{"id":"freeing-space.what-does-where-it-lives-show","url":"/faq/freeing-space/what-does-where-it-lives-show","category":{"id":"freeing-space","title":"Freeing up space"},"subcategory":{"id":"profile-and-charts","title":"Storage Profile, charts and Home"},"question":"What does Where it lives show in the Storage Profile?","alt_questions":["How is my storage split between Mac, drive and cloud?","Where it lives section","Cloud share of my storage","How much is on my external drive vs Mac?","Storage split Storage Profile"],"short_answer":"It shows how your storage is split across this Mac, your external drive and the cloud, using real usage read from each cloud provider rather than just local copies.","answer_markdown":"It shows how your storage splits across this Mac, your external drive and the cloud. The cloud share reflects your real cloud usage read from each provider — not just the copies currently downloaded to your Mac — so you see where your data really is.\n\nAlongside it, **Connected cloud accounts** lists each linked account with its usage, and once analysed, the mix of file types, how much you've touched recently, and how much is already online-only. See [how cloud usage is measured](/faq/freeing-space/how-does-the-storage-profile-measure-cloud-usage).","answer_html":"

It shows how your storage splits across this Mac, your external drive and the cloud. The cloud share reflects your real cloud usage read from each provider — not just the copies currently downloaded to your Mac — so you see where your data really is.

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Alongside it, Connected cloud accounts lists each linked account with its usage, and once analysed, the mix of file types, how much you've touched recently, and how much is already online-only. See how cloud usage is measured.

","answer_text":"It shows how your storage splits across this Mac, your external drive and the cloud. The cloud share reflects your real cloud usage read from each provider — not just the copies currently downloaded to your Mac — so you see where your data really is.\n\nAlongside it, Connected cloud accounts lists each linked account with its usage, and once analysed, the mix of file types, how much you've touched recently, and how much is already online-only. See how cloud usage is measured.","tags":["storage profile","cloud","external drive"],"related":[{"id":"freeing-space.how-does-the-storage-profile-measure-cloud-usage","question":"How does the Storage Profile know how much I store in my cloud accounts?","url":"/faq/freeing-space/how-does-the-storage-profile-measure-cloud-usage"},{"id":"freeing-space.what-is-the-storage-profile","question":"What is the Storage Profile in Storage Studio?","url":"/faq/freeing-space/what-is-the-storage-profile"}],"applies_to":"all","last_reviewed":"2026-10-01","title":"What does Where it lives show in the Storage Profile? — Storage Studio FAQ","description":"It shows how your storage is split across this Mac, your external drive and the cloud, using real usage read from each cloud provider rather than just local copies.","crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"FAQ","path":"/faq/"},{"name":"Freeing up space","path":"/faq/freeing-space/"},{"name":"What does Where it lives show in the Storage Profile?","path":"/faq/freeing-space/what-does-where-it-lives-show"}],"jsonld":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/freeing-space/what-does-where-it-lives-show","inLanguage":"en","dateModified":"2026-10-01","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What does Where it lives show in the Storage Profile?","alternateName":["How is my storage split between Mac, drive and cloud?","Where it lives section","Cloud share of my storage","How much is on my external drive vs Mac?","Storage split Storage Profile"],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It shows how your storage splits across this Mac, your external drive and the cloud. The cloud share reflects your real cloud usage read from each provider — not just the copies currently downloaded to your Mac — so you see where your data really is.\n\nAlongside it, Connected cloud accounts lists each linked account with its usage, and once analysed, the mix of file types, how much you've touched recently, and how much is already online-only. See how cloud usage is measured.","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/freeing-space/what-does-where-it-lives-show"}}]},"fragment":"
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Freeing up space · Storage Profile, charts and Home

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What does Where it lives show in the Storage Profile?

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Short answer: It shows how your storage is split across this Mac, your external drive and the cloud, using real usage read from each cloud provider rather than just local copies.

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It shows how your storage splits across this Mac, your external drive and the cloud. The cloud share reflects your real cloud usage read from each provider — not just the copies currently downloaded to your Mac — so you see where your data really is.

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Alongside it, Connected cloud accounts lists each linked account with its usage, and once analysed, the mix of file types, how much you've touched recently, and how much is already online-only. See how cloud usage is measured.

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Last reviewed

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