{"id":"mac-storage-basics.how-long-does-time-machine-keep-backups","url":"/faq/mac-storage-basics/how-long-does-time-machine-keep-backups","category":{"id":"mac-storage-basics","title":"Mac storage basics"},"subcategory":{"id":"time-machine","title":"Time Machine basics"},"question":"How long does Time Machine keep my backups?","alt_questions":["time machine retention","how many backups time machine keeps","time machine hourly daily weekly","oldest time machine backup","time machine history length","time machine keeps backups until full"],"short_answer":"Hourly backups for 24 hours, daily for a month, then weekly for all earlier months until the disk is full, when the oldest are removed.","answer_markdown":"Time Machine keeps hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for all previous months — until the backup disk fills up. When it's full, it deletes the oldest backups to make room.\n\nSo how far back you can go depends mostly on the size of your backup disk compared with how much you back up and change. A bigger disk means a longer history; see [how big a Time Machine drive should be](/faq/mac-storage-basics/how-big-should-a-time-machine-drive-be).","answer_html":"

Time Machine keeps hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for all previous months — until the backup disk fills up. When it's full, it deletes the oldest backups to make room.

\n

So how far back you can go depends mostly on the size of your backup disk compared with how much you back up and change. A bigger disk means a longer history; see how big a Time Machine drive should be.

","answer_text":"Time Machine keeps hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for all previous months — until the backup disk fills up. When it's full, it deletes the oldest backups to make room.\n\nSo how far back you can go depends mostly on the size of your backup disk compared with how much you back up and change. A bigger disk means a longer history; see how big a Time Machine drive should be.","tags":["time machine","backups","retention"],"related":[{"id":"mac-storage-basics.how-big-should-a-time-machine-drive-be","question":"How big should my Time Machine backup drive be?","url":"/faq/mac-storage-basics/how-big-should-a-time-machine-drive-be"},{"id":"mac-storage-basics.what-does-time-machine-delete-when-the-drive-is-full","question":"What happens when my Time Machine drive is full?","url":"/faq/mac-storage-basics/what-does-time-machine-delete-when-the-drive-is-full"}],"applies_to":"all","last_reviewed":"2026-10-01","title":"How long does Time Machine keep my backups? — Storage Studio FAQ","description":"Hourly backups for 24 hours, daily for a month, then weekly for all earlier months until the disk is full, when the oldest are removed.","crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"FAQ","path":"/faq/"},{"name":"Mac storage basics","path":"/faq/mac-storage-basics/"},{"name":"How long does Time Machine keep my backups?","path":"/faq/mac-storage-basics/how-long-does-time-machine-keep-backups"}],"jsonld":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/mac-storage-basics/how-long-does-time-machine-keep-backups","inLanguage":"en","dateModified":"2026-10-01","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How long does Time Machine keep my backups?","alternateName":["time machine retention","how many backups time machine keeps","time machine hourly daily weekly","oldest time machine backup","time machine history length","time machine keeps backups until full"],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Time Machine keeps hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for all previous months — until the backup disk fills up. When it's full, it deletes the oldest backups to make room.\n\nSo how far back you can go depends mostly on the size of your backup disk compared with how much you back up and change. A bigger disk means a longer history; see how big a Time Machine drive should be.","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/mac-storage-basics/how-long-does-time-machine-keep-backups"}}]},"fragment":"
\n
\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

Mac storage basics · Time Machine basics

\n

How long does Time Machine keep my backups?

\n

Short answer: Hourly backups for 24 hours, daily for a month, then weekly for all earlier months until the disk is full, when the oldest are removed.

\n

Time Machine keeps hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for all previous months — until the backup disk fills up. When it's full, it deletes the oldest backups to make room.

\n

So how far back you can go depends mostly on the size of your backup disk compared with how much you back up and change. A bigger disk means a longer history; see how big a Time Machine drive should be.

\n\n

Last reviewed

\n\n

Related questions

\n

Also available as Markdown and JSON.

\n
"}