Is it safe to delete the contents of Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup if using iCloud?

Question

My /Users/{username}/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup is 5GB and I'd really like to reclaim that space if I can.

I back up my iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch to iCloud, so is there any reason not to simply delete the 9000+ legacy backups in this folder?

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Thecafremo · Answer 1 · 2012-05-25 13:45:56Z

up vote 4 down vote

Yes, it is safe to delete it, if you are sure you want to lose those backups.

To do so, in a more elegant way, just:

Open iTunes Preferences
Click Devices
Locate the backup for the iOS device you want to delete, select it, and click Delete Backup.
Confirm you wish to remove the selected backup by clicking Delete Backup.
Click OK to close the iTunes Preferences Window.

Confirmed: Deleting through iTunes will delete all the backUp files of the selected device.

edited May 25 '12 at 13:45

answered May 25 '12 at 7:30

Thecafremo
5,37111026

	The problem is that there are over 9000 files in that directory, and there are only TWO devices (each with one backup) listed in the iTunes Preferences panel. – David Vincent Gagne May 25 '12 at 7:36
	I can't test this right now, but you could try deleting, from the iTunes preferences, the backUp for one of the devices, and see if it deletes all the backUps for it. Or just, cough delete the content of the folder. – Thecafremo May 25 '12 at 7:42
	Judging by the dates, there are several backups in there for the one device. Maybe, if you do a "restore from backup" you would get to choose among them? – GEdgar May 25 '12 at 14:03

1 Answer