Freeing up space · Recycle Vault
Can the Recycle Vault fill up my external drive?
Short answer: No. It's capped at a share of the drive — 20% by default, adjustable from 5% to 80% — and over budget it clears the oldest items already past their keep time first.
No. The vault has a budget on your external drive — 20% of the drive by default, adjustable in its settings between 5% and 80% — so it can never fill the drive.
If it goes over budget, it clears the oldest items that are already past their roughly 6-month keep time first; items still within that time aren't removed to make room. You can also free space yourself with Delete now. See Recycle Vault settings.