---
id: getting-started.does-storage-studio-delete-files
url: https://storagestudio.us/faq/getting-started/does-storage-studio-delete-files
category: "Getting started"
subcategory: "What Storage Studio is"
question: "Does Storage Studio delete my files to free up space?"
alt_questions:
  - "Does Storage Studio remove personal files?"
  - "Is Storage Studio move or delete?"
  - "Can Storage Studio lose my documents?"
  - "Does it delete things without asking?"
short_answer: "No. Storage Studio frees space by moving big apps and folders to an external drive with a shortcut left behind. It only clears safe, regenerable data like app caches, and personal files are never deleted without asking."
tags: ["safety", "about", "delete"]
related: ["https://storagestudio.us/faq/getting-started/what-is-storage-studio", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/freeing-space/what-does-run-tuhi-do"]
applies_to: "all"
last_reviewed: 2026-10-01
---

# Does Storage Studio delete my files to free up space?

No — Storage Studio frees space mainly by moving things, not deleting them. Large apps and folders go to your external drive with a shortcut left in their place, so nothing disappears from where you expect it.

The only things it clears are safe, regenerable data such as app caches, which apps rebuild on their own. Personal files are never deleted without you asking, and a master setting — **Never delete personal files — only move them** — can rule out every delete rule entirely (in the Advanced view under **Settings → Rules**).

Moves can be undone: **More → Restore Points** has **Roll Back Last Batch**, and anything you moved can be moved back from the same window you moved it from. Learn more in [Privacy & safety](https://storagestudio.us/faq/privacy-safety/).