands-off cleanup, System Settings › General › Storage has Optimize Storage, which removes movies and TV shows you've already watched. Videos you added yourself are the exception to all of this: they may exist only on your Mac, so treat them as your own files.
Where Podcasts and TV downloads take space
Both apps keep downloads out of sight, in folders you never open. That's deliberate: each app keeps a database of what's downloaded, and changes go through the app.
| What | Where it lives | Can you get it back? |
|---|---|---|
| Podcast episodes | Inside the Podcasts app's group container in your Library | Yes, while the show still offers them |
| Purchased movies and shows | ~/Movies/TV/Media, unless you moved it | Yes, from your library |
| Apple TV subscription and channel downloads | Managed by the Apple TV app | Yes, while the title is offered |
| Rentals | Managed by the Apple TV app | Only during the rental period |
| Home videos you imported | ~/Movies/TV/Media, as a copy | Only if you kept the original |
Where does Podcasts store downloaded episodes?
In ~/, a folder the Podcasts app shares with its other parts. The catalog's entry for Podcasts downloads says the episodes are stored there under coded file names, together with the app's database of shows and what you've played.
Coded names mean you can't tell one episode from another in Finder, and removing files there leaves the app's database out of step. The post on Containers and Group Containers explains why these folders are best left to their apps.
Where does the Apple TV app keep its videos?
In the TV folder inside your Movies folder. The catalog's entry for the TV media folder says it holds movies and TV shows you downloaded from Apple and home videos you added, and that Finder shows the folder as Media.
Removing files there directly leaves items in the TV library that the app can't play. Use the app's own Delete from Library instead.
What do the Storage settings categories show?
In System Settings › General › Storage, Apple describes the TV, Music, Books and Podcasts categories the same way: each holds purchases from that app, which can be removed from your Mac and downloaded again. Click a category's Info button to see its items, select one, and click Delete.
Those categories don't cover everything. Home videos are your files, not purchases, and the guide to every category in Storage settings explains where other files are counted. The macOS 26 Tahoe and macOS 27 Golden Gate versions of Apple's guide describe this screen the same way.
Does removing a download free iCloud storage?
No. Downloads take space on the Mac, so removing one frees space on the Mac only. If the warning you're seeing is about iCloud, the post on full iCloud storage covers what counts there.
How Podcasts downloads episodes
Most podcast storage isn't episodes you chose. It's episodes the app downloaded for you, under settings that are on by default for many people.
Automatic downloads for shows you follow
Apple says you can choose to download new episodes automatically for the shows you follow, so they're ready when you have time. In Podcasts › Settings › General, the Automatically Download pop-up menu turns this off or sets how many downloaded episodes to keep.
Following many shows with automatic downloads on is the usual reason the Podcasts folder grows. Each new episode arrives whether or not you'll ever play it.
Saved episodes download too
When you save an episode to your library, Apple says it's downloaded automatically by default. To stop that, choose Podcasts › Settings, click General, and deselect Download When Saving.
Unsaving doesn't undo the download. Apple notes that choosing Unsave on a downloaded episode doesn't remove it from the Downloaded tab, so remove the download separately.
Why does the space keep coming back?
Because new episodes keep arriving while Automatically Download is on. Removing downloads clears what's there today; the settings decide what arrives tomorrow. If each of twenty shows you follow keeps a few recent episodes, that's dozens of files you never chose, refreshed every week.
Does Hide Played Episodes free space?
No. Hide Played Episodes, in Podcasts › Settings › Advanced or a show's own settings, only hides episodes you've finished or marked as played, and Apple says it applies to shows you follow. Downloaded files stay until you remove them or Remove Played Downloads does.
Settings for each show
Every show can override the general settings. Click Shows in the sidebar, select a show, click the More button and choose Settings. There you can set Automatically Download and Remove Played Downloads for that show alone.
That suits a show you always finish and one you dip into. Keep a few episodes of the first; turn automatic downloads off for the second and download by hand.
Remove Played Downloads
With Remove Played Downloads on, Apple says Podcasts deletes downloaded episodes 24 hours after you play them. It's the single setting that keeps the folder from growing, because what you've heard goes on its own.
| Setting | Where | What it does to storage |
|---|---|---|
| Automatically Download | Settings › General, and each show | Off, or a limit on episodes kept |
| Download When Saving | Settings › General | Saved episodes download, or don't |
| Remove Played Downloads | Settings › General, and each show | Deletes episodes 24 hours after playing |
| Hide Played Episodes | Settings › Advanced | Hides them from view; frees nothing |
| Sync Library | Settings › General | Syncs follows and play position, not files |
How to delete podcasts from your Mac
Removing downloads is quick, and nothing about the show changes: you still follow it, and its episodes are a click away.
Remove one downloaded episode
- In Podcasts, click Downloaded in the sidebar.
- Select a show.
- Click the More button next to the episode.
- Click Remove Download.
Remove every download for one show
- Click Downloaded in the sidebar, and select the show.
- Click the More button at the top right.
- Click Remove Downloads, then Remove Downloads again to confirm.
Remove all downloaded episodes
- Click Downloaded in the sidebar.
- Click the More button at the top right.
- Click Remove All Downloads, then Remove Downloads to confirm.
Apple says episodes removed from the Downloaded tab are deleted from your Mac, freeing up storage space. The show and its episode list stay, so you can play any episode again by streaming it.
What happens when you unfollow a show?
To unfollow, click Shows, select the show, click the More button and choose Unfollow Show. Apple says a dialog may ask whether to remove or keep its downloaded episodes. Choose remove if you're done with the show.
If you pay for a show's subscription, Apple notes that unfollowing doesn't cancel it. Manage that subscription separately.
Does removing a download delete it from your iPhone?
Apple describes removing a download as deleting the episode from your Mac. Sync Library syncs the shows you follow, your stations and where you are in each episode across devices signed in to the same Apple Account, so your place is kept. Downloads on your iPhone are managed in Podcasts there.
Can you download a removed episode again?
Yes, while the show still offers it. Find the episode, click its More button and choose Download, or just play it to stream. The catalog's entry adds the catch: episodes a show no longer offers can't be downloaded again.
How do you see which shows take the most space?
Apple's guide doesn't describe a size for each show in Podcasts. The Downloaded list groups episodes by show, so the shows with the longest lists are the place to start. Storage settings' Podcasts category gives the total, which tells you whether it's worth the effort.
Is it safe to delete podcasts this way?
Yes. The catalog rates Podcasts downloads Usually safe: removing them loses nothing you made, but removed episodes need an internet connection to play, and a show can withdraw old episodes. Keep downloads of anything you can't easily replace, such as an episode a show has since taken down.
The Apple TV app: purchases, subscriptions and rentals
The Apple TV app holds several kinds of video, and each behaves differently when you remove it.
| Kind | Can you download it? | After you delete the download |
|---|---|---|
| Movies and shows you bought | Yes, permanently | Download it again from your library |
| Apple TV subscription titles | Yes, for a limited time | Download again while subscribed and offered |
| Apple TV channel titles | Depends on the channel | Download again while subscribed and offered |
| Rentals | Yes, on one device at a time | Only within the rental period |
| Home videos | Already on your Mac | Gone once the Trash is emptied, unless copied |
Purchases
Apple says any digital media you buy from Apple can be permanently downloaded to an iPhone, iPad, Mac or Windows PC. Once downloaded, it plays without an internet connection, and Apple can't remove it from your device.
That's what makes purchases easy to clear: the store keeps them for you. Apple adds one caveat, covered below: it's unlikely, but a title can be removed from the store.
Apple TV subscription and channel downloads
Apple's subscription service, Apple TV, and channels you subscribe to in the app can be downloaded on a Mac, within limits. For a movie or event, click its Download button; for a show, find the episode, click its More button and choose Download.
Apple says that for most channels, downloads are available for up to 30 days before they expire. Some subscription titles expire 48 hours after you start playing them, or 30 days after downloading, whichever comes first. Some channels also limit how many titles you can keep at once.
What happens when you hit the download limit?
Apple says the app alerts you. To download more, delete episodes or movies you've already downloaded on one of your own or your family's devices. Removing finished downloads on the Mac makes room for new ones, as well as freeing space.
Rentals
Apple says you have 30 days to start a rented movie, and 48 hours to finish once you start. During the rental, it can be downloaded on one device at a time and streamed on another. When the time is up, the movie is no longer available.
Home videos
You can add your own videos with File › Import. Apple says the app places a copy of each video file in the TV folder inside Movies and leaves the original where it was, so an import can mean two copies of the same file.
Whether it copies is a setting: TV › Settings › Files, Copy files to Media folder when adding to Library. Holding Option while you drag a file into the app reverses it for that one import.
How to delete movies and TV shows from the Apple TV app
Apple's steps for removing downloads on a Mac are short. The one thing to read carefully is the prompt at the end.
Remove a downloaded movie or show
- Open the Apple TV app.
- Click Downloaded in the sidebar.
- Move the pointer over the item and click the More button.
- Click Delete from Library, then confirm.
A purchase stays yours either way: you can stream it or download it again later. What the prompt asks next decides whether it also stays visible in your library.
Delete or hide?
Apple uses Delete from Library for two things. For items you imported, it deletes them. For purchases from the Apple TV Store, Apple's library guide says it hides them, and its hiding article walks you through a prompt to hide the item.
A hidden purchase disappears from your library on every device you use with your Apple Account, and from family members' libraries. The purchase record stays. To bring it back, choose Account › Account Settings in the Apple TV app, find Hidden Purchases or Hidden Items, click Manage, then Unhide.
Deleting home videos
A home video isn't a purchase, so Delete from Library removes it for real. Before you do, check whether the original is still somewhere else: by default, import copies it into the TV folder and leaves the original in place.
Select the video, click its More button and choose Show in Finder to see where the copy is. If the original is elsewhere, the copy in the TV folder is the one to let go.
How do you find a download's size?
Move the pointer over a downloaded item, click its More button and choose Show in Finder. Apple says this reveals the item's location for anything that's been downloaded. In Finder, choose File › Get Info to see its size. Look, but delete in the app.
Is it safe to delete the TV media folder?
Not in Finder. The catalog rates the TV media folder Review first: purchases come back, but home videos you added may exist only there, and removing files directly leaves the TV library listing items it can't play. Delete through the app, item by item.
Watch out for playlists
Apple's library guide notes that adding an item to a playlist downloads it to your computer. A playlist of movies you meant to stream can quietly fill the disk. Removing an item from a playlist doesn't remove it from your library or storage, so delete the download separately.
Why won't an item delete?
Apple suggests three checks. Hiding the item removes it from your library. If you synced movies to an iPhone or iPad with a cable, turning off that sync removes them. And an item without a download only streams, so there's nothing on the Mac to delete.
What about the Apple TV app itself?
It comes with macOS, and its storage is in what it downloads, not the app. Removing every download and home video leaves little behind. Podcasts is the same: Apple lists Podcasts among the apps macOS needs, which Finder won't delete.
Optimize Storage and automatic deletion
You don't have to remove watched videos by hand. macOS and the Apple TV app both offer to do it.
What does Optimize Storage do?
In System Settings › General › Storage, Apple's recommendation called Optimize Storage saves space by removing Apple TV movies and TV shows you've already watched, and by keeping only recent email attachments on the Mac when space is needed. Apple says purchases can be downloaded again.
That second part matters. Turning it on also changes Mail, so read how Mail stores attachments first if you rely on having them offline.
Automatically delete watched movies and TV shows
The Apple TV app has its own version. Choose TV › Settings, click Files, and select Automatically delete watched movies and TV shows. Apple says it deletes movies and shows after you play them, and that it isn't available in every country or region.
Turn off Automatic Downloads
In TV › Settings › General, Automatic Downloads downloads purchased movies, TV shows or both to your Mac as soon as you buy them. Turn it off, and purchases stream until you choose to download one. Always check for available downloads looks for older purchases that were never downloaded.
| Setting | Where | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Optimize Storage | System Settings › General › Storage | Removes watched TV items, trims Mail attachments |
| Automatically delete watched movies and TV shows | TV › Settings › Files | Deletes items after you play them |
| Automatic Downloads | TV › Settings › General | Downloads purchases as soon as you buy them |
| Always check for available downloads | TV › Settings › General | Fetches older purchases that weren't downloaded |
| Copy files to Media folder when adding to Library | TV › Settings › Files | Copies imported home videos into the TV folder |
Why did old purchases start downloading?
Two General settings can bring back movies you haven't watched in years. Always check for available downloads looks for items you bought from the iTunes Store but never downloaded, and Automatic Downloads fetches purchases as they appear. On a new Mac signed in to an old Apple Account, that can be a lot of video at once.
Turn both off if you'd rather choose. Nothing is lost: the purchases stay in your library, ready to stream or download one by one.
Which versions of macOS have these settings?
Apple's Mac User Guide describes Storage settings and Optimize Storage identically for macOS 26 Tahoe and macOS 27 Golden Gate. The newest edition of Apple's guide for the Apple TV app is for macOS 26, and the steps here follow it. Before macOS Ventura, Apple says Storage was in About This Mac.
Download quality, languages and the media folder
How big each download is depends on settings in the Apple TV app. They're worth checking before you download a season of anything.
Choose a smaller download format
Choose TV › Settings, then click Playback. Under Download Options, Apple lists four choices:
- High Quality (Up to 1080p): the highest quality available, up to 1080p.
- Fast Downloads: the smallest possible files, meant for slow connections.
- Most Compatible HD (1080p): the most compatible high-definition format for your display.
- Most Compatible SD (480p): standard definition, the most compatible format.
On a small internal drive, Fast Downloads or SD keeps downloads small. Streaming quality is a separate setting, under Streaming Options in the same pane.
Extra audio languages and multichannel audio
The same pane has Download Audio Languages, which adds more language tracks to each download, and Download Multichannel Audio. Extra tracks add to each download, so choose only the languages you watch in.
Move the media folder to another drive
In TV › Settings › Files, Media folder location sets where imported movies and TV shows are stored. Click Change to choose another folder, such as one on an external drive, or Reset to go back to the original location in Movies.
Keep Media folder organized moves imported videos into the app's own folder structure. Leave it on if you let the app manage the folder; turn it off if you keep your own arrangement.
Use a second library on an external drive
Apple's guide describes keeping more than one library, for example a library of home videos on an external drive. Quit the Apple TV app, hold Option while you open it again, and click Create Library or Choose Library. Each library has its own settings.
Getting purchases back
Clearing downloads is safe because the store keeps your purchases. Here's how to get them again, and the one case where you might not.
How to download a purchase again
- Open the Apple TV app.
- Under Library, click Movies or TV Shows.
- Hold the pointer over the title, then click its Download button.
With Family Sharing, click Family Sharing under Library and choose a family member to download their purchases. Apple notes that titles from the Apple TV subscription or channels don't appear among purchases; download those from the subscription itself.
Can a purchase disappear?
Apple says purchases generally remain available to download again, but that, though unlikely, content can be removed from its services, for instance when it loses the rights. Its advice is to download all purchased content to a device you own.
So for the few films you'd hate to lose, keep the download, on the Mac or on an external drive through a second library. For everything else, streaming is the smaller cost.
Podcasts don't work like purchases
A podcast belongs to its publisher, not to you, and it can remove episodes at any time. If an episode matters to you, keep the download, and don't turn on Remove Played Downloads for that show.
Other accounts, iPhones and family members
Downloads belong to the person who made them, on the Mac where they made them. That shapes where to look.
Does each account on the Mac have its own downloads?
Yes. Both folders are inside a home folder: the Podcasts container in the account's own Library, and the TV folder in its own Movies folder. Another account's downloads show up in Storage settings as Other Users & Shared, and only that person can remove them, from their own account.
Do downloads on other devices count?
Not toward the Mac's storage. They do count toward channel and subscription limits: Apple says that when you reach a limit, you delete downloads on one of your own or your family's devices to download more. A forgotten download on an old iPad can block a new one on the Mac.
What about whole seasons of a show?
On a Mac, Apple's steps download TV episodes one at a time from each episode's More button. On iPhone and iPad, the app can download an entire season at once. Either way, a season is a long run of downloads, so finish watching one before downloading the next.
Podcasts on an iPhone
With Sync Library on, the shows you follow and your place in each episode match across devices. Each device downloads its own episodes, under its own settings. So turning on Remove Played Downloads on the Mac tidies the Mac; set it on your iPhone too if that's short of space.
Deciding what to keep
A quick pass through both apps usually frees the most space. Here's a way to decide, and what to avoid.
A quick way to decide
- Podcasts you've played. Remove them, and turn on Remove Played Downloads so it stays that way.
- Shows you follow but rarely play. Turn automatic downloads off for those shows.
- Purchased movies you've watched. Remove the downloads; they stream or download again.
- Subscription downloads. Remove finished ones; they expire anyway.
- Home videos. Keep them, or make sure a copy exists elsewhere before deleting.
Mistakes to avoid
- Deleting files in the Podcasts group container or the TV media folder in Finder. The apps' libraries go out of step and list items they can't play.
- Hiding a purchase when you meant to remove its download. Read the prompt after Delete from Library.
- Deleting the only copy of a home video. The TV app's delete is real for anything you imported.
- Forgetting Mail when you turn on Optimize Storage. It trims attachments too.
- Adding movies to a playlist on a small drive. Each one downloads.
Other Apple apps that keep downloads
The Music app has its own Remove Download, covered in the post on the Music library. GarageBand and Logic download instruments and loops, explained in the post on their sound libraries.
Video you made is a different matter: iMovie and Final Cut Pro libraries hold footage that may exist nowhere else. So do Notes and Freeform attachments, which are your own content rather than downloads.
How the app does it
Wombit shows the Podcasts app's folder and the TV media folder on the map with their real sizes, and explains each from the catalog: what's inside, what can be downloaded again, and how to remove downloads in the app that made them. File names and paths never leave your Mac.
~/
Library/ Group Containers/ 243LU875E5.groups.com.apple.podcasts Downloaded podcast episodes and the Podcasts app's library of the shows you follow.
Usually safe · Explained only: the app shows you how
~/
Movies/ TV/ {Media,Media.localized} Movies, TV shows and home videos in the Apple TV app's library on this Mac.
Review first · Explained only: the app shows you how
Podcasts downloads are Usually safe: episodes can be downloaded again while the show offers them, so nothing you made is lost. The TV media folder is Review first, because home videos you added may exist only there.
Neither starts checked. The app doesn't move them itself; it points you to Remove All Downloads in Podcasts, Delete from Library in the Apple TV app and Optimize Storage.
The scan, the map and the explanations are free. Cleanup, for items the app can move to the Trash, is PRO, one $4.99 payment with lifetime access. Every Pro tool's review is free to open, so you see what would go and why before you buy.
Frequently asked questions
How do I delete all downloaded podcasts on my Mac?
Open Podcasts, click Downloaded in the sidebar, click the More button at the top right and choose Remove All Downloads, then confirm. Apple says this deletes the episodes from your Mac. The shows you follow stay in your library.
Where are podcasts stored on a Mac?
In the Podcasts app's group container in your Library folder, under coded file names, together with the app's database. Don't remove files there in Finder; use the Downloaded section of the Podcasts app instead.
How do I stop Podcasts from downloading episodes automatically?
Choose Podcasts › Settings, click General, and set Automatically Download to off or to fewer episodes. Turn on Remove Played Downloads to delete episodes 24 hours after you play them. Each show can have its own settings too.
How do I delete downloaded movies from the Apple TV app on a Mac?
Click Downloaded in the Apple TV app's sidebar, move the pointer over the item, click the More button and choose Delete from Library, then confirm. Purchases can be downloaded again from your library.
Does Delete from Library remove my purchase?
No. For purchases from the Apple TV Store, Apple says Delete from Library hides the item rather than deleting the purchase. Hidden items can be shown again in Account Settings, under Hidden Purchases or Hidden Items. For videos you imported yourself, it really deletes them.
What does Optimize Storage do on a Mac?
It removes Apple TV movies and TV shows you've already watched, and keeps only recent Mail attachments on the Mac when space is needed. Turn it on in System Settings › General › Storage. Purchases can be downloaded again.
Can I download a deleted podcast episode again?
Yes, while the show still offers it. Find the episode in the show, click its More button and choose Download, or play it to stream. Episodes a show has removed can't be downloaded again.
Why do Apple TV downloads disappear after a while?
Downloads from the Apple TV subscription and channels expire. Apple says most are available for up to 30 days, and some subscription titles expire 48 hours after you start playing them. Purchases don't expire; rentals end with the rental period.
Sources
- Save, download, or remove episodes in Podcasts on Mac · Apple
- Change settings in Podcasts on Mac · Apple
- Delete movies and TV shows in the Apple TV app · Apple
- Optimize storage space on your Mac · Apple
- Download and stream shows, movies, sports, and events from your Apple TV subscription and Apple TV channels · Apple
- Redownload TV shows and movies that you purchased · Apple