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Does OS X have an inbuilt effective "self cleaning" feature/mechanism. If so does it need to be turned on by default, and how often does it take place, (or is this something that is determined by the user).

Is it advisable to use apps such as CleanMyMac or CCleaner for example ? (or are they more harmful than good).

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  • Is there a specific application you wish to remove? Are you filling up your Mac and needing to save space?
    – Graham Miln
    Commented Jul 19, 2013 at 14:22
  • @GrahamMiln More the latter, than the former.
    – Simon
    Commented Jul 19, 2013 at 15:28
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    This could be closed as unsure what you're asking, as there are three questions here. What self cleaning exists? Is a class of apps advisable? Do these specific apps (or some vague class of apps) cause more harm than good? If you want to narrow down the scope with an edit or put in some more research, this will hit the reopen queue and quite likely get reopened.
    – bmike ♦
    Commented Jul 19, 2013 at 18:49

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Applications such as CleanMyMac or CCleaner are unnecessary for your Mac. They can clear certain caches or preferences that can interfere with the proper functionality of your other applications - they'll be recreated anyway the next time you use the software. Unless you're in dire need of extra space on your hard drive, I wouldn't suggest trying to erase caches using cleaner applications. If anything, invest in an external hard drive and move some of your larger files over.

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Mac OS X does not have a self-cleaning feature. Such a feature is not needed on Mac OS X.

There is no reason to use cleaning applications. Such applications can do damage or perform tasks that leave your Mac or applications in an unusable state.

There are caches and other files on your Mac. These files are managed by the associated applications or the operating system. You can remove these files, but if you continue to use the associated application, that application will need to recreate the cache next time it launches.

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Both Andrew and Graham answers are correct. One useful tip is to always uninstall apps using AppCleaner instead of only putting the application file in the trash. This app will make sure to also erase all the caches and preference files of the app you're uninstalling.

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  • Note tools like this will get rid most of the data for the app but not all
    – mmmmmm
    Commented Jul 19, 2013 at 15:05
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    If you need AppCleaner, then both Andrew and Graham's answers are right in the sense that there isn't built in cleanup, but wrong in the sense that you don't need one.
    – rjmunro
    Commented May 1, 2015 at 10:40

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