---
id: freeing-space.what-does-where-it-lives-show
url: https://storagestudio.us/faq/freeing-space/what-does-where-it-lives-show
category: "Freeing up space"
subcategory: "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."
tags: ["storage profile", "cloud", "external drive"]
related: ["https://storagestudio.us/faq/freeing-space/how-does-the-storage-profile-measure-cloud-usage", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/freeing-space/what-is-the-storage-profile"]
applies_to: "all"
last_reviewed: 2026-10-01
---

# What does Where it lives show in the Storage Profile?

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.

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](https://storagestudio.us/faq/freeing-space/how-does-the-storage-profile-measure-cloud-usage).