Freeing up space · What's Using Space (Storage Inspector)
What do Gone, Pinned and Reclaimed mean in What's Using Space?
Short answer: Gone is room taken by new files (deleting them helps); Pinned is space held by snapshots of files you already deleted (deleting more won't help); Reclaimed is space your Mac released by itself.
They split what changed since the last measurement three ways:
- Gone — room taken by files that weren't there at the previous measurement. Deleting or moving these gives the space back.
- Pinned — space held by your Mac's own recent backup snapshots of files you've already deleted. Deleting more won't return it.
- Reclaimed — space your Mac released since the last reading, with nothing for you to do.
The comparison covers the exact window between the two readings. Pinned space usually comes back by itself within about a day, or you can release it in the Local Snapshots manager.