Why is my macbook reading cloud files as taking up space?

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Level 1

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Why is my macbook reading cloud files as taking up space?

I'm unable to update my computer because of lack of space. When I look up my computer's storage, it says there are 38GB of documents, however when I get the info for my documents folder or any other folder that could be considered documents, the total on disk storage is less than 50 MB because everything is uploaded to onedrive. Any help with why my 2019 macbook air is reading it that way? Currently on Catalina 10.15.7

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MacBook Air 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Jan 17, 2022 7:43 AM

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Answer 1

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BobTheFisherman

Level 10

81,679 points

Jan 17, 2022 8:43 AM in response to KMcGibney

Are you certain the files in the cloud are not also on your local drive? Typically a cloud service like iCloud provides file synchronization across devices, it does not remove files from a device. But OneDrive is not an Apple product so maybe check with Microsoft as to whether or not using OneDrive frees up local storage.

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Answer 2

KMcGibney Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 17, 2022 8:49 AM in response to BobTheFisherman

The way this reads 10.5MB on disk makes me think they aren't on my local drive, and all folders have the little cloud logo showing I'd have to download them to view. But thanks for the reply I thought this issue was on the apple side of things but I could be wrong

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Why is my macbook reading cloud files as taking up space?

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