Finding things in Finder · Finding what was moved
I can see a moved folder on my Mac and on the drive — is my data stored twice?
Short answer: No. The item on your Mac is just a shortcut; the folder on the drive is the only real copy. Don't delete the drive copy as a spare — use Move back to bring it home, or Backup Drive for a genuine second copy.
No. What you see on your Mac is the shortcut; the folder on the drive is the only real copy. Nothing is stored twice — that's exactly how the space came back.
So don't delete the copy on the drive thinking it's a spare. Doing so removes your actual files and leaves the shortcut on your Mac pointing at nothing.
If you want the data back on your Mac and off the drive, use Move back in What's Using Space → Relocated (N). If you want a genuine second copy for safety, use Backup Drive to copy everything onto another drive.