{"id":"apps.how-much-space-does-moving-an-app-free","url":"/faq/apps/how-much-space-does-moving-an-app-free","category":{"id":"apps","title":"Apps"},"subcategory":{"id":"moving-apps","title":"Moving apps to your fast drive"},"question":"How much space does moving an app free up?","alt_questions":["Space saved by moving an app","Does Move free the full app size?","How do I know how much I'll get back?","Why did I get less space back than the app size?"],"short_answer":"About the app's own size, shown on its row. Its settings and data stay on your Mac; Offload frees those too.","answer_markdown":"Roughly the app's own size, shown on its row in the Internal tab. The app's settings and data stay on your Mac, so they aren't counted.\n\nTo free the app **and** its data, use **Offload** instead. And if your free space doesn't seem to update straight away, macOS may still be holding the old copy in a local snapshot for a while — see [snapshots and freed space](/faq/freeing-space/).","answer_html":"

Roughly the app's own size, shown on its row in the Internal tab. The app's settings and data stay on your Mac, so they aren't counted.

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To free the app and its data, use Offload instead. And if your free space doesn't seem to update straight away, macOS may still be holding the old copy in a local snapshot for a while — see snapshots and freed space.

","answer_text":"Roughly the app's own size, shown on its row in the Internal tab. The app's settings and data stay on your Mac, so they aren't counted.\n\nTo free the app and its data, use Offload instead. And if your free space doesn't seem to update straight away, macOS may still be holding the old copy in a local snapshot for a while — see snapshots and freed space.","tags":["space","move app"],"related":[{"id":"apps.does-moving-an-app-move-its-data-too","question":"Does moving an app also move its settings and data?","url":"/faq/apps/does-moving-an-app-move-its-data-too"},{"id":"apps.what-does-offload-do","question":"What does Offload do to an app?","url":"/faq/apps/what-does-offload-do"}],"applies_to":"all","last_reviewed":"2026-10-01","title":"How much space does moving an app free up? — Storage Studio FAQ","description":"About the app's own size, shown on its row. Its settings and data stay on your Mac; Offload frees those too.","crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"FAQ","path":"/faq/"},{"name":"Apps","path":"/faq/apps/"},{"name":"How much space does moving an app free up?","path":"/faq/apps/how-much-space-does-moving-an-app-free"}],"jsonld":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/apps/how-much-space-does-moving-an-app-free","inLanguage":"en","dateModified":"2026-10-01","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How much space does moving an app free up?","alternateName":["Space saved by moving an app","Does Move free the full app size?","How do I know how much I'll get back?","Why did I get less space back than the app size?"],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Roughly the app's own size, shown on its row in the Internal tab. The app's settings and data stay on your Mac, so they aren't counted.\n\nTo free the app and its data, use Offload instead. And if your free space doesn't seem to update straight away, macOS may still be holding the old copy in a local snapshot for a while — see snapshots and freed space.","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/apps/how-much-space-does-moving-an-app-free"}}]},"fragment":"
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Apps · Moving apps to your fast drive

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How much space does moving an app free up?

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Short answer: About the app's own size, shown on its row. Its settings and data stay on your Mac; Offload frees those too.

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Roughly the app's own size, shown on its row in the Internal tab. The app's settings and data stay on your Mac, so they aren't counted.

\n

To free the app and its data, use Offload instead. And if your free space doesn't seem to update straight away, macOS may still be holding the old copy in a local snapshot for a while — see snapshots and freed space.

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Last reviewed

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Related questions

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