Freeing up space · Local snapshots and held space
What do the icons next to each snapshot in Local Snapshots mean?
Short answer: Green check: already on Time Machine, safe to delete. Orange warning: only on this Mac. Grey lock: required by macOS, can't be deleted. Question mark: status unknown, treat as Mac-only.
Each snapshot has a status icon telling you whether it's safe to delete:
- Green check — already backed up to Time Machine; safe to delete.
- Orange warning — on this Mac only, not yet backed up; deleting it would lose that point in time.
- Grey lock — required by macOS for a system update; can't be deleted.
- Grey question mark — backup status unknown (no Time Machine destination set up); treat it as on-this-Mac-only.
Each row also says how long ago it was taken and has a plain-English status line. See is it safe to delete a snapshot.